Glazed by Ranae Rose Read Free Book Online Page B

started about a year ago, everything blew up in my face.” There was another good one. She could still hear Peter’s voice echoing through the back of her mind, so casually harsh. He’d known how to deliver a tongue-lashing, how to make her feel like she’d been stripped down to her bones with just a few words. She could still remember the moment she’d realized he was never going to support any effort she ever made to better her life. All he’d cared about was his own career – he’d never understood why she needed to do something that she could take some measure of satisfaction in too. “One day he asked me why I’d ever want to start my own restaurant when I could work at one that already existed. At the time I wasn’t even waiting tables – I’d just started out as a dish washer at the steak house.” She tried to laugh, but it came out half sob. God, was she really crying in front of Derek? She hastily tried to wipe the moisture from her eyes and look casual about it.
     
    His eyes had yet to leave her. He kept his gaze on her as he rose from his seat and rounded the table to stand beside her chair. The kiss he planted against the side of her cheek was as light as a breeze and as shocking as a sudden peal of thunder. For a moment she almost thought she’d imagined it, but then he spoke. “I hope you’ll give me a call after you open your café. But even if we never see each other again, you have my support.”
     
    She listened to the sound of his footsteps echoing across the kitchen tiles, unwilling to turn toward him with eyes that were damp and probably red. She heard him slide the lock out of place and twist the doorknob. “Derek, wait.”
     
    He stopped, ready to step through the partially opened door. His shoulders looked tense beneath the fabric of his T-shirt.
     
    “I’d like you to stay.” She thought some of the tension left his shoulders as he turned toward her, eyes searching.
     
    “Are you sure?”
     
    “Yes.”
     
    He pushed the door softly shut and crossed the space between them again, the sound of his footfalls matching the heavy beating of Kelly’s heart. Something about the intensity of his gaze was making it race. When he stopped he stood so close to her she was afraid he’d hear it. He didn’t ask her again if she was sure – not out loud, anyway. The way he stood, close enough that he’d hardly have to move to touch her, his eyes boring into hers, made it clear he sought a final confirmation.
     
    The ability to speak seemed to have tangled itself up and become lost somewhere in the back of her throat, so she reached out to touch him instead. Her hand rested on his chest, and his heart hammered beneath her palm, driving out the last of her doubts.
     
    “Would you like to leave now for dinner?” he asked.
     
    “No. Let’s stay here.”
     

 
     
    Chapter 4
     
    With Kelly’s inhibitions abandoned, they bypassed the sofa this time. Once in her bedroom she leaned to kiss him – their first touch since she’d laid her hand on his chest. He bent his head so his lips met hers, his mouth hot. He wrapped his arms around her waist and she pressed her hands against his chest, the pulse in her wrists beating lightly against his smooth muscle, echoing the flutter that was dampening her core. When he slipped the tips of his fingers beneath the hem of her shirt and began to raise it, she let him.
     
    Determined as she’d been to turn him away, she hadn’t exactly dressed for the occasion. Her shirt fell to the floor, revealing a smooth, pale-pink bra that was decidedly on the plain side. It was designed for not showing up under clothing, not for seduction. She wished she’d worn something sexier – he definitely deserved lace. There was certainly no hint of dissatisfaction in his eyes though, and when he reached behind to unhook the clasp, she ceased to care.
     
    The hooks slid undone beneath his touch, their ends caught between his fingertips. He was standing close