Constant Craving [Rapture Island 2] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic) by Leah Brooke Read Free Book Online

long.
    Kelsey laughed and threw back her head, her eyes full of misery and a glimmer of gratitude. “What are you going to do—beat him up? I already did.”
    Gabriel clenched his jaw, and set his glass down on the low coffee table before he snapped the stem.
    “Good for you. I’m proud of you.” Regarding her steadily, Gabriel picked up his glass again. “And since then, you’ve been a control freak.”
    “I guess. I never really thought about it.” Kelsey smiled, a smug smile Gabriel didn’t buy for a minute. “I do know that I have no plans to ever be a shrinking violet.”
    Amused at the image of such an independent woman being so docile, Gabriel laughed softly. “So you like dominating men, do you?”
    Kelsey laughed, throwing her head back. “Yep. Got my own whips and chains and all that other stuff. Christ, you sound like Julianna.” Shaking her head, she met his gaze. “I just don’t let them push me around. The few men I’ve been with have known that I wasn’t about to change my life for them. If they didn’t like the way I did things, then they knew where the door was.” Frowning, she stared down into her glass. “It took me a long time to find myself, and I didn’t want to lose that.”
    “And still something’s missing?”
    Kelsey took another sip of her wine, frowning down into the empty glass. “Yes.” Lifting her head, she blew out a breath. “I’ve always fantasized about being overwhelmed in the bedroom. You know—sex, but more . More intense, not just a quickie and it’s over.”
    Gabriel smiled, hiding a wince when his cock jumped. “I know.”
    Kelsey got up and went to the French doors and looked out, as if she found it easier to talk without looking at him, something he would have to work on. “It all sounds good in theory, and fine for fantasies, but I just can’t imagine being so defenseless. I’ve been thinking about it more since Julianna told me that you’re a Dom, and I have to say, I’m intrigued. But too scared to do anything about it.”
    With a jerky movement, she gulped down the rest of her wine. “There. You wanted honesty. Now you know why what you want from me is impossible.” Turning to look at him over her shoulder, she laughed bitterly. “Hell—if that’s even what you want. You’ve been coming to the coffee shop for months, sitting there for hours, but never asking me out.”
    Lifting a brow, Gabriel got to his feet and took several steps toward her, moving slowly so as not to alarm her. “Would you have accepted?”
    “Not a chance.”
    Grinning, Gabriel inclined his head again. “That’s why I never asked. I wanted you to get to know me. If you hadn’t, you never would have come here with me.”
    Turning to face him fully, she shook her head, her eyes not quite focused. “Gabriel, I really have no idea what you want from me. I told you the truth about myself because I want you to understand that I’m not playing games, but I don’t want you to consider this week a waste of time. I’m attracted to you. I can’t deny that, but the rest…”
    Gabriel smiled, wanting nothing more than to fold her in his arms and comfort her, but now wasn’t the time.
    “I don’t consider one minute of my time with you a waste. I consider each one precious.” Taking her glass, he moved back to the low table and spread some cheese on a cracker. He didn’t want her to get drunk, and he hoped a little of the finger food he’d ordered would absorb some of the alcohol.
    Offering it to her, he hid a smile at the way she somehow managed to take it without letting their fingers touch, promising himself that one day soon, she would crave his touch as much as he craved hers.
    “I want you, Kelsey, and I fully intend to have you.”
    Handing her another half glass of wine and another cracker, he gestured for her to sit on the sofa, careful not to touch her.
    Soon .
    Expecting the look of panic, he met it, shaking his head. “I’m not going to attack you,