Dark Rapture by Michele Hauf Read Free Book Online

with a laugh as she headed toward the door. Her stomach fluttered with nerves, a feeling she hadn’t felt for a long time. This time the man on the other side of the door was not waiting to take her on a ‘business’ date. No, this man was going to make her fantasies come true. Or at least she hoped he would.
    “You’re going to let us meet your date before you leave, aren’t you, young lady?” Gary teased as he walked up behind her, crossing his arms and tilting his head forward as their father always had.
    She stopped at the door and turned around, pressing her back against her hands that turned slowly on the knob. “Gary, you’ve already met Sebastian.”
    “I know, but someone has to check out your dates.” He looked at Vince and they both exchanged knowing glances. He enjoyed teasing Scarlet.
    She rolled her eyes and turned around.
    The door opened to reveal Sebastian looking like the gypsy he was. Gold looped earrings dangled from beneath his hair, and he wore a black ruffled buccaneer shirt, opened slightly at the top to reveal a shiny silver cross. And, as always, skinny black suede jeans over worn boots.
    Without a word, he took Scarlet’s hand, his eyes never leaving hers, and kissed it tenderly, arousing the simmering desire within her. “Are you ready?”
    “Yes.”
    Vince and Gary waved from the door as Scarlet walked to Sebastian’s black Corvette idling outside.
    “Don’t keep her out too late!” Gary called as Sebastian closed the passenger door behind Scarlet.
    Nervous again, Scarlet stared straight ahead, looking through the blue haze at the top of the windshield. Her heart beat triple time and she hoped that the sound wasn’t audible. She didn’t want Sebastian to think she was the least bit anxious.
    A delicious scent of spice permeated the tiny car as soon as he closed his door, and the intimacy of the small enclosure made her conscious of her skimpy dress. She tugged at the ruffles above her knees, trying to tame them a little lower.
    “Anything wrong?” he asked as he started the car.
    “Huh? No, I’m sorry.” She flushed to see him looking so sweetly at her. And there was that devilish smile again. “Just a little nervous, I guess.”
    Oh God, I really said that. Shut up, Scarlet, or he’ll think you’ve never done this before. He’s charming and sophisticated. You can’t let him think any less of you.
    Sebastian smiled and shifted the car back into park. “I know what will help.” He leaned across the shift, tilted her face toward his, and kissed her softly. “Still nervous?” he wondered.
    Nervous, you’ve got to be kidding, just kiss me again .
    “No. I’m fine.”
    He had roused the spell again. She was hopelessly under his command.
    “Good.” Sebastian drove the car out of her driveway and down the street. “I hope you won’t mind, but instead of taking you out on the town, I’ve planned a romantic dinner at my place. I live very close, only a handful of blocks away.”
    “Really? I had no idea.”
    She was delighted at that news but surprised she had never run into him before last night. A major musical celebrity, someone she had spent many a night fantasizing about, lived just down the road?
    “Yes, and I’d prefer to spend a little time alone with you to get to know you, rather than share you with a crowd and spend the evening yelling above the noise at one another. Sound okay to you?”
    She nodded that it was. Why am I so nervous? I feel like a silly schoolgirl on a date with the football star. She’d never been so unnerved by a man’s presence before.
    They pulled into Sebastian’s driveway and the headlights fell upon his modest house. The faded yellow paint was peeling but the wood porch that stretched across the front made it homey and inviting. A surprise to Scarlet, who had thought all rock stars lived on estates with high voltage security fences surrounding the land.
    Sebastian got out and swung around the front of the car, rushing to get