Healing His Soul's Mate by Dominique Eastwick Read Free Book Online Page B

coming and Dana had reached her breaking point.
    “Dana, have some chocolate cake. You earned it,” the man across the table said with a smile, pushing the cake toward her. “I realize your dinner hasn’t arrived, but sometimes dessert first is a win-win for everyone.”
    Dana’s face lit up, but a sheen of tears edged her walnut-colored eyes. She took her seat and focused her energy on the dessert before her.
    Ashlynn turned to the man and whispered, “Thank you for defusing the situation.”
    “Is that what I did?” he said, taking a bit of cake from another plate. Had he had two? “I thought I announced the arrival of dessert. Here, try some.”
    Without hesitation, she allowed this stranger to feed her from his fork. Wrapping her lips around the tines, she savored the moist chocolate piece of heaven he gave her. “Oh my.”
    “The kitchen staff is some of the best there is and they have, from what I am told, been enjoying catering to the needs of the mama to be over there, because usually such things as chocolate cake aren’t on the menu.”
    “That is a crime.” She could listen to his voice all night long. It soothed her. The more he spoke, the calmer she felt.
    “I must agree.” His green eyes sparked with merriment as he took another bite. When he finished his cake, he left his fork on the empty plate. “Pardon me for saying this, Ashlynn, but I don’t believe there is a thing this place can do to help you or your mother.”
    “No pardon needed. She has never been mother of the year and isn’t going to open herself up to alternative practices anytime soon.”
    He reached across the table in greeting. “We haven’t been properly introduced. I am Shadedor, but my friends simply call me Shade.”
    “A pleasure—Ashlynn Stone.” As her fingers touched his, a tingle ran all the way up her arm. Heat pooled in her belly, and her mouth went dry. New sensations blending with the sudden rise in temperature in the room made her light-headed. Taking off her sweater, she eyed her sister engaged in happy conversation with Cyrus. “What is it with the temperature changes in this place?”
    Shade squinted at Dana before returning his attention to Ashlynn. “They must have turned up the heat. The island can get chilly at night. Have we met before?”
    “Is that a pickup line?”
    “No, but if it worked, then we can use it.”
    “Um, not so much.”
    He laughed, the sound rusty as if he didn’t do it much, and laid his napkin on his empty plate. “I have seen you somewhere before.”
    And here it came. Discover she had been a famous model and he would be curious about her superficial life, a life she wanted to forget. “I have one of those faces, I guess.”
    “No, it’s something else…. You are on the billboard outside my flat in London. The face of some makeup company or was it beer?”
    “I was the face.” She ran her fingers down the scar, remembering the moment when the light hit her.
    He reached out to grab her hand. “Don’t hide who you are. You are beautiful, scars and all. The scars might make you imperfect, but they also make you interesting. You have a story. It makes you unique.”
    How did a man she just met know the exact words her soul craved to hear?
    “Shade with all the commotion, I didn’t get to welcome you, my friend.” Cyrus came around the table and embraced Shade as he stood. “Do you ever age?”
    “Yes, but extremely slowly. How are you?”
    He shrugged. “Eh—it’s a process I suppose.”
    “Still healing?”
    “It is a journey we all take in our own time.” Cyrus lowered his voice. “I want to get Dana home, so perhaps tomorrow we can catch up.”
    “Tomorrow is perfect. I need to meet with Dana and Rekkus, but tonight I feel is not the night. Perhaps in the morning.”
    The mention of her sister had Ashlynn turning in her direction. Her sister’s pale cheeks and drooping eyelids sent a pang of worry through her. Although she had eaten the first few