Read Online A Stranger’s Touch by Lacey Savage - Free Book Online Page A

that didn’t hold a hint of humor. “Worse.”
    She bristled at that. Her spine jolted ramrod straight and some of her desire began to ebb. “I will have you know I am one great catch. I am smart, funny, charming and…” She hesitated only a second before blurting out, “And I can fill out a D-cup bra like a plus-size underwear model.”
    Ha. Take that!
    She felt downright triumphant when his nostrils flared. No doubt he was picturing her in some skimpy outfit or another…or maybe wearing nothing at all. He’d seen her naked enough times to have imprinted every part of her body on his memory for life.
    A blush seared its way up her throat. She lowered her gaze, suddenly finding the creamy sheen of the coffee utterly fascinating.
    “There’s so much you just don’t understand.” He laced his fingers together and let his arms drape over the edge of the backrest.
    Frustration warred with desire inside her. “You keep teasing me, hinting at some deep, dark secret. What is it? Are you an escaped convict? A murderer? Married? Bisexual? Transsexual?”
    Scowling as though she’d insulted him, Donovan lifted his chin. “None of those. I am…” He pressed his lips together, clearly not wanting to say more.
    Well, she’d had enough of that. “What? You’re what ?”
    “Canadian,” he said at last, his admission guttural and raspy, as if he’d just confessed to the worst crime imaginable.
    She sank back in her chair. “You are an illegal alien?”
    “No. I’m here on a work visa.”
    Now she was genuinely confused. “So? I am from Greece. Why does our country of origin matter?”
    He blew out a breath, scraped a hand over his stubbled jaw. God, he looked amazing. He hadn’t zipped up his coat all the way, and she got a glimpse of worn cotton stretched tight over his muscled chest. Her fingers itched to touch him there…and everywhere.
    “We have traditions you wouldn’t understand.”
    “Canadian traditions? Like what? You celebrate Thanksgiving a month earlier?”
    He chuckled, the first genuinely amused sound she’d heard from him since she’d met him. She found she liked it. A lot. But then the laughter vanished as quickly as it appeared, and he stared at her intently. “I’m talking about mating traditions. Rituals, covenants unlike anything you’re used to.”
    She laughed, trying to keep the sound breezy and casual. “This is one date, Donovan. It hardly means we are mated.”
    A shadow fell over his face. “My pack—my family —chose a mate for me the day she was born. We were meant to be together forever. Divorce isn’t an option where I come from.”
    Roxi sucked in a breath. “So you are married.”
    “No. She left me a long time ago. She wanted to make a clean break from her past, which included me.”
    Roxi toyed with her coffee cup. She dropped her gaze, unable to meet his eyes. “Do you still love her?”
    “Love has nothing to do with pair bonding where I’m from.” The answer came easily, and Roxi was inclined to believe him. “But when we mate, we take each other for life. Losing a mate to anything but death is…” He blew out a breath. “Shameful.”
    “And that is why you choose not to be with me?”
    “That’s why I can’t be with you,” he clarified, as though the distinction mattered. “My people… They’re very different from yours. I’m different from you. We wouldn’t be compatible.”
    That brought her head up. “We seemed compatible enough last night, when we kissed. And before that, you clearly thought my body was compatible with yours when you would have fucked me in the harness at Moderne.”
    Roxi hadn’t bothered to keep her voice down and a number of heads turned their way. She didn’t give a damn.
    “Sex is simple.” Donovan narrowed his eyes at her. “Relationships are complicated.”
    “Spoken like a fortune cookie.” She grabbed her purse and rose from the table.
    “Roxi.” Donovan grabbed her wrist.
    The place where he touched