Calder Promise by Janet Dailey Read Free Book Online Page B

run over her and studied the play of light and shadow on her face, accenting the high, strong line of her cheekbones and marble perfection of her skin. The night gave a silvery sheen to her hair, lightening the color of that glorious blond mane tumbling about her shoulders.
    At that moment she had the cool, untouchable look of a goddess, beyond the reach of any mere mortal. But Sebastian knew she had but to turn those sultry dark eyes on him and the impression would change to that of a siren, tantalizing in her beauty, with glistening lips promising rapture.
    He smiled inwardly at such fanciful thoughts while simultaneously aware that there was more than a little truth in them. Just being near her aroused all his male instincts. Sebastian suspected he was in danger of completely losing his head over this woman. But that only seemed to add some spice.
    “You seem to be in deep thought,” he observed, seeking to pull her attention back to him.
    She drew in a long breath and released it in a slow and soft exhalation. “I guess I was.” A small curve lifted the corners of her mouth.
    “What could possibly require such heavy contemplation at this late hour?” he asked in mild jest.
    “The future,” Laura replied without any hesitation and continued to face the city. “I have some important decisions that I need to make.”
    “Such as?” Sebastian prompted, determined to engage her attention.
    With a slight toss of her head, she turned at right angles to face him and leaned a hip against the terrace wall. “Oh, very important things,” she assured him in mock earnestness and dipped her chin, her head cocking in a pose that was provocative and alluring. “Whether to travel the world or rule it, whether to feed the starving children in Africa or . . . go to bed with you.”
    Heat surged through him with rocketing force. Desire was a hard, stony ache in his loins that somehow managed to thicken his voice. “Personally, I am highly in favor of the latter.”
    Her smile widened, Cheshire-like. She moved toward him, maintaining her hold on the blanket edges as she opened her arms, the material winging from them in a gesture that reminded him of an exotic butterfly emerging from its chrysalis. But his view of her body was brief as she curved her arms around his neck, wrapping him inside the blanket with her.
    Head back and lips parted, she challenged huskily, “Show me.”
    His hands had already moved around the bareness of her waist to mold her more firmly against him. This time her skin was hot to the touch, but just as silky smooth as before.
    Before he could take possession of her mouth, she began eating at his lips, taking playful bites of them with her teeth. In all such previous occasions, Sebastian had been the one doing the seducing. But Laura was the aggressive one now. Something told him that was a dangerous precedent. Seeking to claim the initiative, he scooped her off her feet and swung her toward the suite entrance.
    Laughter gurgled in her throat. “How masterful,” she purred and stroked a hand along his jaw before sliding her fingers into his hair.
    “I assure you I am well-equipped for the role,” he murmured, matching the racy lightness of her tone.
    His response surprised a laugh from her, and her dark eyes took a new measure of him, a suggestive gleam in their depths. “Is that boast or brag?”
    “I’ll let you be the judge of that.” He negotiated the steps into the suite’s sitting room.
    “That will be my pleasure,” she informed him as her fingers found the top button of his shirt.
    “Indeed it will.”
    “Have you always been so confident of your prowess in bed?” she teased while her fingers continued to undo more buttons.
    “I have never heard a single complaint.” He carried her through the sitting room into the suite’s sumptuous bedroom.
    “Ah, but men never do—not if a woman is smart. The male ego tends to be much too fragile.”
    Control: he could sense her subtle