Free On His Terms by Jenika Snow Page B

pulled back, looked down at her
face, and used his other hand to cup her cheek. He then tilted her head back
further with his fingers on her chin, looked at her lips, and groaned. “I want
you right now, Sorcha.” She parted her lips but said nothing, just breathed out
heavily like she felt the same way. “But I’ll practice a little bit of
restraint right now, at least until after we eat.” He grinned, but he wasn’t
trying to be teasing. He meant it, because after she was fed all bets were off
on him trying to be a gentleman.   

Chapter
Eight
     
    Sorcha’s hands were shaking as
she followed Rian out of his bedroom and into the
dining room. His apartment was like nothing she had ever seen before. Ornate
accents adorned his home, expensive, tastefully decorated, and making her feel like she lived in a hovel .
Hell, his room had a Jacuzzi built into the floor, and the view was incredible.
She rubbed her hands on her jeans for the hundredth time it felt, and stared at
the set-up. Stainless steel, glass, dark marble, all of it was covering every
inch of his apartment. This was certainly a home for one of wealth, and she’d
be experiencing it for the next week.
    The table seated six, and when he
led her to the spot at the other end from where he was sitting she felt
suddenly isolated. There was a glass of wine already poured and sitting at her
place setting, and although she had finished her champagne in his room, and in
fact left the glass on the balcony, she needed more liquid courage. Whatever
was going to happen tonight certainly would put her nerves and mind to the
test. Picking up the glass and then glancing up at him showed her that Rian watched her intently. She downed half of the wine in
one swallow and set it down before she finished it all and made a fool out of
herself. Her lips still tingled from his possessive kiss, and her body felt as
though it were on fire. The room was silent, still even, and the food in front
of her was covered with a metal dome lid.
    “Eat, Sorcha.”
    The way he spoke and said her
name had this tingle racing down her spine. Rian always had an effect on her, and his voice had made her wet more times than she
could count, but right now was different. This situation was strange and
confusing in a thousand ways, and she was right in the middle of this whirlwind
that would have her body moving in different directions. All of this seemed so
impersonal, but she knew by the end of this night there wouldn’t be anything
left secret between them. She’d be bared in more ways than she probably thought
even possible.
    He lifted his dome lid off, and
she looked down at hers once more, and then removed it. Baked chicken with this
herb crust on it, seasoned cut potatoes, and green beans were on the white
porcelain plate. There was a side salad with this little silver boat of
dressing beside it. Everything down to the silverware and how it was placed
seemed elegant, and made her feel so out of place.
    “It’s just food, Sorcha. You’re
staring at it like you’re trying to figure out if I poisoned it or not.” There
was no humor in his voice, and when she glanced up at him it was to see him
positioned in this relaxed manner. He brought his fork to his mouth and took
the potato off the end.
    God, watching him eat should not
have had her nipples tingle, but she was aroused, so much so that she crossed
her legs trying to numb some of the sensations moving through her. It had the
opposite effect. If they were going to have sex tonight, she didn’t want this
evening to seem so uncomfortable and forced, and she knew that if she couldn’t
calm down it would be a very difficult week. She didn’t want to feel like this
was just a transaction, which she supposed it was, but that was beside the
point. So, she ate in silence, finished off her meal and glass of wine, and
then stood and moved over toward him. He had finished a few minutes before she
had and had been watching her, but there was now