Read Online Controlled: The Dollhouse, Part Two by Stacia Stone - Free Book Online Page B

the DVD player. “I just picked up Braindead, it’s a new classic.”

    “ S ounds good .”

    Z ach returned to the couch and slipped his arm around me in a move so casual that I barely noticed it. His body felt warm and secure against mine, like being wrapped in a soft blanket.

    W e watched the movie for awhile, but Zach didn’t make any advances. His fingers played teasingly along the skin of my shoulder but that was the extent of our contact.

    I finish the first beer and he brought me second, then a third. By that point, I knew that I was tipsy. The room swayed around me and I felt like I was floating on the gentle waves of a calm ocean.

    O n impulse , I turned to Zach, staring at his profile until he noticed and looked at me.

    “ W hat ?”

    I reached out and gently touched his cheek, his facial hair rough underneath my fingertips. “I keep waiting for you to kiss me, but you haven’t done it. Can I kiss you instead?”

    H is mouth fell open slightly , but he swallowed hard and then spoke. “If you want.”

    I moved over him , my legs straddling him. In this position, my head rose above his and I could look down at his face. He kept himself still, waiting on me to decide what to do.

    A t that moment , the idea that I was in control was more attractive to me than nearly anything else.

    Z ach waited for me , his arms hanging loosely at his sides. I leaned forward slowly and steadied myself by putting my hands on his shoulders. His face was cast mostly in shadow, broken only by an occasional flash of light from the television.

    I kissed him . His lips were soft and moved tenderly against mine, still letting me take the lead. My hands moved back to his cheeks, making a light rasping sound as they glided against the short hair there.

    M y tongue slipped inside of his mouth. I pressed down harder but his response was slower and more gentle. His lips underneath mine were undemanding and tender.

    I realized that I wanted him to grab me, to dominate me. I didn’t want to be the one in control. Sweetness and light just wasn’t enough for me anymore.

    Z ach looked at me quizzically as I pulled away. Even in my alcohol-induced haze, I recognized there was no easy way to extricate myself from the situation.

    “ I ’m sorry but I can’t do this,” I said.

    H e let me roll off of him to my side of the couch. “Are you okay?”

    “ I t’s fine , I just need to go home.”

    “ A re we moving too fast ?” Zach retreated to the arm of the couch, obviously trying to give me space. “I should have known better than to bring a sweet girl like you back to my place on the first date.”

    I didn’t have the heart to tell him that I was having the opposite problem. “It’s not your fault.”

    H e stood up and reached for my hand. “C’mon I’ll take you home.”

    I regretfully took the offered hand. Zach was exactly the kind of guy that I should have been with — age-appropriate, good-hearted and laid back, not to mention pretty damn cute. But none of that solved the biggest problem.

    H e wasn’t Julian .

Chapter Fifteen
    T he sound of my cell phone ringing shocked me awake. I groped across the bed trying to find it before the noise woke my sister, who stretched out next to me.

    M y fingers closed over it and I brought the phone to my ear.

    “ H ello ?” I said groggily.

    “ D alea ?” Asked a perky female voice on the other end.

    I t was way too early in the morning for anyone to sound that happy. “Yeah, who’s this?”

    “ I t’s Trina .”

    “ O h .” I sat up a little, surprise bringing me out of the early morning stupor. “What’s up?”

    “ S orry to call so early , but I wanted to make sure that I caught you before you went to work. I didn’t wake you, did I?”

    “ N o ,” I lied. I pulled the phone from my ear to check the time. “I’m always up by 7:30 in the morning.”

    T rina giggled . “That’s a big change from when we were still in the dorms at