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

her tingled, sending a hot ball of need low into her belly. “Let go of me.”
    “No. Not until—”
    Roxi’s cell phone rang, startling them both. She shook off Donovan’s grip and yanked it out of her purse. A quick glance at the screen revealed a long-distance call. Her mother, no doubt. She’d forgotten all about their daily gabfest. Pushing the button to send the call to voice mail, she turned her attention back to Donovan. “Sex only, then?”
    His eyes sparkled. Desire dilated his pupils and his upper lip curled. “Now who’s teasing?”
    “No teasing.” She took a deep breath, tilted her chin a fraction. Her heart raced at the look he gave her. Maybe he was right. Relationships were much too complicated, and this thing between them…well, it was straightforward. She recognized lust for what it was. She was an adult. Perhaps it was time to start acting like one. “Walk me home, Donovan. It is the least you can do.”
    * * * * *
     
    The cold February weather had Roxi huddling in her oversized coat. A chill wind crept up the back of her neck, making her burrow deeper into the high wool collar.
    Beside her, Donovan looked downright comfortable. A few snowflakes sparkled among the strands of his short brown hair. His leather jacket was unzipped and the breeze ruffled his shirt, plastering it closer to the well-defined muscles of his abdomen.
    “Are you not cold?” she asked when she couldn’t take it anymore. Just looking at him made the freezing temperature seep straight into her bones.
    He shrugged. “This feels like home.”
    Roxi slid her hands farther into her pockets. “Do you miss it?”
    “Every damn day.” There was something dark and menacing beneath the simple words, a hidden fury she hadn’t anticipated.
    She swallowed hard, wishing she understood more about where he came from. The way he talked about his family, it almost sounded like a cult of sorts. She knew arranged marriages were still practiced in many areas of the world, but she hadn’t realized Canadians still held on to such archaic traditions.
    “Why did you come to New York?”
    He watched her from the corner of his eye. Silence stretched on between them, making Roxi think he wouldn’t answer. But then he released a huffed breath that clouded the frosty air and said, “I followed Samantha. She fled our home in the middle of the night. I tracked her here.”
    “So why did you stay?”
    “Because returning home without a mate is not an option.”
    She heard the hurt in his voice as clearly as if he’d confessed to it, and knew there was more to his story than a simple lovers’ quarrel. When Samantha left him, she’d clearly taken something more important than companionship. She’d stolen his pride.
    They walked down Lexington through the usual throng of New Yorkers hurrying to and from somewhere vitally important. Someone slammed into Roxi’s shoulder and she took a step closer to Donovan. Not that she needed his protection. Since coming to New York, she’d learned to grip the strap of her purse tightly and watch where she was going. Still, she liked knowing he was right by her side, watching over her as he did at Moderne.
    “I live here.” She stepped out of the crowd to stand at the edge of the sidewalk, and pointed at the three-floor brownstone nestled behind a wrought-iron gate. Before he could say anything, she gathered her courage and blurted out, “You should come up.”
    Donovan’s gaze turned positively feral. He took a step closer.
    Roxi stumbled backward until she hit the gate. Her pulse ratcheted up a few notches.
    “Are you absolutely sure?” His voice was husky and low, and it sent a tremor through her that had nothing to do with the winter chill.
    Roxi tilted her head and met his gaze full on. “I am not afraid of you. Perhaps I should be… My mother would want me to be.” A dry chuckle escaped her throat. “But I am not.”
    He stroked her cheek with the backs of his knuckles. His fingers felt