Smoldering Hunger by Donna Grant Read Free Book Online Page B

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    But all that changed so quickly. Her world was shattered in a dizzying display as the layers were pulled back and the lies were revealed.
    Sophie didn’t ever think she would forget that feeling of drowning when she realized everything had been a lie and she’d been made into the biggest fool of them all with her fiancé’s affair.
    That’s what she got for thinking men were like those portrayed in films and books. Those were characters written by those who crafted them.
    They weren’t real people.
    No matter how much she wished they were.
    Darius was the closest she’d ever come to finding those heroes she used to read about. Then he proved he was as flawed as she was. Which was a good thing. She needed that so she didn’t find herself wanting him more than she already did.
    She didn’t need anyone. Hadn’t needed anyone in years. She lived her life the way she wanted without having to answer to anyone or take their bullshit.
    It was just the way she wanted it.
    Liar.
    Sophie silenced her subconscious with a vicious kick. So what if Darius made her realize just how lonely she was? Or that he made her think—for just a heartbeat—how it might be not to be alone anymore.
    She knew exactly what she wanted, and though a quick tumble with Darius did wonders for her mentally and physically, she knew better than to think of more.
    She shifted in the tub and saw the candles flicker through her eyelids. Sophie opened her eyes, her mouth falling open when she saw Darius leaning against her sink watching her.
    Had her thoughts conjured him?
    “What…? How…? There’s no…” she began, only to find her brain shut off.
    His gaze blazed with unreserved longing while his hands gripped the sink tightly. Despite his lounging, his body was strung as tight as a bow.
    How long had he been in her bathroom? How had she not heard him? And what did he want?
    Regardless of the questions running through her head, none made it past her lips. Sophie fought against the tide of desire that swept over her like a surge. It didn’t help that Darius looked at her as if he were about to toss her over his shoulder and take her to bed to make love to her.
    Sophie’s sex throbbed just thinking about it. There was no way she’d be able to carry on a conversation if she didn’t get her body under control. And there had to be a conversation followed by Darius quickly leaving.
    There would be no sex.
    Umm. Did you say something?
    Shit. She was in trouble. The kind that would have her waking up in the morning groaning from—
    Soreness?
    —bad decisions. And Darius was definitely a bad decision.
    His gaze dropped from her face to the water. A harsh breath left him. Her eyes traveled down his chest to his waist and lower where she watched the outline of his cock lengthen and harden right before her eyes.
    Her nipples tightened in response. When Darius murmured something beneath his breath in a gravelly tone, she jerked her gaze back to his face.
    That’s when she realized her nipples had broken the water’s surface, and the bubbles now drifted around her breasts. Sophie sank farther beneath the water.
    Darius closed his eyes briefly and drew in a ragged breath. When he looked back at her, he was once more in control.
    Too bad she wasn’t.
    For long minutes, they simply stared at each other. Sophie mentally undressed him, thinking how she’d run her hands over his body and feel his heat and hardness.
    “What are you doing here?” she finally managed to ask.
    As if her words were a punch, he turned his head away for a moment and said, “You’re in danger. If you ever see me, pretend you doona care. Make sure that anyone who is around thinks you’d rather see anyone else but me.”
    “I can do that.”
    Had he winced? She was sure he’d winced. Now that was a shock. Since when did her words ever hurt anyone?
    “I only came to tell you that,” he said.
    Sophie was suddenly wretched that he might be leaving. After all her erotic