Obsession by Tori Carrington Read Free Book Online Page B

big boy?’”
    “Uh-oh…”
    Drew looked around him, considering the type of clientele the hotel attracted.
    Josie laughed. “My granme nearly strangled me with the boa when she caught a traveling salesman trying to take me up on my offer.” She visibly shuddered then smoothed the goose bumps from her arms by rubbing them. “Of course, I wassix and had no idea what kind of trouble I could have gotten into if not for my grandmother, but now…”
    Drew tried to imagine a six-year-old Josie slinking around the hotel lobby wearing a red boa and making dangerous propositions to strange men. And he felt a desire to protect her surge up within him that he didn’t quite know what to do with.
    “Oh! I almost forgot the next course.”
    Drew watched her clear the bowls of soup. “You mean there’s more?”
    “Is there ever.” She took the top off a large pot. Steam rose up, dampening her honey-colored skin and pinkening her cheeks. “Move the silverware and the glasses off to the side of the table for me, will you?”
    He did as asked, watching as she tipped a high container full of something he couldn’t see into the pot, then used a long-handled spoon to stir the mix. Then she turned and grabbed a small pile of newspapers.
    “Here,” she said, “help me spread these across the cutting board.”
    He wasn’t sure what she meant, so he watched her open the papers and place them so they covered the surface before him. He did the same. Their handsbumped and they both paused, their gazes meeting between the short distance that separated them.
    Up this close, her eyes were the palest shade of brown he’d ever seen. And were so damn captivating he didn’t dare blink.
    She gave a shaky smile. “I think that should do it.”
    Was it him or was her voice just a tad breathless?
    She went to the pot and lifted what looked like a colander from inside it. Giving it a good shake, she stepped to the table then tipped the contents out onto the papers.
    Crabs. Dozens of them. Orange and glistening and all about the size of his hand.
    She put the colander back inside the pot then returned to the table, handing him what looked like a nutcracker.
    “Blue crabs,” she said. “A Creole specialty. Although they’re better in the spring during the mating season, these will do.” She gestured to where he held his shell cracker awkwardly. “You probably won’t need those since the shells are soft.”
    Drew chuckled, staring at the mass of seafood covering the papers between them. “What do I do?”
    She picked up one of the crabs then inserted her fingertips into the top and pulled. The shelleasily split in two. She picked meat out and slipped it into her mouth, moaning as she licked her fingers. “Try it.”
    He did and found it amazingly easy to mimic her movements.
    “No, don’t eat that,” she said. “Intestines.” She gestured toward the top half. “There.”
    He carefully plucked out the meat and put it into his mouth. The texture was smooth and solid and magnificently good. The flavor exploded on Drew’s tongue. “Spicy.”
    She smiled. “It’s the boil.”
    He opened another crab.
    “Mmm, a sook.” Josie leaned across the table and scooped something out near the bottom of the inner shell. “Here,” she murmured, holding the food near his mouth.
    His heart beating thickly in his chest, he leaned forward and opened his mouth, slowly encircling her slender fingers with it. He closed his lips, enjoying the taste of the crab as much as the taste of her. Hot cayenne pepper and sweet Josie was a combination no man could resist. And Drew wasn’t in a resistant mood.
    He sucked gently, then swirled his tongue around her index finger, his gaze glued to her expressive face. The black of her pupils nearlyovertook the golden brown of her irises and she caught her breath as he trailed his own damp fingertips over the inside of her wrist.
    “Those, um, are the female’s eggs.”
    He withdrew his mouth. “Good thing you