Read Online Crave by Sierra Cartwright - Free Book Online Page A

She closed her eyes.
    “I always enjoyed watching you eat,” he said. “You could make a saint dream of going to hell.”
    She looked at him. His gaze was locked on her, and she realized that he hadn’t taken a bite.
    His single-minded focus and pursuit were something else she’d missed when she was with other men.
    “So how is it?”
    “Everything I imagined. Not as sweet as Maine lobster. And, this might sound strange, but it tastes a bit meatier. I’m a fan.” She took a sip of wine. “Even this was well thought out.”
    “I asked the sommelier. She tells me the Sauvignon Blanc is not intimidated by the melted butter.”
    “Seriously?”
    “Could I make that up?”
    “I suppose not.” She grinned for the first time that evening.
    He smiled back. For a moment, just a flicker of time, she was reminded of the easy evenings they’d once shared at home.
    “Everything is perfect.”
    “You might think I was trying to seduce you,” he said.
    She regarded him over the rim of the glass. “Are you?”
    “Depends.”
    “On?”
    “How brave you are. How honest you’re willing to be.”
    “I’m not sure I understand.”
    “Tell me what you really want. You accepted my dinner invitation.”
    “Invitation?”
    “You could have refused. Why did you come? Curiosity, or something more? Julien suggested that you were hoping to exorcise my hold over you. Earlier, our scene… Did it work?”
    She remained silent, and she pretended that her hand didn’t waver as she put the glass down. “No,” she said finally. “I was left more restless. And, to be honest, this dinner is making it worse.”
    “How so?”
    “The way you put your attention on me… It’s as if I’m the only woman in the world.”
    “To me, you always have been.”
    Her lungs deflated. “I hurt you.”
    “Devastated.”
    She swallowed deeply. “Julien said as much. I told him that was an exaggeration.”
    “No.”
    “I’m not sure what to say.”
    “I will tell you this much, Sarah. I don’t make the same mistake twice.”
    From what she’d seen in the press about his recent success, she’d have said he never made mistakes.
    “If you want me to beat you and fuck you, I will. But there will be rules around it. No promises, no expectations. We’ll both call it what it is, exorcising the demon of the past. After the weekend, you go home, we never see each other again.”
    With boldness that surprised her, scared her, she asked, “And if I want more?”
    “Right now, that’s not an option. You’d have to earn my trust, show me you deserved it. If I scared you before, I would terrify you now. Before I’d consider anything with you, Sarah, I would test you in ways you couldn’t imagine.”
    “Are you trying to scare me?”
    “Is it working?”
    “A little,” she admitted.
    “Good. You should be frightened. The collar would only be the beginning of what I would demand from you. I wouldn’t be satisfied with anything less than your total honesty. I would want to own every one of your reactions. Even that wouldn’t be enough. I’d want to know your every thought, every fear, every inhibition. I’d want to hear every scream and savor every tear. And I’d demand you turn to me to wipe them. There would be no place for you to hide.”
    The chill in his voice rippled through her.
    “Well, what will it be, Sarah? Shall I just walk you back to your room after dinner?” He raised an eyebrow. “How brave are you now?”
     

Chapter Three
     
     
     
    Reece watched several emotions chase across her face. Her lips had parted as she’d listened to him. Now, slowly, she closed her mouth. Then she frowned. He saw shock. Disbelief. Resignation. And now, with the set of her lips, determination.
    Reece told himself that her answer didn’t matter. She’d vanished once, and he’d survived it. When he’d accepted the invitation to Julien’s party, Reece had expected to find some female companionship for the weekend. Playing with her