Free Constant Craving [Rapture Island 2] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic) by Leah Brooke Page A

know. You tell me.”
    Sitting back, he smiled again, his eyes even more possessive than ever as they moved over her. His sharp gaze lingered on the arms she’d crossed over her chest. “I’ve been observing. I’ve been paying close attention to you. Put your arms at your sides. They’re mine now, and I don’t want them used to hide your breasts from me.”
    Kelsey whirled to face him fully, not grabbing the edge of her skirt in time to keep from showing herself. She lowered her arms to her sides without thinking, and started to put them back across her chest, stopping when she saw the look of challenge in his eyes. Lifting her chin, she kept her arms where they were, not about to show any weakness by covering herself. “I noticed. You always stared at me.”
    She hadn’t thought anything of giving her arms to him, thinking that when he released her, it would be the end of it.
    Evidently, Gabriel took it seriously, and placed her in a position where she would have felt ridiculous not honoring her agreement.
    She began pacing, careful to keep her steps small, the threat of moving wrong and flashing more skin than she wanted to keeping her on edge. “You know, you really didn’t have to glare at every man who spoke to me. A few of them have never come back into the coffee shop again. Don’t think I didn’t realize you did it on purpose.”
    His gaze lifted to hers again, a dark brow going up. “Of course I did it on purpose. I want you, Kelsey. We’ve already established that I’m a man who goes after what he wants. I wasn’t about to let you pretend interest in one of them to discourage me.”
    “What makes you think I wasn’t interested in any of them?”
    “You used to wince every time the blond grinned at you. The tall, skinny guy annoyed you because he kept interrupting you and spent most of his time talking about himself. The guy with the long hair creeped you out, and the muscular one hardly ever talked, and when he did, it was only to say something incredibly stupid.”
    Surprised, and somehow touched that he’d paid so much attention, Kelsey faced him squarely. “Okay. Why me?”
    “Ah.” Getting to his feet, Gabriel strolled toward her. “I wondered when you’d ask me that. I’ve already told you several reasons that I’m attracted to you, but attraction isn’t enough to justify all of this, is it?” Moving in behind her, he ran his fingertips up her arms, creating delicious ribbons of sensation. “You and I are a lot more alike than you think. I don’t want a woman who only wants what I can make her feel. I want a woman who wants me . Not many people bother getting to know either one of us, do they? There’s a restlessness inside us, a need for something more challenging and satisfying than what we’ve had so far.”
    Surprised, Kelsey turned her head, lifting her gaze to his. “You feel that way, too?”
    He ran his hands over her hair as if enthralled with the texture. “Yes. That’s why I recognize it in you. I know you won’t believe me if I tell you how beautiful you are, so I won’t bother to tell you, but when the time is right, I’ll show you just how I see you.”
    Finding it harder and harder to remain still, Kelsey turned her head, looking up over her shoulder to find him watching her. “How do you propose to do that?”
    “Don’t worry about that.” He moved her hair aside, his touch gentle as if he savored every moment. “One of the things I admire most about you, one of the things that excites me more than any woman’s ever excited me before, is your courage.” His gaze slid to hers, sharpening, holding hers as he turned her in his arms.
    “When you have the courage to let me show you the woman inside you, to free the woman who’s dying to get free…well, I think that woman’s going to turn my world upside down.”
    Sliding his hands down her arms, he linked her fingers with his and raised her hands, linking them behind his head.
    “And that scares me to