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"I can see in your eyes what your instincts are wanting right now. Most consider that dessert."
Heat flushing my entire body, I hid my face by looking at my feet, biting my lip? "Can you blame me after the porn show you showed me?" Looking around, I noticed the lounge area was now empty.
"They are already seated waiting for us." Placing his hand into the small curve of my back, Dale directed me into the dining room.
Did I let him touch me without flinching? 'Yes, you did.'
Sitting next to Dale at the long stone table, I studied the two girls who were spitting images of each other. Now that I'd seen her, I recognized their mother in them. The girls' flaxen hair, olive skin, and bone structure was their mother's. Their indigo eyes were their father's. They were stunning, there were no two ways about it. Considering I knew they were born over a hundred years ago, they looked around twenty-five.
Frowning, I wondered if the immortality was a magical thing. Malcolm and his household had never aged in the twenty-eight years I'd lived there. If living is what you could call it.
"I'm into men," Alexia, the twin opposite me, chirped as she lifted her wine glass to her lips.
Realizing I'd been staring, I cleared my throat. "I'm sure men are into you too."
Her sister, Hymn, giggled. "Are you into men, Vera?"
"I haven't had many options."
Everyone at the table stopped and stared at me. Clearing his throat, Dale placed his hand over mine on the table. "Vera has come out of a long term relationship not long ago."
It made me wonder what his household knew about me that he didn't mention who.
"How long were you together?" Juliet, who was sitting next to Bob, was pretty; model like beautiful. But she didn't have the earthy smell like Dale's daughters.
"Since I was fourteen."
"Oh, gosh, wow! So he's the only man you've ever been with? Why did you leave him?"
"Because I finally could." Picking up the wine in front of me, I took a mouthful.
When Juliet looked confused, Bob leaned into her, dropping his volume. "He used to beat her."
"Oh, God, how horrible." Ready to cry, Juliet gazed with sympathy at me. "Well, at least you are young. You can go out and live your life and have fun now."
"I'm twenty-eight."
"Really? You don't look old enough to have finished college. What face cream are you using?"
Beauty products brought Cindy and Heidi into the conversation with Juliet. Alexia and Hymn chuckled while the wait staff served the entrees. Taking his hand from mine, Dale started eating his salt and pepper squid. Missing his touch, I blinked and stared at my fingers.
"Are you settling into the cottage?" Adam, one of the Armani clad men, smiled, ignoring the girls' cosmetics debate.
"I am, thank you. Bob and Jeremy have been accommodating."
His eye's shifting to Dale and raising a brow in question, Adam chuckled and shook his head. "I'm glad to hear it. Do you work?"
Nodding as I chewed a piece of squid, I forced myself to swallow. "I'm a freelance graphic designer and web designer."
Brow lifting, Adam's eyes were molten warmth like a puppy dog. "You have formal qualifications?"
"No." Looking away, I took a gulp of wine.
"I meant no criticism, Vera. I was only wondering if you went to college?"
"No. I never left the house unless it was with him. I was homeschooled, and my teacher taught me web design so that I could assist the family business."
"If you worked for the family business, how'd you make money to buy the cottage?" Howard had the same rough manner as Jeremy and a physical resemblance. But unlike Jeremy, Howard didn't make me feel safe. In fact, out of all the men present, his gaze oozed over me like slime and made me shiver.
