Forbidden Read Online Free

currents around her, and the dim streetlights looked like glowing golden orbs in the darkness. It was a bewitching sight.
    Most of the small shops around the pub were closed, but one was still open. Its merry lights called to her as she approached. A bakery. Cakes, breads, and other sweets filled the windows. Behind the glass counter, a plump woman was checking a tray of cookies, the front of her blue apron dusted with small white splotches of flour.
    “Maybe just one,” Kat murmured, entranced by the sight of the small chocolate cupcakes with elaborate swirls of icing. It was her birthday, after all. Kat entered the shop and the brass bell above her head tinkled.
    “Hello, dearie,” the woman said and wiped flour-covered hands on her apron. “Come to get a late-night snack? You’re just in time, I was ready to close up early due to the weather.”
    Kat peered through the glass cases, trying to decide which one of the little cakes would taste as good as the man she’d kissed only minutes ago. She doubted anything could come close.
    Tristan . Tristan who had a girlfriend . Kat mentally kicked herself. She’d pretty much thrown herself at him and begged to be kissed. Maybe he didn’t normally go around slipping his tongue between a girl’s lips and setting her on fire inside. Then again…if he’d been a good guy, he wouldn’t have done more than a chaste peck on the cheek.
    Focus on chocolate, not hot Brit you’ll never see again. She went back to studying the contents of the case. When the entry bell clinked again, she didn’t turn around.
    “Have a need for something sweet?” A rich, decadent voice, smooth as chocolate, filled her ears.
    She spun to find Tristan standing there, snow dancing about him as he let the door close behind him. He walked toward her with lithe, graceful steps. Her body trembled with a little wave of excitement at the mere sight of him. I shouldn’t be happy to see him, he has a girlfriend… But that didn’t change the rapid beat of her heart.
    “Evening,” the baker said merrily.
    “What are you doing here?” Kat sputtered. The moment the words were out, she slapped a hand over her mouth.
    His chuckle made a warm flush creep down her cheeks. “I saw you left the pub and…” He paused, his brows drawing together. “Well, I didn’t want you to go off on your own. I saw that your friends remained behind.” It was a lame excuse, and they both knew it. For some reason that made her want to smile.
    “So you’re protecting me from snowflakes?” She couldn’t help the partly amused and partly sarcastic tone of her voice.
    Tristan shrugged and joined her at the counter, peering at the desserts. “Snowflakes can be treacherous buggers.”
    This time she couldn’t stop her laugh. “I’ll bet. Death by ice fractals sounds horrifying.”
    He quirked a brow. “Ice fractals?”
    God, I’m an idiot. Sure, Kat, show him what a nerd you are. “They’re the mathematical phenomena of a repeating pattern that displays on every scale. Snowflakes are one of nature’s fractals.” She wasn’t a science wiz, but learning was something she enjoyed, no matter what subject. Ben had always teased her about it. Not that she’d minded being called a nerd. There were worse things than being addicted to learning.
    Tristan glanced over his shoulder at the dancing snow, then turned back to her. “I’m surprised you know what fractals are. Most people don’t.” He leaned forward then and caught a lock of her hair, playing with the strands. Kat held her breath as every nerve in her tingled to life. He was touching her again, and she could feel every cell of her body humming with excitement.
    Please kiss me again .
    When he didn’t, her mind attempted to return to reality, and she remembered Celia.
    “What about your girlfriend?” she blurted out.
    “Girlfriend?” He let her hair drop from his fingers and met her gaze.
    “That woman in the pub…” The one he looked so perfect