Read Online Riveted (Art of Eros #1) by Kenzie Macallan - Free Book Online

to leave without talking to her first, to make sure she was okay. He decided he would unravel her later.
    “I’ll be on my way then. You have a nice evening. Mara, I’ll see you tomorrow morning and we can talk then.” His gaze never left hers, leaving no room for negotiation. She had to give him credit; he was good at the game and definitely in control. A few tears weren’t going to deter him.
    Raquelle leaned over. “Really, Mar? You left out the part where he’s tall, dark, and ruggedly handsome. The way he locked on to you tells me he’s into you. It seems to me you two made a serious connection. I would have to be around him more to tell you if he’s a player but my gut says, not where you are concerned.”
    Mara couldn’t think about Mac at the moment. She stood at the precipice and she needed to take the jump. “Can we get back to what I was talking about? I’ll deal with him tomorrow, or maybe he won’t show up.” As she said it, she knew she was only lying to herself. The excitement filled her chest at the idea of spending time with him again. He affected her and somehow, she still felt connected to him. In their short time together, she convinced herself she was never going to be the woman he needed or, in the end, wanted. She couldn’t even imagine being intimate with him. Her emotions shook under her skin. What a disaster this turned into!
    “Oh, honey, I don’t think Mac is anywhere near done with you yet. Nice try, though. You better buckle yourself in; it’s going to be a bumpy ride.” Raquelle spoke into her glass of pinot while swirling it around. Her smile said, been there, done that.
    “Go back to what you were talking about with Brock,” Leigha said cautiously, knowing there was a lot more to the story.
    Mara became very self-conscious, “Can we continue this back at the room? There’s more to all of this, but not here.” She managed to choke out her request, trying to catch the tears before they fell from her eyes. They decided to finish their meal before they left. Leigha and Raquelle exchanged several curious glances with one another. Mara ate very little food as her anxiety returned. Her alcohol consumption gave her the liquid courage she needed to continue the talk and face the music, so to speak.
    ~
    Earlier in the day, as she sauntered away from him with that goddamn gorgeous ass of hers, he had already decided to go after her come hell or high water, and not just for a proverbial roll in the hay. Suddenly, it seemed more important than ever he have this woman. He wasn’t expecting to meet her on his holiday. One soul in search of another. Even as she turned his world upside down, he still had no idea what had come over him.
    After the day’s intimacy, not being near her lacked the comfort he craved from her and only her. He had grown tired of cold, empty romps that never led to anything. Mara brought out all angles of the man he really was—caring, kind, protective, possessive and, God help him, loving. Those characteristics seemed to have slowly slipped underneath the surface. When she looked at him, he could swear she could see his soul. A soul marred from all the things life had thrown him, but wasn’t everyone’s to some extent?
    She pushed and pulled at him in all the right ways, from her curiosity to her infectious laughter. He wanted her under him so she knew exactly who she belonged to. Mac would find a way for her to see the real him. He had built a wall that wasn’t working for him anymore, sharing more with her in one afternoon than he had ever shared with any woman besides Kendall. It was easy to talk to her about the things that cut the deepest because she understood the place where you teeter on the edge, afraid to look down. You cocoon yourself from the world and anchor yourself to a familiar yet dying tree, scared it would break out from under you. You hold on to what’s comfortable in order to survive. But sometimes, you need to let go of those safe