MARKED (Hunter Awakened) by Rascal Hearts Read Free Book Online Page B

last one before we took a long
weekend. If I got all of the ingredients now, I could spend
tomorrow finding all of the right recipes and getting everything
together so that I could make the perfect meal on Thursday.
    I had a suspicion that Paul knew what I was
doing even though I hadn't said anything about my plans for
Thanksgiving. He was leaving tomorrow afternoon and hadn't asked
once if I was sure I'd be okay while he was gone. Either he'd
assumed I was going to follow my usual holiday tradition of not
leaving my house while on break, or he'd figured out that I wasn't
exactly going to be alone. I knew that Elias had said it was going
to only be professional, but I couldn't help imagining that this
meal would change all that.
    There was this scenario that just kept
playing over and over in my head. Elias, having realized that I'd
done all of this for him, sweeps me in his arms and kisses me. And
it wouldn't be one of those old movie kisses where the actors would
just mash their lips together and twist their heads back and forth.
I knew exactly what it would be like.
    Even though it would be our first kiss, there
wouldn't be any timidity to it. Instead, it would be full of
passion. His lips would open mine, his tongue tease at the parting
until my tongue went out to meet his. They would twist and dance,
chase each other back and forth between our mouths. His hands would
start on my cheeks, then slide down my neck, his thumbs tracing my
windpipe and then moving across my collarbone.
    It would be everything that a movie or TV
show or book made you think a kiss should be. It'd be fireworks and
explosions. Fire and heat. It'd be desire and need mixed with the
promise of something strong and solid for the future. It would make
my knees week and my entire body hot. When it happened, it'd change
everything.
    The sound of someone clearing his throat next
to me made me blink and pull my mind back from where it had been
vacationing. Paul had a half-smile on his face as he pointed
towards my cart. Six boxes of instant potatoes were piled on top of
the smallest turkey I'd been able to find. I could feel the heat
rising to my cheeks.
    “Not a word,” I muttered as I put all but one
of the boxes back. “Not a single word.”
    Paul mimed locking his mouth and throwing
away the key. True to his silent promise, he didn't say a word as I
finished purchasing everything I needed and we headed back to the
car. He even helped me bring in the groceries without a single
comment. That was good. I had a lot to do.
    Later that night, as I finished my last
scene—a personally cathartic confrontation with Summer's character
Samantha—I was thrilled at how well things had gone through the
whole day. I'd gotten a little overexcited at the prospect of the
meal and had decided to start planning as soon as I'd gotten the
groceries put away. I'd found every recipe I'd wanted and figured
out the timetable I would need to follow in order to have all of
the food ready by the time Elias came by at six.
    There hadn't been any last minute script
changes and we'd had minimal issues while filming. It had been nice
to have had a busy day that was just that. Busy, but not really
that stressful. I really hoped that meant the insanity of the past
several days was fading and everything would be getting back to
normal soon. Maybe once things calmed down a bit, Elias would be
more open to making our relationship a little less
professional.
    As if my thoughts had summoned him, Elias was
suddenly there as the director cut from the final shot. Well, he
wasn't exactly right there. He was keeping the traditional
bodyguard distance. It was just my awareness of him that made it
seem so much closer. It was crazy how I always seemed to know when
he was nearby. It was how I imagined magnets must feel, that
inexplicable draw to one another. I was pretty sure Elias felt the
same way, but it would've been nice to have some kind of sign to
let me know that I wasn't just wasting my