Before Eve – SE Green

His lips twitch as he brings my hand up to his mouth. “So.” He kisses my thumb. “I was thinking.” He kisses my index finger. “My sister is turning fifteen.” He kisses my middle finger. “We’re having a little party.” He kisses my ring finger. “What do you say, will you go with me?” He kisses my pinky. I snap out of my sensual haze.

“What?” He tugs on my earlobe. “You heard me.” “Where?” “My home. In Florida.” “Um…” I slide off his lap. “Uh…” “Next weekend.” “No.” I shake my head. “No.” I shake my head again. “I can’t do that.” Both his brows shoot up. “Why not?” I slide farther away from him. “B-because…” Because… well, I don’t know why because. Wait, yes I do know. Because I’ve never done anything like that before. I don’t think I can, can I? And…what if his family hates me?

West grabs my legs and slides me back. “Tell you what, we’ll go as friends. It’ll be just like you and Anne going somewhere.” West and I are definitely not like me and Anne. “My family’s great. My dad will be there and my sister. Gramma and my cousin. You’ll see. You’ll fit in perfectly.” “Will your mom be there too?” Sadness flicks, like the last time I mentioned his mom, and just as quickly it’s gone. He shakes his head. “No.”

That sadness is the reason why I find myself saying, “Okay.” He brightens. “Really?” “Really.” Grabbing the front of my hoodie, West tugs me toward him and plants a quick kiss on my lips at the exact second Anne peeks her head over the soundboard. “West and Eve sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G.” She makes a couple of annoying smooching noises, and I turn about a million shades of pink and red and probably purple.

West grins as he gets to his feet and then helps me up. He gives Anne a playful shove. “You’re infuriating. Go away.” The guys begin to filter on stage, and West goes to join them.

Copyright © S. E. Green, 2025 The right of S. E. Green to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted per the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1976. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in a retrieval system, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real people, alive or dead, is purely coincidental. 1kitap1.com/en PROLOGUE FEAR IS AN INTERESTING THING. It makes weak people strong, strong people weak, frail people into just a shell of themselves, and numerous other scenarios. It’s how you finally emerge from the fear and take action that decides so much about your life.

1kitap1.com/en CHAPTER 1 A SHADOW MOVES across the peephole in my door. I imagine Grayson’s eyeball there, watching. I fight to control the shudder that wants to roll through me. Dread, fear, and anticipation swell inside when he opens the door. The room shrinks as he glides inside.

From my window seat, I stand, and with my hands folded gently in front of me, I submissively focus on the wood floor beneath my sandals. He moves in close, and with a sigh, he runs a long-fingered hand over his salt and pepper, slicked-back hair. “Are you still mad at me about last week?”

I almost laugh. When has he ever cared if I’m mad? “No,” I whisper. “You understand why it had to be done, right?” I nod, recalling the pelvic exam he made me have. Grayson reaches forward and tenderly takes both of my hands. “Look at me.” The tenderness in his touch throws me off. Slowly, I lift my eyes the length of his business suit, past our joined hands, across his smooth jaw, and up into his hazel gaze.

In just a few hours, I’ll never have to look into his face again. With an affectionate smile, he runs a manicured thumb over my knuckles. “You’re such a good girl, Laura. It pleases me that you’re willingly doing this.” Willingly? He presses a kiss to my cheek. “Tomorrow’s a big day. Get some rest. Noah Riley will be here first thing in the morning.” I lie in my bed, every sense tuned as I stare at my bedside clock.

10:58.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: 7655914908fb0f66
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 2,997,342 bytes (2.858 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• Pages: 227
• Language: English (en)

Reading & Word Statistics

• Estimated Reading Time: 322.48 minutes
• Total Words: 64,496
• Total Characters: 341,651
• Average Words per Page: 284.12
• Average Characters per Page: 1505.07

Most Frequent Words

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