Read Online Dead Perfect by Amanda Ashley - Free Book Online Page B

a lovely night, cool and clear with just the faintest hint of a breeze. A quarter moon hung low in a velvet black sky dotted with twinkling silver stars.
    Shannah walked beside Ronan, acutely aware of him beside her. He was so tall and strong and he exuded such power, it made her feel small and vulnerable. She had the feeling that if he took it into his head to do so, he could break her in two with his bare hands.
    The thought sent a shiver down her spine even as she wondered where it had come from.
    “Did you find anything interesting on my computer?” he asked.
    The question startled her. How had he known? She hadn’t moved anything except the mouse and she had been careful to put it back exactly the way she found it.
    She stared up at him, trying to decide what to say.
    “Well?” he coaxed.
    “I…I read some of your fan mail,” she blurted. “I hope you don’t mind.”
    “Of course not. I said you could.”
    “You get so much of it, I don’t know how you find time to read it all, and write, too.”
    He shrugged.
    “I tried to read your work in progress,” she said, sending him a sideways glance. As long as she was confessing, she might as well admit everything.
    “Did you?”
    She nodded.
    “If you want to read it, I’ll remove the password.”
    “You will? You don’t mind?”
    “You’re supposed to be me,” he said with a shrug. “The more you know about my writing, the better.”
    “You really are a good writer, you know.”
    “I’m glad you think so.”
    He smiled at her, and she smiled back.
    They walked in silence for a time. When her hand brushed his, it sent a sizzle all the way up her arm. Unexpectedly, she recalled the love scene he had been writing earlier that night. It had been steamy without being graphic, descriptive without being lewd or vulgar. It had made her blush clear down to her toes when she imagined Ronan kissing her like that, making love to her like that. She shivered as she pictured his hands caressing her skin, his mouth on her bare flesh.
    “Are you cold?” he asked.
    She looked up at him. “What? Oh, no.”
    She stopped walking as his gaze met and held hers. His eyes were compelling, almost hypnotic.
    “Do you want to go back?” he asked.
    She shook her head.
    “Shannah.” She looked incredibly beautiful standing there looking up at him, her eyes wide and a little scared.
    His hands folded over her shoulders as he drew her slowly toward him until their bodies were only a breath apart. Slowly, he lowered his head, until all she could see were his eyes and the desire that burned in their depths.
    Helpless to resist, she tilted her head back and closed her eyes as his mouth covered hers.
    Warmth. Heat. Pleasure.
    She swayed toward him, her body drawn to his by a force she could neither understand nor ignore. She forgot everything else as his lips played over hers, now soft and exquisitely gentle, now firm and demanding. Nothing mattered, nothing but this man, this moment. If he kissed her like this until the end of time, it wouldn’t be long enough. His tongue teased hers. Desire shot through her from the top of her head to the soles of her feet. Lordy, but the man could kiss!
    She moaned softly, her fingers delving into the thick hair at his nape.
    Ronan’s hands slid down her back. Spreading his hands over her thighs, he drew her body closer to his. Too long, he thought, it had been too long since he had wanted a woman as desperately, as passionately, as he wanted this one. He had been a young vampire then, new in the life, unable to separate his hunger from his lust…and the girl had died because of it.
    With a low groan, he put Shannah away from him, stood there, trembling, while she gazed up at him.
    “Why did you stop?” she asked plaintively.
    He drew in a deep breath. “This is hardly the time or the place.”
    Shannah looked around, only then realizing they were in the middle of the sidewalk and that cars were driving by. “I guess you’re