Grace Read Online Free Page B

but she’d felt the muscles under those clothes. Sexy as all damn hell? Grace swallowed, caught in his interested gaze. “You’re very strong. Carrying me like that.”
    He slid into the seat next to hers, kitty-corner around the edge of the table. Amusement crossed his face as he glanced down at his plate. “A little, yes. It’s not easy maintaining a reputation as a Lothario if you’re piling on the pounds.”
    Grace laughed, the sound low and musical, as he reached out to pour a glass of wine for her. She’d expected the evening to go slowly, full of awkward silences and false starts. The normal sort of thing when two people were getting to know each other.
    To her surprise, dinner came and went in a blur and if she’d been asked later she wouldn’t have been able to say what they’d eaten. Jaron was witty and easy to talk to, with a dry sense of humor that had her almost crying with laughter at certain points during their conversation.
    Wiping her eyes after yet another laughing fit, she glanced up to find him looking at her, a strange expression on his face. She’d caught the same look a few times—a combination of a smile and puzzlement that put a frown between his brows and a quirk on his lips.
    “What? Do I have something between my teeth?”
    “No, nothing in your teeth, I promise.” Jaron smiled and sipped his wine. The deep, rich fluid flowed past his lips, the strong muscles of his throat working as he swallowed. He watched her over the rim of the glass. “Why do you ask?”
    “You keep looking at me oddly. As though I puzzle you.” She took a sip from her own wineglass to hide her self-consciousness.
     
    Jason watched her. He’d made sure her glass was topped up all night but he didn’t intend to get her drunk and seduce her. No, his plans were longer-reaching, and although the temptation was there, he wasn’t going to take her to bed tonight. He just needed her in an amenable frame of mind for his proposal.
    Besides, when he got Grace into his bed, he wanted her stone-cold sober. Aware of every wicked pleasure he led her into, every touch and caress, every lick... He stopped the shiver midway up his spine, his cock jerking within the confines of his pants again. Shifting in his seat, he tried to ease the ache that had seemed to become a permanent feature around Grace.
    “You don’t puzzle me. You fascinate me,” he said, putting his glass down next to his plate as he studied her. Her words gave him an excuse to do openly what he’d been doing covertly all night.
    “I do? Why?” Grace asked in surprise, leaning forward to put her elbows on the table, her chin in one delicate hand as she waited for his answer. The firelight caressed her, highlighting the delicate collarbones revealed by her strappy dress and her porcelain skin.
    “You shouldn’t ask that. You don’t want to know the answer.” His voice was a low growl, almost lower than human hearing. Her closeness, his reaction to her, both affected him more than he realised. He held her gaze, getting himself under control with an iron will. Then he smiled, adding a little extra sparkle in his eyes to stop this line of questioning, one he didn’t want her to follow.
    “And if I do?” She persisted.
    “You don’t react as I expect you to and I admire your courage. Every week you come to the ballet, struggle up those steps alone. No, let me finish.” He held his hand up as she made to interrupt him, a frown already on her face. He knew she didn’t like any mention of her accident, or hint toward a physical weakness. More evidence of her strength of mind. The injuries she’d sustained were extensive and painful. The doctor he’d bribed had told him she’d be on a cocktail of drugs—mainly painkillers—for the rest of her life.
    He took another sip of wine, considering his words. If this were some corny vampire flick, the glass would have been filled with blood instead of the rich, red wine Jaron preferred. The plate,