The Duke's Willful Wife by Elizabeth Lennox Read Free Book Online

the only way to live one’s life and here was this tiny woman tossing away years of discipline. 
    “Let me get our dinner,” he said softly.  “We’ll talk this out and you’ll feel better once you have some food in you.”
    She sniffed and pulled away but stopped when she saw his bare chest.  “I’m not hungry,” she croaked.  And then her hand moved from his waist, her fingers running through the light layer of chest hair and she shuddered.  As if in a dream, she reached up and delicately touched the middle of his chest.  When she felt his body react, she flattened her palm against his skin, touching him experimentally.
    Dante lowered his head and kissed her gently.  Just one kiss he promised himself, then he’d set out the food and they would talk. 
    But her hand moved to the left, covering his nipple and he groaned.  The one kiss deepened, her mouth opened to taste him, to feel his tongue and to touch him with her own and Dante’s control was lost in the sweet scent of this woman who went up into flames right along with him. 
    Much later, Dante was staring up at the ceiling again.  At least this time they’d made it to her bed, he thought, keeping her hand still against his stomach.
    “How about if we have some dinner?” he suggested, trying to catch his breath and stop his mind from contemplating round three. 
    She had her head buried against his neck and she shivered when he ran his hand up her back.  “No, you have to leave,” Sasha said, pushing away from him and looking for her clothes while keeping the sheet up over her nakedness .  Thankfully she was on birth control to help her with painful periods, so she didn’t have an unwanted pregnancy fear to plague her , even though she suspected that he’d used protection as well .  There were some small miracles in this world, weren’t there? 
    “I’m not going anywhere until we talk,” he replied and stood up, grabbing his boxers and pulling them on. 
    Sasha looked away after a quick glance and stru ggled to get her own clothes on while keeping her bed sheet over her self .  It was a ridiculous effort since he’d seen every part of her, up close and person al , but it made her feel a bit less vulnerable. 
    She was already shaking her head and ignoring the fact that he was sliding his gorgeous slacks over those incredible legs.  “No talking.  We tried that an hour ago.”   He didn’t bother with a  shirt this time, finding the effort pointless since he wasn’t going anywhere. 
    “Dinner then.  I’m starving.”  He walked out of her bedroom and back into the main studio area.  In the kitchen he looked over the partially emptied bags and finished unloading the food onto her counter.  “Do you have a cork screw?” he asked, placing two bottles of wine next to the stack of food containers.
    Everything smelled extremely good so she relented about his departure, at least until he had some of the food he’d brought.  She could give him that much , she conceded , but not much more.  And only because she was suddenly painfully hungry. 
    “It’s in the drawer to your right,” she said, not coming close to him in the small kitchen area.  Touching this man ended her up in a bad situation.  Better to keep her distance.
    The guard had brought seafood pasta with a rich, creamy sauce, bread that had probably been soft and warm an hour ago and two bottles of red wine.  They sat in silence for a few minutes, eating the delicious food and trying to get some strength back, and some sanity. 
    “How old are you?” he asked after several minutes of silence. 
    “Twenty- four.”
    “You have a great deal of talent for someone so young. ”
    Sasha glanced at the piece she was working on behind her and shrugged.  “ T hanks.  I have a long way to go though.”   His words might be just a way for him to get her to relax, but she suspected that he wasn’t the kind of man who gave out compliments easily or lightly.  That