In a Dark Embrace by Simone Bern Read Free Book Online Page A

his hand and led him out the door. They were going to Zin. It was only a few blocks away but Jeremy kept trying to walk faster.
    “Slow down. These heels were not made for jogging, or walking either to be honest.”
    “I could carry you,” he suggested.
    “Would we get to the restaurant that way?”
    “Maybe not,” he agreed with a smirk. He leaned close and whispered, “If you knew what that dress did to me…”
    “Oh, but I do.” She smiled wickedly.
    He shot her a hot look then composed his features. “So do you have any hobbies other than tormenting men?”
    “I read, do yoga. I like to swim and ski. You?”
    “I love skiing. Go up to Whistler several times a season. Otherwise it’s the local hills. I like Mt. Baker too.”
    She’d skied at Baker as well. Plus Lake Louise, Sunshine and Norquay in Alberta where her parents lived. They compared ski hills and discussed favorite runs. It was an amazingly civilized and perfectly ordinary conversation.
    They were still deep in their discussion as they entered the restaurant.
    “Lee, darling, you look stunning,” a man said as he came over from the bar. Steve looked like a California tennis instructor—blond, fit and perpetually tanned. He kissed her on the cheek and his arm went around her waist as he turned to Jeremy. “And who is this?”
    “Steve meet Jeremy. Jeremy, this is Steve, an old friend.” Lee did the introductions and watched Jeremy carefully. She could sense the anger and jealousy that had been roused by Steve’s familiarity but Jeremy managed a polite smile.
    “And this is a new friend, dear?” Steve asked, eyeing Jeremy like he was the latest offering at a candy store.
    “Stop drooling. You’re not his type,” she whispered into Steve’s ear.
    Jeremy threw her a sharp glance. His hearing must be very good to have picked up that muted comment. The funny thing was he seemed to relax at the information. A gay man ogling him obviously wasn’t a problem.
    Steve’s dinner companion joined them and Brent also gave her a tight hug. Jeremy did not flare with possessive anger at that greeting. Of course he couldn’t know that Brent had been playfully trying to get her into bed for months. Brent was an equal opportunity kind of guy.
    The hostess led them to a table and Lee waved goodbye to her friends.
    “Have you been here before?” she asked after they’d been seated at an intimate little table toward the back of the restaurant.
    “No. Do you have a wine preference?”
    “Red.”
    Jeremy scanned the wine list and suggested a perfectly decent Cabernet. She nodded. So far so good.
    “You said your parents live in Calgary. Any brothers or sisters?” he asked.
    “One brother. Also in Calgary. He works for an oil company.”
    “Is anyone else in your family…talented?”
    She nodded. “My mother. And Grandma of course. I have a couple of cousins who are like me as well.”
    “All female?”
    “Yes. It runs through the women of the family. We all inherit, to various degrees.”
    “Interesting. My ability is passed on exclusively to boys.”
    “What about your family. Any live locally?” Lee asked.
    “My dad lives out in the valley. No siblings. No mother that I can remember.”
    “You were raised by your father?”
    “That’s the usual practice.”
    Lee shot him a glance then looked quickly away. The old pain buried in those words called up all her counselor impulses. However a public restaurant wasn’t the place to go into the subject.
    She asked, “Did you always live in the Lower Mainland?”
    “No. I was born back east. Hamilton. We moved out here when I was two. Then after I joined the RCMP I did a few years up north before I got the placement in Surrey.”
    The conversation shifted to their jobs and what they liked and disliked about them. Food arrived and was consumed. Lee began to truly enjoy herself. Jeremy wasn’t hard to talk to at all. And so very easy to look at. The white shirt accentuated the red of his lips,