Yours to Savor by Scarlett Edwards Read Free Book Online

face.
    “Your cab driver said the same thing.” Sandra motioned at the forest around them. “If this is supposed to be romantic like those vampire books, I swear, I’m going to club you over the head.”
    To her surprise, Brandon laughed. It was a hearty sound, gregarious and full of mirth. Against everything, Sandra could feel the corner of her lips twitching up to match his smile. She couldn’t help responding to the warmth in his laughter.
    “Is that what you take me for? A teenage boy?”
    “I take you for a man too full of himself for his own good.”
    He laughed again, and spread his hands. “You can be quite perceptive when you try.”
    “It’s something I work hard at,” she noted. Already the bitterness from the morning’s interaction was seeping away. She enjoyed their little give-and-take, and was finding herself more amenable to Brandon than she’d expected.
    “Come.” Brandon extended his hand. When she didn’t take it right away, he gave his most innocent look, softened his voice. “I don’t bite, I promise.”
    She delayed just a little longer, only to prove to him she wouldn’t jump at his call—even though some part of her desperately wanted to—then placed her fingers on his upturned palm with a feather’s touch.
    Apparently, he didn’t appreciate the subtlety. His fingers curled around hers in an unwavering grip. Strength, power, and prowess all seeped through them into her. Sandra felt as if she was caught in his hunter’s snare. A part of her liked the feeling. An overwhelming part of her. It was a grip of possession. “I’m not going to let you go,” it seemed to say.
    Sandra was impressed. All the men she’d known in her life—starting with her father and ranging all the way to her last boyfriend—had been meek, hesitant, and uncertain. Brandon was anything but. He was a breath of fresh air after twenty-five years of suffocation.
    He started off into the trees, on a little trail that cut through the woods. She had to walk fast to match his pace. She was glad she’d decided against wearing heels for this outing. And it was an outing, not a date. She was giving Brandon a chance, that’s all.
    Why, then, did his touch leave her so lightheaded?
    He walked on, not saying anything for a while. Sandra found the stretching silence uncomfortable and, without really thinking, blurted out, “You’re doing a pretty lousy job of making up the impression you left on me this morning.”
    “Am I?” His beguiling smile was calm and gentle. “Is that why I can feel your pulse racing through your hand?”
    A jolt of shame rifled through her. She snatched her hand away, hating her body once more for giving away her true feelings—but Brandon wouldn’t let go. “No,” he said instead. “I like the feel of your skin against mine.”
    The words were said with such puritan innocence that Sandra could only think of them as dirty. An image flashed in her mind of the two of them in a dark bed, rolling together in the sheets, his hard body pressed tight against hers—
    “Do I make you nervous?” he asked, interrupting her thoughts. Sandra blinked, startled. Nervous? Isn’t it obvious? All his questions, his statements, his manners were so very direct, she was learning. There was no beating about the bush with Brandon. And it definitely threw her off.
    “Where are you taking me?” she asked instead, avoiding answering the question that would force her to reveal her total weakness for him.
    Brandon grinned. “A question with a question, hmm? You catch on quick. I think you and I are going to get along just fine. Where, you said? Take a deep breath. What do you smell?”
    Sandra complied, filling her lungs with cool, misty air. She could smell the pines, the earthy dirt, the freshness of nature all around them. There was nothing in particular that stood out… except there : hidden underneath it all was a hint of the tangy spray of salt water.
    “Tell me,” he continued before she