Forbidden Bond by Jessica Lee Read Free Book Online Page B

had left it. The recessed halogens over the booth danced off the facets of the stone, sending prisms of light into the air. She studied the patterns. So complex, beautiful. She loved Taylor dearly as a friend. Maybe with time, the deeper passion that she desperately wanted to feel for him would come.
    Snatching her glass from the table, Olivia allowed her shoulders to fall against the seat’s backrest. She tossed back a large gulp of the slightly sweet wine, then glanced out at the other tables across from their booth.
    Oh. My. God.
    The Zinfandel hit her stomach with a heavy thud , and her head buzzed. Not from the alcohol, but from the person staring at her from across the room.
    Eion.
    Had he seen what had transpired between her and Taylor? His expression told her nothing about what went on in his head. Then with a flick of his wrist, he snagged his beer bottle and lifted it in salute.
    Her pulse hammered to life.
    He’d seen the whole thing.
    With the elegance of a prize stud, Eion rose and sauntered in her direction. He hadn’t been in Little Crow for years, but the way he crossed the floor of Chuck’s , a stranger would have thought he owned the place. His aura screamed confidence, strength—dominance. On any other man, the swagger would come off as arrogance, but on Eion, it was just a damn fact. She yanked her gaze away from him and all his hotness, planting it on the beverage remaining in her goblet.
    The heels of his boots struck the hardwood floor, their thump like a predator’s warning to its prey. But she couldn’t muster the strength to run. Or maybe there was something on a deeper level that kept her there, waiting for him to come to her once more. Yeah, she must be a masochist.
    “Should I be offering my congratulations?” Eion’s deep voice rolled over her flesh like a warm blanket on a frigid night. She tightened her grip on her wine, battling the urge to run her palms over her arms. In the best nonchalant attitude she could muster, Olivia lifted her head.
    Bad move.
    The slow lift of her eyes to his face only allowed her more time to drink in the view. Black denim encased broad thighs, and a wide leather belt drew her focus to his narrow waist. Higher still, she found he wore a crisp white long-sleeved dress shirt which was a striking contrast to his sun-drenched skin tone, hazel eyes, and the black as sin locks that brushed his shoulders. His coloring, if she remembered correctly, was a gift from his Native American and Irish heritage. Olivia took another long swallow of her wine. He could wait for her response—that and for her nerves to settle.
    “You spying on me, Mandrake?” she finally managed to utter and lowered her glass. “Because, lately, you do seem to pop up everywhere.”
    “Hardly.” He propped one arm on the back of the booth. “Just kind of hard for one not to notice all the groping and tongue swallowing going on in the corner over here. When you two came up for air, I would have bet money that it was a couple of horny teenagers.”
    Who the hell did he think he was? Olivia leaned forward. “We were not groping,” she bit out through her teeth. “And why would you care if we were? Unless you were enjoying the show?” She cocked a brow, the word pervert lingering unspoken between them.
    Gotcha. She couldn’t help herself. Even now as a grown woman, the man triggered a deep competitive gene that rebelled at the idea of allowing him to have the upper hand. Her reaction to Eion was so different from how she responded to Taylor. Taylor didn’t push her buttons like this man did. Even back when she had been a teenager, something about Eion had made her edgier, had provoked her inner bad girl and just his glance made her flush.
    In a slow deliberate move, Eion lowered his arm, and she could have sworn the brown flecks in his irises had flickered, taking on a more amber hue. Strange. She blinked and refocused her gaze. Eion stared back, but this time the vibrant array of blue,