Wicked Obsession by Cora Zane Read Free Book Online

his empty glass down on the counter, and pulled out a second stemmed glass from beneath the bar.
    “You’re in luck,” he said, ice rattling as he pulled the bottle of wine from the bucket and began to pour. “I was just sampling this new vintage of Sévigné red we hope to export next year. Perhaps you will like it.”
    The wine. Gisele. A flood of relief poured through her, even if she was only putting two and two together.
    He nestled the bottle back into the ice, then scooped up the glasses one by one, and carried them over to where she was sitting. Instead of offering her the wine right away, he towered there, looking down at her. Did he expect her to reach out and take the glass without him offering it to her first? Perhaps he played a game, or this was some unspoken test. Eleni looked at the wine glass, then up at him. His gray eyes glittered with some fierce, indefinable emotion that awakened a sweet fluttering low in her belly. “Is something the matter?” she asked him.
    He didn’t answer her. A faint smile tugged at his lips, giving him a smug appearance. At last, he held out the wine, and it seemed almost as if he dared her to take it. His hand was cupped beneath the bowl, the stem caught between his fingers.
    Eleni shifted uncomfortably in her seat. There was something remotely intimate about the presentation. Nevertheless, she accepted the glass, pinching it by the stem. His fingers grazed hers, work roughened and surprisingly warm.
    “Thank you.” Her voice trembled a little, but if Julian noticed, he said nothing.
    He backed away, and as he sat down in the chair across from her, he lifted his glass. “For our courage.”
    She could certainly relate to the toast. She raised her glass, and when he took a drink, she did the same. The wine tasted sweet, flavored strongly of blackcurrant. The tannin made her mouth instantly dry, but she was already so nervous it hardly mattered. Julian swirled the wine in his glass a moment, steely eyed and thoughtful looking, then he leaned forward and set his glass on the sofa table. Eleni’s heart fluttered. The moment to prove herself to him had finally come.
    Splayed across the chair in rakish fashion, he traced his thumb over his lower lip and took a deep breath. “I think you know what this evening means.”
    “I do.”
    “When was the last time you were bitten?”
    Eleni swallowed hard. “It’s been over a year.”
    “Do you crave it?”
    “S-sometimes…” She swallowed hard, and stared into the flames for a moment. “But nothing like I did once.”
    He watched her steadily, heightening the tension that twisted inside her. “Get up.”
    Her head snapped up in alarm. The curt tone of his voice made her heart race. But she saw no evidence of anger on his face or in his posture. Lust burned bright in his eyes. He gazed toward her neck, then to her breasts.
    “Reveal yourself to me.”
    She took another sip of wine, then rose from the chair and set the glass down on the sofa table. Her mind whirred as her nervousness intensified. Had she really come this far after her fall? Until now she’d gone untested. It worried her that she might not be able to please him. She questioned her endurance, and her ability to fall into the role of a lover again, but at the same time, she wanted him. She wanted to test herself. She may not be worthy of love, but wanted to feel something—sex, pleasure, the sweet pain of fangs sinking into her throat.
    Reaching back, she unfastened the top of her halter dress, her hands shaking as she lowered the straps, revealing her breasts to him. Her nipples peaked to hard nubs, and his eyes darkened. Close-mouthed, he ran his tongue over his fangs, and a shiver passed through her. A sudden ache throbbed between her thighs.
    His thumb stroked over his lips, and she could have sworn she felt it deep inside her, a physical caress. His eyes drifted to the lower half of the dress, still tight around her thighs.
    “Show me