Red House by Sonya Clark Read Free Book Online Page A

short. It was one thing to admit to myself the folly of my attraction to Blake, but saying it out loud brought it out in sharp relief. Why was I about to go on a date with this man? Did I even like him? Sexual attraction, no matter how intense, didn’t count. So what was it? His dark eyes, the smirk that sometimes tilted into a smile, the shimmering aura that never failed to fascinate me–did those things count as something real?
    But then, that was the point of the date, right? To see if there was anything real there, or if he was just some misguided fantasy.
    “The mistakes I’ve made in the name of love are what will damn me to hell, Roxie, not being what I am.” Daniel spoke quietly. “I know you don’t like it when I daddy you. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”
    I had no idea what mistakes he was talking about. Curiosity ate at me and I wanted to ask questions. He talked often enough about his past, usually entertaining stories about things he’d seen and done but rarely anything that so much as hinted at real darkness. I didn’t know how to respond.
    He spoke again. “I can hear his car in the driveway.” He rose and walked across the room. I followed him, hoping he didn’t plan on greeting Blake at the door. Instead, he headed for the stairs. “I won’t say anything to him tonight but if you decide you’re going to keep him around, he and I will have a conversation.”
    I worked really hard not to be offended and couldn’t quite get there. “I don’t need you to do that.”
    “I know you don’t need it.” He leaned over and kissed my cheek. “Maybe I need it.”
    A knock announced Blake’s arrival. Daniel made his way up the stairs, raising his glass in good night. I waited until he was out of sight before walking to the door. Hand on the knob, I paused for a moment, asking myself one last time if I really wanted to do this.
    “Special delivery from the date of the month club.” Blake spoke loud enough to be heard through the thick oak door. “This month’s special, Harry Potter’s demented cousin.”
    A smile came to my lips. I didn’t bother to hide it as I opened the door. “Strangely enough, that sounds like the kind of guy I’d pick for this month’s date.”
    His jeans, black Danzig t-shirt and Doc Martens reassured me of my choice to dress casual. Not that I cared much about clothes at that moment, or anything else beyond the way he looked at me. No smirk, no guarded expression, only warmth and a hint of desire in his dark eyes and the slight curve of his mouth. My resolve to keep him at arm’s length weakened. I stepped onto the porch, pulling the door closed behind me, and stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek.
    Blake grinned. “If we’re starting the date with a kiss what can I hope for at the end of the evening?”
    “Another one just like it.” And that would be all. Definitely. Probably. “So where are we going?”
    “How does hot dogs and nachos sound for dinner?”
    “You’re taking me to a drive-in?”
    “I’m taking you to a baseball game.” He held up a pair of tickets. “We’re going to a Sounds game.”
    I could not have been more astounded if he’d suggested square dancing and a Little Jimmy Dickens concert. “A baseball game? For real?”
    His smile faltered. “What, do you not like baseball?”
    “Baseball’s fine. I’m just surprised. It’s not what I expected, that’s all.”
    He laughed but it didn’t sound like his usual laugh. He sounded nervous and that was just as shocking as his plans for our date. “Generally I wait until the third date to break out the kinky magic tricks.” But then the smirk reappeared and Blake the Sexy Sorcerer said, “But you’ve already had a taste of that, haven’t you, sweetness?”
    In that moment I knew all I had to do was say the word and he’d take me back to his hotel, the back seat of his car, right there on the front porch–he’d take me wherever, whenever I allowed. The erotic promise in his