Caught in Darkness by Rose Wulf Read Free Book Online Page A

reason,
but that didn’t stop her from smiling. And it certainly didn’t stop the
butterflies in her stomach from taking flight as soon as the first whiff of
marinara sauce and baked cheese wafted over her. Now, do I find a table or wait
in the lobby?
    The thought had barely crossed her
mind when she turned her head and found her gaze focused on a dark figure
sitting in a corner booth. But this dark figure was the good kind of dark
because he was the man she was looking for, and despite his seemingly-permanent
sunglasses she knew he was looking right at her. She took a deep breath and
started toward the booth, trying again to remind herself of what they would
actually be talking about. They weren’t about to have a pleasant, lighthearted
conversation and it would do her good to remember that.
    He slid smoothly out of the booth
and stood as she approached the table, and her heart tripped. The man had
honest-to-goodness manners! Some jaded part of her had just assumed that any
man who qualified as ‘sexy’ (and there was no doubt that he owned the category)
was pretty much allergic to good manners.
    “Thank you for meeting me,” Seth
said, his deep, rich voice sliding effortlessly from his lips to her ears and
washing over her.
    She offered him a warm smile and assured
him, “It’s not a problem,” as she slid into the indicated side of the booth
seat. “Thank you,” she added.
    Once she was seated Seth reclaimed
his seat, and then he did the most unexpected thing. He reached up and slid his
sunglasses off of his face, calmly folding them and setting them to the side of
the table.
    Veronica was breathless as she
watched, telling herself not to stare despite knowing that that was exactly
what she was doing. Not only had she not expected him to do that, but she
couldn’t have predicted the eyes beneath those all-concealing lenses if she’d
tried. And she had tried.
    Seth Hunter’s eyes were a fierce,
striking black. Or what she would have labeled black if black irises were even
possible. And she supposed the darkness of his eyes could, arguably, be creepy
or unsettling, but she felt none of those things. It was as if his eyes were
piercing straight to her soul, and they held her captive without effort. They
were the perfect eyes for the man sitting before her.
    The waitress bounced over to their
table, casually asking if they knew what they wanted to drink and
simultaneously tearing Veronica’s attention away from Seth’s newly-exposed
eyes. In the time it took her to gather herself, Seth ordered a cup of coffee
and placed his meal order as well. Fortunately, when the waitress turned some
of her attention to Veronica, she was ready and easily ordered an iced tea to
accompany her spaghetti and meatballs. It was a large meal to order for lunch,
but she didn’t care; she loved their spaghetti.
    Once the waitress was gone Seth
turned his attention back to Veronica and asked, “Do you mind if I ask you
about that ‘small paranoia attack’ you mentioned earlier?”
    That was what she’d needed. It was
almost disturbing how quickly that simple question managed to put her
priorities—and her focus—back in order. And she wouldn’t allow herself to be
disappointed about it, either. Instead, she nodded and explained the two
instances from the night before. “And if it weren’t for that second one,” she
added, “I wouldn’t even have given it another thought. But there was something
about that man walking away…I swear he wasn’t there when I walked out to my
car.”
    Seth was nodding slowly, clearly
mulling something over in his mind. It was a moment before he offered, “It is
always possible that your mind was playing tricks on you last night. After what
you overheard your subconscious was likely dwelling on it even while you
thought you were focusing on other things.”
    “I get that,” Veronica replied with
a slight nod. “But there’s still a voice in the back of my head telling me that
I know