Embracing Midnight Read Online Free

uncomfortably close, wondering if he was truly sincere or if he took some perverse pleasure in playing games with emotionally needy women. If so, she was playing right into his hands. Judging by her rapid heartbeat and the curling heat in her groin, her body had certainly chosen him—even if her mind hadn’t quite settled on the decision.
    Emotion waged war with sexual need. Not because she didn’t desire his touch. She did, more than anything. But the tenderness his presence ushered in went far beyond the physical.
    This attraction was getting personal.
    Callie sneaked a glance his way, then averted her eyes. He sat quietly, waiting. The move had to be hers.
    She pursed her lips. Maybe every damn word he said was a fucking lie. But her heart had been wounded and needed a salve. Maybe Iollan Drake wasn’t the answer. She’d been without hope for so long, she wasn’t sure.
    The silence stretched on, uncomfortably long.
    Feeling more alone and lonely than she’d ever dreamed possible, she swallowed the lump building at the back of her throat. “What makes me so different?”
    Mouth curving into a smile, he leaned close. The tension in the air was thick enough to slice when he traced a finger above one mound of flesh pushed taut against its prison of leather and form-shaping wire. “This mark you wear is very meaningful to my kind.” His voice was a low sultry rumble, sexy and oh so enticing.
    Pleased he’d noticed it, Callie’s hand automatically settled on her left breast. Upon turning eighteen, she’d had a tattoo of the Tree of Life etched on the soft curve. The fit of her bustier only served to enhance its presence.
    “It’s Celtic,” she explained of the unusual design.
    “I know, lass. Do you know its meaning?”
    Callie didn’t move, content to concentrate only on his nearness, on his body so seductively close. The glow in her belly grew hotter, more intense. “I’ve never been able to explain why it appealed to me.”
    He traced the design with the tip of his index finger. “It symbolizes the connection to spiritual entities and doorways into other worlds. When I saw it, I knew we belonged together.”
    She let out the breath she’d been holding. The heat of pure animalistic desire pulsed through her, sending a delicious twinge straight to her clit. “That’s a come-on, if I’ve ever heard one.”
    Finger still moving across the swell of her breast, he grinned. “I’m doing my best.”
    She stared back at him. “At least you’re honest.”
    His laughter was warm and unexpected. “If I tell a lie, I have to remember it. It’s easier just to tell the truth.”
    She grabbed the chance to turn the conversation back on him. “So, any tattoos of your own?”
    “A couple.”
    “Going to show me?”
    A sly look. “Maybe.” A pause. “Maybe not.”
    She snorted in pretend disdain. “Going to be a tease, huh? In that case”—she lightly swatted his hands away from her breast—“hands off.”
    A look of mock horror crossed his face. “You wound me.”
    “I’m just being fair.”
    A sly smile. “So it’s a matter of if I show you mine, you’ll show me yours?”
    She pretended innocence. “Depends on what you’ve got to show.”
    He eyed her, making a point to go from head to toe and back again. “It’s nothing like you’ve got, love. But I’ll do my damnedest to make up for any shortcomings you might find.”
    The compliment pleased her, more than she should have expected. She realized then how much she missed having a man in her life, the comfort of spending a lazy weekend in bed, eating takeout, and watching stupid movies.
    She really missed sex.
    She eyed him back. If he had any shortcomings, they weren’t apparent. In fact, she couldn’t think of a thing he might be lacking. If the theory had to be tested…That damn prickle down her spine came again. Shivering, her fingers knotted in her lap. Might be better to keep her hands to herself.
    Catching her, he moved a little