Free Marked by Siobhan Kinkade Page A

simultaneously lit her on fire and chilled her blood. The sight of him brought to mind some sort of large, predatory cat, or maybe even a member of the lupine family.  The swagger in his step spoke of danger and excitement, and as the tingling warmth of awareness settled over her, Tabitha knew she would take whatever damage came with him just to get whatever this man had to offer.  He was an open book filled with an enigma, and one she wanted to quickly unravel.  Or undress—whichever he would allow. 
    There was no denying that she wanted him in the worst kind of way.  Tabitha had been in his house over four hours already, decorating and preparing the perfection he had requested, and holding everything together with just the slightest bit of magic.  He had greeted her at the door when she arrived, sending her into a tailspin from the start.  Then he had come through to check her progress from time to time, but he had yet to linger like he did this time.
    His blue eyes sparkled with mischief under the soft light of the overhead chandeliers, and the smile on his lips when he turned to her made her want to melt into the floor.  Or into his arms.  Sweet hell, she just wanted to touch him.  The mere sight of this monster of a man made her want to cast away her clothes and present herself to him as an offering.  When he smiled, she wanted to lick him from end to end; to make him as wet and muddled as he made her.
     “I trust the food will be as stunning as the décor,” he said, ending the circuit of the room and starting back toward her. She grinned from ear to ear, very likely looking goofy, but she had just received a compliment from the most handsome man in the world so she could not be bothered to care.  He seemed to not notice, opting instead to trace the lines of her figure with his eyes.  Appreciation and something a bit darker and less defined floated there as well. 
    Tabitha knew that when a man looked at a woman like that, business was the last thing on his mind, even if business was what was coming out of his mouth.  It thrilled her that he could so easily show her how he felt, even if he wouldn’t say it.  Images of his body, what she imagined he would look like naked, filled her imagination with visions so powerful that she could almost feel him moving inside her.  Her breath stuttered out of her lungs in a short, staccato rhythm, and she had a hard time inhaling again.  Russell’s head tilted slightly to one side while he contemplated her, but he did not comment.
    What were they talking about again?  Oh, right…food.
    “I assure you it will be everything you want it to be,” she breezed, sounding much calmer than she felt.  She was wound tighter than a top, and had to force her arms down by her sides to keep from raising a rogue hand and flipping her hair with that nervous energy.  That move was a little too schoolgirl for her, even as she fought the unrelenting urge to do it. 
    He crossed the room toward her, filling up her vision with his presence. He offered a dashing grin and his hand, both of which she accepted graciously.  His skin was rough, as if he had spent considerable time working with his hands, and the sliver of contact made her shiver.  Awareness and a new, deep longing prickled along her skin as he brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. Oh, the things he could probably do with those hands…and that mouth, so soft and warm against her hand.  When Tabitha managed to smile up at him, she simultaneously tightened the muscles in her thighs, hoping to abate the tingle starting there.
    He was also, she realized a moment later, feverish.
    She wondered if he should be hosting a party with a temperature such as that, but one look into his sharp eyes told her that he was capable of handling the pressure, under the weather or not.  He still had hold of her hand, the pad of his thumb stroking over the inside of her wrist.  She was certain he could feel her