Excerpt of Wilde Type by HK Jacobs

“Well, you aren’t looking for sex,” he said with a raise of one eyebrow as he nearly emptied his bourbon glass.

Alex sputtered into her drink, which thankfully broke the half-trance she had been entertaining, and she turned in her chair to face him.  Although her heart thundered and her insides felt like they had been scrambled, she donned her calmest, most in-control façade.          

“How do you know I’m not?”

“Because, Alexandra, a lot of women want me, and I can always tell when they do,” he answered matter-of-factly with a wry smirk briefly contrasting his beautiful face.

She answered with a raise of her eyebrows and a mild glare that gave off her unspoken disdain. He wasn’t exactly wrong.  She was not here looking for Friday night post-debauchery sex.  However, despite her preference living within a formidable ice fortress, her body felt anxious to betray her.  Her mouth felt paper-dry, and a slight sheen of sweat was rapidly accumulating on her palms.  She wiped her hands over her jean-clad thighs, a movement that caught Ian’s eye.

Looking up at him, she startled a bit at his expression which was curious and sincere with interest, quite different from a moment ago. 

“You’re right,” started Alex. “I am definitely not looking for sex.” She flicked her eyes down to the bourbon for comfort rather than continuing to let herself be enraptured by his face.

“Let me tell you what you are looking for,” he said in a husky, bourbon-soaked voice.  He leaned over now so close that Alex could feel his breath on her cheek.  She didn’t dare meet the eyes that looked down at her through half-closed lids.  Was he going to kiss her? She held her breath and felt everything stop for a moment, including her heart.  In fact, it seemed to take forever for it to squeeze another aliquot of blood into her arteries.

“You want an epic love story…a love that is timeless…immortal.  You want a love that frightens you and inspires you,” he whispered into her ear.  His face retreated from hers then, and his nose barely skimmed her cheek as he did so.  “And I hope you find it,” he finished, genuinely smiling at her, without a trace of his previous bravado.