“Why do you care?” she snapped, her ire reigniting.

No, she wasn’t. She already knew she and Brian didn’t work. It had become pretty clear that he was a Daddy Dom, and while Sharon was a total brat—which was probably what had attracted him in the first place—she was not a baby-girl. That didn’t mean she didn’t get lonely or miss parts of their relationship. Even if they’d never gotten super serious, it had been nice to have someone.

Right now she was feeling the lack of having anyone and had been feeling sorry for herself. Was it so much to ask to be able to do that in peace? She just wanted to wallow for a few minutes and then maybe get drunk and have a New Year’s Eve one-nighter with one of the hot Doms walking around. It wouldn’t matter that nothing would come of it because she wasn’t submissive enough for any of them.

She just wanted to feel a man on top of her for a night.

“I don’t, but I don’t have anyone else to talk to right now,” he admitted, his lips twisting in a smile as he lifted his beer to take a sip.

Well at least he was honest. Sharon sighed.

“Fine. But no being judge-y. Or looking at me with your judge-y eyes.”

“Judge-y eyes?” he asked skeptically and she pointed her finger at him, glaring.

“Like that! No looking at me like that!”

He rolled his eyes and then closed them, sighing. Resigned. Yeah, she could relate.

Opening them up, he looked at her, a bit of amusement dancing in his baby blues. Damn him for being attractive when he wasn’t being a dick.

“Wanna dance?”

“Dance?” she asked, surprised and clutching her drink a little tighter, feeling strangely nervous.

“Yeah, dance. We actually get along on the dance floor.”

Did they? Sharon couldn’t help but feel a little bemused to know that. Ah, what the hell. Maybe if she danced with him again she’d remember what had happened the last time. Or maybe she could get him to drop some more tidbits about it. The blank in her memory gnawed at her. And she definitely wasn’t going to get that drunk again, so this time she’d remember everything.

Lifting her glass, she took the last of her drink as a shot.

“Sure, why the hell not.”

Hopping up from her seat, she ignored his wince at her cursing.

Oh yeah. Nothing could possibly go wrong, dancing with her friend’s brother, a guy who didn’t even like her most of the time.

Ignoring the little voice in her head, she let him lead her to the dance floor.

Hardcore Vanilla

Book 10 of Stronghold Doms

Prologue

“Happy New Year!”