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An Excerpt From: ORDINARY CHARM
© Copyright
ANYA BAST, 2004.
All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave, Inc.
She walked back to the entryway where she’d seen a table
with a phone. “It’s here.” The message light blinked five messages. Cole
came to stand beside her. She hit play.
A sultry, breathy female voice filled the foyer.
“Darling, this is Monique. Call me. I’m missing you.” Pause. “Darren is out
of town on business this weekend. Come see me. Please.”
Serena rolled her eyes. The woman sounded like she
needed a fix. Maybe Cole was a drug dealer…of the carnal variety.
Beep
A perky cheerleaderesque voice was up next. “Hey, Cole,
baby. This is Cynthia. I had a fantastic day with you last Saturday.”
Pause. Her voice lowered, got huskier when she spoke next. “Saturday night
was even better. Wanna repeat? Call me back.”
Beep
“Yeeeech.” Serena turned away and walked toward the
living. She couldn’t take any more. It was nauseating.
“I guess I have a few women,” Cole said, sounding
mightily pleased with himself.
Was it any surprise? The man was stunning. Serena looked
back in time to see him push a hand through his hair. The action defined
his biceps perfectly and made hunger twist through her body. She looked
away. “Yeah. Guess it hasn’t really been a long time, like you said.”
He frowned. “Guess not. Sure feels like it, though.”
There were two hang-ups. Blessedly, the next message was
not from a woman. Instead, it was an older sounding man. Serena wandered
back to the answering machine.
“Hey, Cole, just wanted to let you know that we received
Fire of the Ancients. We love it and only want a couple changes. You
did a fantastic job on this game. You’re the king of adventure games, man.
We’ll be getting back to you with more details, but you’ve done it again.
This’ll be a hit!”
“Well.” He slanted her an unsure look. “I’m the king of
adventure computer games, I guess.”
“Apparently, that’s not all you’re the king of,” Serena
muttered.
He appeared to not have heard her. “So,” he said to
almost himself. “I design computer games. That explains all the equipment
in the living room.” He frowned and glanced at her. “Designing computer
games is kind of geeky. Do I seem like a geek to you?”
“What?” She turned toward him. “First of all, there’s
nothing wrong with geeks. I happen to be one myself. Second of all—” She
took him in from the top his head to his feet, every luscious well-defined
muscle in-between, and tried not to swallow her tongue. “No, you don’t look
like one.” Suddenly uncomfortable, she turned away. “Anyway, what the hell
does a geek look like?” she finished, irritably.
“Let’s explore the rest of the apartment.” He turned and
walked into the living room.
“Don’t you want to call Monique and Cynthia
back?” She mimicked their voices when she said their names. It was
childish, but she couldn’t help herself.
He turned back toward and fixed her with suddenly hooded
and heated gaze. It was the calculating and measured gaze of a predator.
Like shark that had just scented blood in the water, or a lion on an
African plain that had spotted a wounded zebra.
Shit.
She took a step back involuntarily and bumped into the
telephone table. “Are you jealous, beautiful?” he purred as he came closer.
“Uh.” Oh, that was an intelligent response.
Mentally, she smacked her forehead with her open palm.
“Because you sound jealous,” he murmured. He reached her
and cupped her cheek in his hand. “Maybe I should kiss you again and
reassert the fact that I desperately want you in my bed, Serena. It was you
that balked, remember?”
“I-I’m not jealous,” she replied, tipping her chin up a
little. “I just don’t like to see women make idiots of themselves over a
man.” Just like she was doing. “I just don’t…shit—”
His mouth came down on hers, completely stealing the
rest of her thought. He seduced her lips to part and kissed her deep. All
the while he rubbed his thumb back and forth over her cheek. He broke the
kiss and set his forehead to hers. After making a little purring sound in
the back of his throat, he closed his eyes and clenched his jaw. “Your
skin’s so soft,” he murmured thickly. “I can’t help but wonder if you’re as
soft all over.”
Serena’s breath caught. She used the table behind her to
take some of her weight because her knees weren’t doing a very good job of
it.
He set his hands on either side of her, resting them on
the table, and gazed into her wide eyes. “You need to leave, Serena. I mean
it. You’re not safe around me…for so many different reasons. I want to lead
you to my bed, lay you out and take you over and over until the morning
light breaks the night. I want to strip you, beautiful. I want to sink
myself inside you.”
A whimpering sound reached her ears and it took her a
second to realize it was coming from her.
He pushed away from the table and turned. “If you don’t
want any of that, you should leave now. Because you’re tempting me
something awful.”
Serena glanced at the door and back at Cole. He stood
with his back to her. Suddenly, he shot a hand out toward the door and it
opened.
She stared at the open door, her ticket out of here, out
of this whole dangerous mess. If she left now, she’d be free of the whole
Ashmodai thing, presumably.
But she couldn’t seem to move.
She did want Cole. Of course, she did. She was just
surprised, and more than a little wary about the fact that he wanted
her. In her mind, she was still the fat girl in school all the boys
ignored. It was hard for her to wrap her mind around the fact that this
perfect, beautiful specimen of manhood—this man who could have any woman he
wanted—found her attractive. No. Not even that. Cole professed to find her irresistible.
How could that be?
She wanted to find out if it was true, however, so
instead of walking to the door and out of it like she should, she
stood staring at Cole’s broad shoulders, his tight ass and the back of his
head. She liked this man as well as found him attractive. He was
compelling, mysterious and more than a little dangerous. She found him
irresistible.
But…what would happen when he got her clothes off and he
discovered her overweight body naked? Would the fire in his eyes dim?
Serena shuddered. That was something she didn’t want to find out.
Something Brian had told her
once came back in a rush, You’d be so pretty if you just lost some
weight.
She glanced at the door, then back at Cole. She should
leave. It would save them both some pain and anguish. She moved to take a
step toward it.
He flicked his wrist. The door slammed shut.
Crap.
Suddenly, her mid was awhirl. What kind of bra and
underwear had she put on this morning? She flushed as she remembered
donning the serviceable blue briefs that sported tiny pink flowers and the
boring white cotton bra. Not exactly alluring lingerie.
She just hadn’t expected to be seduced today.
A wild laugh rose up in her throat, but it was choked
into submission by the look on Cole’s face as he turned toward her. A dark,
predatory light graced his brown and green-flecked eyes. “You’re mine now,
beautiful,” he murmured.
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