Page 9 of A Cold Fateful Night
"I wouldn't have let anything happen to you Lasette."The sheer strength and authority dripping off his words told her he meant everyone of them. "The moment you walked away from me at the station I began tofollow. I had no intentions of letting you go."
She wasn't sure if it was the crackling fire a few feet away orhis words, but her body was beginning to heat up.
With one arm casually over the back of the couch, Dorian leanedcomfortably back into the corner of the sofa. Lasette had to pull her eyes fromthe slight flexing of his abs. Now that she thought about it this was the firsttime they were seeing each other without layers of winter clothing. Lord, he lookedgood. Just as she suspected, he was all hard lean muscle underneath thoseclothes.
Desperate to lighten the mood she smiled. "Well it's luckyfor me you decided to work late too, right?" she laughed at her ownrhetorical question, all of a sudden feeling extremely nervous under this man'sgaze. "So what do you do for fun?"
"Wait let me guess!" She rushed before he could answer.
A small smile spread across his usually stern lips as he allowedher to guess.
"I bet you're the outdoorsy type like hiking andcamping." She had to be right, everything about Dorian screamed ruggedman's, man.
The smile spread to a mischievous smirk. "Wrong." Hedidn't hide his amusement at her shocked expression. "I have done enoughcamping for a lifetime in the Army I'm not really interested in doing it justfor fun."
Tilting your head, she smiled even larger. "I can certainlyunderstand that," turning on the sofa until her back was pressed againstthe armrest like his, she tucked everything but her head in the blanket shedraped around herself. "So what do you like to do?"
Looking to the fire, Dorian studied the dancing flames. Amberlight and shadows played delicately against the hard planes of his face.
"I don't know actually," he finally answered, turninghis gaze back to hers. "Since I got out I've been focused on finding acareer and a place to live. And now that I have all that established…" Hiswords trailed off pointedly.
"Well, I can understand that I'm pretty much the queen ofhobbies." She laughed watching him stoke the fire while adding anotherpiece of wood. "My family jokes that the only hobby left out there for meis doomsday prepping. I told them all I need is a good end of the worldconspiracy theory and I'm all set to go."
Dorian smiled largely with a small laugh, which made her heartrace, to get a smile out of the man felt like winning the lotto. Walking to thekitchen, he pulled something out of the cabinet and sat back on the sofa.Setting a bottle of what looked like whiskey on the table he grabbed her emptyglass.
"Preppers’ just remind me of organized hoarders,"splashing the dark gold liquid into her glass he pushed it in front of her onthe coffee table.
Lasette didn't really like the taste of whiskey, so she ignoredit.
Taking a sip from his own glass, he turned on the couch facing herhanging his arm off the edge. He held the glass tumbler with an air ofcasualness stretching out his long muscular arm.
"Tell me Lasette," the sound of her name on his deepvelvety voice snapped her focus back to his face. "Is there someone outthere waiting for you tonight?"
The question felt like a white-hot spotlight placed above her allof a sudden. From the moment they meet there has been an unspoken attractionbuilding between them that both overlooked—or at least she did. Gettinginvolved with a total stranger was out of the question. Not only did she barelyknow the man, she could hardly trust her judgment tonight. Right now the mannot only looked like a well-built athlete he looked like a hero in her eyes. Alonely hero she desperately wanted to pull into her arms. No tonight her brainwas all muddled and impulsive she couldn't trust it.
Although…how well did she know anyone from match.com, the roguethought slipped effortlessly through her mind.
"Umm kind of...I mean, yes," she decided to give him afirm answer rather than the truth, that she just had two dates with the guy.
Dorian’s stormy gaze narrowed for a second before he gave her aslow smile. Did he see right through her lie?
"I don't go on very many dates," Tipping the tumbler inis large grip he watched the gold liquid swirl in his glass as he held it up tothe firelight, lost in thought for a moment. "I'm not very good at itsince I normally don't have a lot to say."
Without thinking her heart reached out to the quiet, austere manand she found herself desperately wanting to comfort him. "Well, it'spretty tough for me too because as you have noticed," thinking of his"chatterbox" remark earlier that night. "I talk a lot, a littletoo much for some."
"Not for me,” his voice was only a hair’s breadth above agrowl.
"I… I…" She wasn't sure what to say, his words surgedthrough her body leaving her riding the edge of desire and fear.
This man's intense gaze had the ability to make her feel extremelyaware of her femininity and its potential vulnerability. His quiet, watchfulpresence reminded her that she was only wearing a pair of underwear under hisborrowed clothes. When she got out of the warm shower earlier, she couldn'tbear the thought of putting on her cold soaked bra. She regretted thatdecision, maybe if she were wearing the cold, damp bra, it would stave off thehungry feeling that was coursing through her.
Seeing her falter under his predatory gaze he gave her a knowingsmirk before letting her off the hook. "Earlier this evening you were inthe middle of telling me about your third brother, finish telling methat."
Exhaling in relief, she happily accepted the lightened atmosphereand jumped back into her detailed rambling about her third and oldest brotherCarson.
It was nice talking to him she realized at one point, though hewas quiet, he seemed to listen to her intently. Every so often he would ask aquestion or comment making her feel like he was actually interested in what shewas saying. There have been too many times throughout her life that sherecognized the obvious signs of people no longer caring to listen. Relaxingfully into the soft sofa the same thought passed her mind again fromearlier—Dorian was a good man, a lonely man but a man she could trust.
Chapter 6
