Read Online The Opium Room by Charisma Kendrick - Free Book Online

going through the motion of what men and women were created to do, but devoid of any emotion. And up until now, that was all she had to go by. Never had she dreamed that mere words could set every nerve ending on fire.
    Mixed in with her hot, turned–on feelings were hints of intimidation. This man had put some lovin’ on the ladies, no doubt. Before she could think any more about it, he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulled her against him. Softly, tenderly, he kissed her, teasing her with a swipe of his tongue.
    Still holding onto her, he said, “Can I buy you dinner?”
    “I don’t… It’s pretty late.”
    “Breakfast, then?”
    “I noticed a small diner right next door,” Lea said. “We could walk there.”
    Fox smiled, presented his arm. “All right.”
    Lea latched on and they walked to the door.
    “Don’t forget your purse,” Fox said, pointing to the bed.
    “Oh, yeah.” She grabbed it and smiled sheepishly. “Ready now.”
    Lea had walked right by it without thinking. Seems she was scatterbrained a lot as of late. Now she couldn’t blame it on a lack of sleep.
    There was a lot going through Lea’s mind as they walked across the small wooden bridge from the parking lot of the hotel to the twenty–four hour diner. What went on last night was still not crystal clear, but it was indisputable what would happen tonight if she’d gotten in the car with Fox. They’d have ended up right back in The Opium Room. Not that she didn’t want that to happen, it’s just, she wasn’t prepared. She hadn’t been able to get the image out of her head of the buxom red at his door earlier that day. Red was much slimmer than Lea, dressed in fancier clothes, and exuded a sex appeal that Lea felt was impossible she could tap into. She didn’t fit the mold of the kind of woman he was used to. She was just a curvy girl from the country.
    Those thoughts led her to an idea. Karrigan could give her the scoop on the kind of women Fox likes. And she obviously marched to the beat of her own drum. Maybe she could help Lea loosen up.
    —Fox
    “Coffee?” Fox asked Lea after they ordered their drinks. He wasn’t sure he’d heard her right.
    “I told you I love it.”
    Fox crossed his arms on top the table, leaned forward. “It’s summer. In Georgia.”
    Lea leaned forward from the other side of the table. Lowered her voice to match his. “If it was served at the beach, I’d buy it.”
    Fox got a kick out that little exchange. Everything, her body, her body language, her likes, her dislikes, were signaling that she was the woman for him. The settling down kind. The kind that only comes around once in a lifetime.
    “Tell me about yourself, Lea.”
    “I’m a farmer’s daughter from Augusta, South Carolina. I married my high–school sweetheart while attending Clemson to earn a degree in Information Technology. We were together for ten years. He cheated. We divorced. I work from home. Volunteer at the Children’s Hospital twice a week. And my extra–curricular activity consists of water aerobics with my best friend Kate a few nights a week.”
    Fox chuckled.
    “I know. I’d laugh too,” Lea said flatly.
    The waitress came back with their drinks. Said she be right back to take their order.
    “No, it’s the way you said it,” Fox said. “You spit it out so fast it sounded rehearsed.”
    “Yeah, well, when your routine’s always the same, that tends to happen.”
    “What does your volunteer work consist of?”
    “On Tuesday, I take my dog Glitzy—she’s a cockapoo—with me. She plays in a group session with the kids who are well enough to get out of bed for a while, and she personally visits the children who can’t get out of bed. She knows a lot of tricks. She jumps through a hula hoop, bows, gives high–fives and kisses. The kids adore her. And then on Thursdays, I push around the happy wheels cart.”
    Fox raised a brow. “You mean happy meals ?”
    “No, you heard right, happy wheels. It’s a