Read Online Delecto - Games of Mastery (part 1) by Katrina Liss - Free Book Online

otherwise, no thank you,” she said, raising her
eyebrows at me.
    Well it didn't
take her long to get prickly again. “Straight to the point, as
ever. D'you really think I'd make an indecent proposal?”
    How I loved her
sticking her sharp thorns in my ribs and finding my annoyance
tolerance levels. It was obviously one of her better skills. I
expected her profession was the reason for that.
    “ Yes I
do.” She laughed in a hollow fashion. I ignored all that, and
continued with my very decent proposal.
    “ Can we
call a truce? I'd like to talk to you without you jumping down my
throat and accusing me of things unsaid.”
    “ A truce?
Oh, I must have missed the declaration. Are we at war?”
    I loved her
blatant sarcasm too.
    “ A one
sided war, maybe.” I smiled.
    “ I'm
naturally defensive and suspicious. It's my line of work to read
people and situations.”
    “ Fair
enough, I appreciate that, but tonight, you're my guest, not my
lawyer, and definitely not my enemy. Can we at least have a
pleasant meal together without having a verbal wrangle over
everything?”
    Her eyes
widened and she drew breath. I think I've just taken the wind out
of her sails. I suspected she was all set to do just that. To do
battle with me. I think I've surprised her with my outright
honesty. And it was honest, there was no hidden meaning in
that.
    “ I'm
always prepared to give people a second chance.”
    “ A second
chance? What do you mean exactly?”
    “ Oh come
on. Let's just say, I know your plans, but I'll give you the chance
to redeem yourself.”
    My plans? Was I
that obvious? No doubt I was. It was written across my face and
just about everywhere else. But I could use this to my advantage. I
was going to go on the offensive. Hard and fast.
    “ So I'm
attracted to you? You're attracted to me, aren't you?”
    “ I beg
your pardon?” she said, straightening her back in
indignation.
    “ I find
you very attractive, I want you, and I'm getting the feeling it's
mutual.”
    “ I find
lots of things attractive and want them. It doesn't mean I'll act
on it.”
    I smiled at her
and changed the subject.
    I could
manipulate a conversation wherever I wanted it to go. Like I was
about to do now.
    “ Anyway,
here I am being a very thoughtless host, would you like a drink
before dinner?”
    “ Yeah, I
think I'd better, I need one already.”
    I laughed at
her honesty. “Follow me. Come and choose something you like.”
    I led her to
the bar area in the dining room and opened the wine cooler,
gesturing inside.
    “ Take
your pick. Anything you like.”
    She chose a
vintage Rioja. It was a good choice. I uncorked the bottle and
poured us both a glass. We stood silently while I did it. I offered
her her drink and she took the glass from my hand and sipped at it,
slowly, watching me warily as I sipped at mine.
    “ So
you've chosen the wine you want. And you're drinking
it..”
    “ You
offered it to me, why wouldn't I?”
    “ I'd like
to offer you something else. Me.”
    She laughed at
my blatant cheek. It was a lovely sound.
    “ You
can't just offer yourself to me like that.”
    “ I can do
what I like with myself, but if it offends you, I won't
offer.”
    “ This is
a ridiculous conversation.”
    “ You do
want me though, don't you?”
    “ I never
said that.”
    “ You
don't need to. I can tell.”
    “ Can you
really? Which part of me is telling you that?”
    “ Just
about every part of you is telling me something, loud and clear. I
can read a woman's body very well.” I smiled at her flustered look
of confusion. I was a good liar. She wasn't telling me anything
much through her body language. “So, you deny yourself things you
want. Why is that?”
    “ My
feelings and the reason I do things are my business. And you want
to know something? I like subtlety, you're far too obvious, Mr Shaw. ”
    “ Please
stop calling me Mr Shaw , just
to stress the point that you find my conversation a little personal
or testing. Let's be