Sacred Serenity (Lotus House Book 2) by Audrey Carlan Read Free Book Online

His eyes were focused solely on me. It looked like he had given up on his plate altogether to gorge on what I feared had become his new obsession…namely me. With an ease and self-confidence built by years of what I imagined was a whole lot of experience, Dash leaned forward and set his elbows on the table, bringing his face closer to mine.
    His voice took on a gravelly, box-of-rocks-rumbling-around quality when he responded. Lifting a hand to my hair, he caressed a lock, rubbing it between his fingertips. The sound of the strands moving against one another was mesmerizing.
    “Amber, I’m going to show you how desirable you are. Mark my words, little bird. One day you, too, will see the siren hiding just under the surface. And I want to be the man who brings her out.”
    Dash’s scent hovered around me as I breathed him in. Man and musk after a long class, but on him, it was divine. His face was so close to mine, all I’d have to do was close the few inches between us and our lips would meet. But I wouldn’t. I’d never make the first move. Rejection and I were BFFs, and I wouldn’t be able to handle my crush denying me something I’d dreamed of almost every night for the past two years.
    Slowly, I backed away, putting distance between us. He grinned and did the same.
    “So, back to my question. What do you do for fun?”
    “Fun?” I huffed. “This?” I looked around at the environment, watching the people come in and out, checking out what the other patrons ordered for their lunch, avoiding Dash’s gaze.
    Dash chuckled, and I swear the sound trickled from my ears and flowed down my chest to knock at the door of my throbbing clit to say, “Anyone home?”
    I crossed my legs and sat up straighter, trying to fend off my body’s response to the handsome yoga teacher.
    “No really. What do you do? I know you hang out with Viv,” he coaxed.
    I shrugged. “Kind of. Mostly, I help her out, spend time with her siblings. Now that she’s pregnant and Trent’s in and out for away games, I mostly just try to keep her busy so she doesn’t worry about him. Ever since she lost her parents, she’s been überprotective of her siblings and now her boyfriend, Trent.”
    Dash nodded and finally picked up his sandwich and took another big bite. I liked watching him chew. His jaw working and the muscles flexing in his neck while he ate were heart-pounding and panty-melting. I figured Dash could be sleeping, and I’d be happy just watching him sleep. Everything about him roared masculinity and called out to my most primitive feminine side.
    He shook his head and tilted his chin. “That’s not really fun. What do you do for you? How does Amber St. James let loose?” His eyes twinkled.
    I smiled and rested my head on my hand. “Honestly, not much. I’m a professional student. I live with my grandparents and go to school full-time.” I huffed. “More than full-time. Usually, I take around sixteen units, but now that I’ve been accepted into the joint medical program between UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco, it will undoubtedly be more of my time than I’m used to.”
    “Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Dash held his hands up in a stop gesture before shaking them. “Seriously, you got into that program? I’ve heard about it. They only pick the elite. The best of the best from the surrounding universities.”
    Heat flashed through my cheeks and crept down my neck. I shrugged. “I don’t know. I worked hard. Did well.”
    He chuckled. “Uh, I’d say so, Amber. That’s truly an accomplishment. I’ll bet your parents are proud.”
    My parents. I attempted a smile that wouldn’t have fooled anyone. “I wouldn’t know,” I finally admitted. “Never met them.”
    Dash put down his sandwich, placed his elbows on the table, and leaned his chin on his clasped hands. “Were you adopted?”
    I shook my head. “No. My mother died in childbirth. My grandparents raised me.”
    His eyelids narrowed, leaving only a sliver of his