Breathe Read Online Free

to resist.
    Eyes narrowing, Elijah watched as Samantha rolled her shoulders back once more, his eyes taking in the arousing sight of her nipples pressing against the thin cotton of her tank top.
    He wanted her enough to ignore his own rules, at least for the moment.
    “I want you.” He answered her question bluntly, honestly.
    “Cut right to the chase, don’t you?” Her glass green eyes widened. “What if I don’t want you?”
    At that, Elijah smiled and raised an eyebrow.
    “I told you last night not to lie to me.” As he spoke he drew up straighter, pulling his dominance to him. He watched Samantha inhale sharply, looking him over this time.
    But she didn’t drop her gaze, didn’t seem eager to please him. Instead she ran her tongue slowly over her lips, considering.
    “All right,” she said slowly, nodding thoughtfully as she spoke. “Fair enough. I’m . . . attracted to you. That doesn’t mean I’m going to do anything about it.”
    Elijah cocked his head to one side as he studied her. He enjoyed the dance of seduction, but here she had him on uncertain footing. He didn’t think she was deliberately trying to be a brat, something his ex had done quite frequently.
    Most of the world didn’t understand the needs that brought people to seek something beyond vanilla sex, and because of that they frowned upon it.
    For years Elijah had felt a drive to help people work past those biases. His desire for Samantha gave him an even greater incentive.
    She was searching for something, and he didn’t think she even knew what yet. He was more than happy to help her find it.
    “What if I told you that I could answer the questions that brought you to the show last night?” Deliberately he took a step closer to Samantha, just barely invading what he figured she probably considered her personal space.
    She eyed him warily, her fingers twisting in the hem of her tank top.
    “Maybe I don’t need the answers anymore.” She thrust her chin into the air.
    Elijah thought it was cute.
    “Again with the lies, Samantha?” He reached out and ran his finger lightly over the curve of her cheekbone, savoring the resultant quiver. “Your pants are going to catch on fire any second.”
    Samantha narrowed her eyes at him. Elijah waited patiently, making sure his expression was calm but stern.
    Those green eyes never wavered in their focus, never looked down, as he would have expected from a submissive. But finally she swallowed, and he saw acceptance in the stubborn set of her shoulders.
    “All right. I want answers, but I’m not sure I’m ready for them.” Her face showed him nothing but stark honesty, and Elijah felt a tug of pleasure.
    It was a step in the right direction. Being a Dom, he was inclined to push her, but he was also a strategic businessman, and he knew that in that exact moment she would have dug her heels in and pushed right back.
    “I’d love it if you showed me how this all works.” He deliberately phrased his words as a statement, not a question. Samantha furrowed her brow, seeming to sense that he was maneuvering her, but finally shrugged in acceptance.
    “Fine.” Eyeing him suspiciously, she turned and picked up the long metal rod that she had leaned against the wall earlier. Turning back over her shoulder, she shot him an exasperated look. “Since my concentration has been broken anyway.”
    Elijah bit the inside of his cheek to keep from smirking as he followed her across the room. The contrast between her somewhat sweet inquisitiveness the night before and her smart mouth today was delightful. Each new facet of her personality he encountered told him how amazing her eventual submission would be.
    She placed a hand on her waist as she stood outside the door to the furnace, the metal rod still in her other hand. She frowned at him, and he was struck again by how pretty she was.
    Then she opened the mottled metal door, allowing an inferno of orange light and heat to escape into the room. It