StrokeofMidnight Read Online Free Page B

you
took me easier. And the third…” He glanced up and beheld eyes that were
anything but cold. They gleamed with heat. Her lush lips parted under her pants
and a delicate flush colored her high cheekbones. Fuck, she was beautiful. “The
third time,” he breathed, “I slid right in as if I’d broken in your pussy with
my cock.”
    A small, inarticulate cry escaped her and she shuddered.
Thick lashes lowered.
    “Sweetheart,” he murmured and slid a finger lower.
    “There you two are,” a cheery voice interrupted, shattering
the desire-thickened tension woven around them like a cocoon.
    In an instant, the passion of a woman on the verge of
surrender gave way to such stricken vulnerability Darius bit off a blistering
curse. He turned around and blocked Rowyn from her sister’s view. Even as he
faced Cindy and forced a stiff smile to his lips, nothing could erase that
haunted expression from his mind.
    “Dad wanted to give you a tour of the house, Darius.” Cindy
crossed the room and linked an arm through his. She tipped her head back then
gave him a pretty grin and flirtatious squeeze. “He’d like to show you where
the party will be held Saturday night. You are staying in town for it, aren’t
you?” She guided him toward the opened door of the room and he allowed it. As
he responded to her question about his plans, his thoughts lingered on the
silent woman who remained in the living room.
    No doubt shoring up her prickly defenses.
    Good thing he didn’t mind getting scratched.

Chapter Four
     
    “When another ball was held the next evening,
Cinderella again attended with her Godmother’s help. The prince became even
more entranced.”—Cinderella
    “What? Do I have broccoli stuck between my teeth?”—Rowyn
Jeong
     
    “I’m coming!”
    Rowyn almost flew down the staircase, shoving pins in her
chignon as she hurried to answer the insistent ringing of her doorbell. A
harried glance at her wristwatch revealed the time—7:30 a.m. A barrage of
thoughts raced through her mind and set her heart pounding. Her mother. Cindy.
An accident. It had to be bad news to bring someone to her door, much less this
early in the morning.
    God, please let them be all right …
    She gripped the knob with one hand and twisted the lock with
the other. Not bothering to peek out the side window, Rowyn jerked the door
open.
    And stared.
    “Good morning.” Darius grinned down at her.
    What. The. Fuck.
    “Please tell me you’re bringing news of a tragic car
accident and have beaten the police to my door.”
    He arched a dark eyebrow. Rather than respond, he held out a
Styrofoam cup. A thin wisp of vapor rose from its lid, bringing with it the
seductive aroma of freshly brewed coffee. She scowled and folded her arms
across her chest. He didn’t really think he could distract her with coffee, did
he?
    Darius sighed. “No tragic accident. Why would you think
that?”
    “It is the only explanation for your showing up at my house
this early in the morning. Hell, showing up at my house—period,” she snapped.
    “Such a gracious host.” He tsked, shaking his head, a small
smile playing about his full lips. Damn, those lips. The things he could do
with them… She delivered a mental slap to herself with a sharp order to get it
together. But the warning came too late. He had already maneuvered his way past
her and into the foyer of her home.
    With a low growl of irritation, Rowyn slammed the door
behind him. Darius turned and once again, she ignored the offer of the cup.
    “What are you doing here?” Jesus, she shrieked like a shrew.
And yet she couldn’t stop the anxiety that sharpened her voice. Her home was
her domain. Her sanctuary. The four years she’d lived in the Back Bay house, no
one but Wanda had been allowed inside.
    Without glancing behind her, she knew the soft colors,
overstuffed couches and landscape paintings he studied represented a side of
her she didn’t reveal to many people. His survey of the airy