Free Her Druid Desire (The Amber Druid Series) by Trish F Leger Page B

look he threw
her and Nadia realized she had said it aloud. Way to go Nadia. Are
you trying to antagonize him? Ignoring her thoughts, she grabbed a forkful
of beans and stuffed it into her mouth. Hopefully, no other words would emerge
to embarrass her.
               
“At least I realize how you see me now.”
               
Nadia didn’t look up from her loaded plate. That would be an accident waiting
to happen. “Sorry, but you know it’s true.”
               
Instead of him answering, seconds turned to minutes and before long they were
both finished with their food. The table, which had once been roomy enough for
Nadia to be alone, had shrunk in size since Drake had decided to accompany her.
The lantern shades that had been hung around the perimeter of the house outside
were now fully lit. Beyond the patio, in the wooded area of Cole’s yard, Nadia
could barely make out anything of significance. It was a beautiful night for a
charity benefit and Cole always did a bang up job. Now that twilight was
deepening into night, the band was picking up tempo.
               
“Apparently Cole’s feelings for you didn’t go that deep.”
               
Drake’s deep voice slid over her ears, and Nadia turned to him when he spoke.
He gestured to the dance floor where Cole and Renee were dancing with about ten
other couples. Renee had herself glued to every square inch of Cole’s tall
body, and he didn’t appear to mind in the least.
               
“It was never anything more than a harmless flirtation,” Nadia told Drake as
she watched the dancing couple.
               
“Hmm ,… if you say so.” His words had her turning to
look at him again.
               
“Just what does that mean?” She asked him, begging him to keep going, to bring
up something, anything that they would be able to argue about. When they
argued, she didn’t have to hide her true feelings.
               
His eyes narrowed to suspicious slits. Leaning back in the chair with his long,
big body reclined, he looked at ease, supine, and so very lazy. But Nadia knew
better than to think that he had ever had a lazy bone in his body. It was all a
front. He raised his beer bottle and took a swig, drawing Nadia’s eyes down to his
Adam’s apple as it moved. She turned her head away sharply, trying to ignore
the pulse of pure want deep inside her body.
               
“Why does it get you so angry when I say that a man was interested in you? Why
does that bother you so much?” She rolled her eyes, knowing he could see the
action, and licked her lips while she thought of an answer. Drake spoke before
she could.
               
“I know for a fact that Cole Walker is an open book. He has no gambling
tendencies, doesn’t hook up with rich women so that he can take their money,
and as far as I know, he doesn’t like to rough house with women during sex.” He
stopped talking long enough to take a swig of beer, and just when Nadia’s mind
was starting to finally wrap around what he said, he kept going, shocking her
into even more silence. “Although, I will admit, some rough housing can be
quite fun.”
               
Nadia made the mistake of turning to look at him, and had to stop herself from
dissolving into a puddle of need right there beside his boots. Rough housing
can be fun? Dear Lord, just the statement caused all kinds of images to run
rampant through her mind. She turned her head away from his thorough gaze and
swallowed deeply.
               
“I have never wanted Cole in that way, although I have known for years now that
with the slightest invitation on my part, he would have taken over and gotten
past our friendship stage.” Just why was she explaining herself to him?
               
“I knew that. I just wanted to see you get riled up over something without me
having to bring up the Donavan incident. I wanted a