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“You’ll love them!” he declared before loading up his own plate in a similar way.
They did look so good. I was not sure where to start when Ash leaned over, cut a bit of crepe with his fork, and held it to my mouth. I felt myself blushing again at this open display of familiarity. I wasn’t used to this kind of behaviour, but I found that I was happy to get used to it.
“Try it; it is filled with cream, and I know how much you like cream!” he practically purred, obviously thinking about our cream-covered kiss.
Everyone around the table sniggered.
Thankfully, I hadn’t been eating it at the time, or I would have choked. I wasn’t quite sure if I wanted to kill him or kiss him at that moment.
“Go on!” he encouraged, and all thought of killing him went straight out of my head because, oh my gosh, that voice!
I was pretty sure this guy was trying to seduce me. It was not going to be hard, I realised, as his words alone had me shifting uncomfortably in my seat, my panties wet.He smirked wickedly, noticing his teasing behaviour was having the desired effect.
Okay, Mr Sexy Voice, you want to play dirty, do you? You are on. Challenge accepted. Two could play at that game. If he wasn’t embarrassed to behave like this in front of his family, I wouldn’t be either. Besides, nobody else was looking. They were all too engrossed in a story Nonna was telling them.
I felt deliciously wicked as I leaned towards the fork, looking him in the eye, and slowly, very slowly, took the food off the prongs. The room around us melted away, my sole focus on the man in front of me. I held his gaze while I chewed and swallowed, then ran my tongue seductively over my lips. I licked off the little bit of cream left there, moaning in delight. He gulped, and I smirked. Gotcha!
“Nonna, you are an amazing cook. Your pasta was lovely, but I must say that your desserts are even more exquisite!” I told her before slowly dragging my gaze from Ash, who was staring at me open-mouthed.
“Thank you, dear,” she said, with silent laughter in her eyes.
I noticed then that everyone was staring at us in amusement, too. Oops. Busted! Normally, I would be bright red and praying the ground would open up and swallow me right about now, but not today. Today, I just gave a little giggle instead, and thankfully, everyone went back to making small talk as I finished off my desserts without any additional help.
Ash had turned a little in his seat after my tease, but not before I saw a decidedly large bulge in his pants. He was stuffing his face with his dessert, and I noticed that he seemed as hyper-aware of me as I was of him, yet he deliberately avoided my gaze. Oh yeah! It was good to see that I could turn the tables on Ash when I wanted to and show him that he was not the only one in control of this relationship. I had to fight hard to keep the smirk off my face.
A little while later, and seemingly recovered from my teasing, Ash gave me a tour of the house.
It really was very beautiful, but my favourite place was the library on the top floor. It was huge, with floor-to-ceiling bookcases all around three walls attached with ladders so you could climb right up to the top shelf and move along it. I bubbled with excitement. I had to try that later.
In one corner was a desk and chair, which would be a great spot for a writing corner.
A real fireplace was the focal point in the centre of the room, with a very comfy-looking sofa and oversized chairs facing it, and several other high-backed old-fashioned style reading chairs were dotted around the room. It was amazing, and I could lose myself there for hours.
Ash was talking, I realised, but I had been so distracted I missed what he had said.
Not wanting him to know that I hadn’t been paying attention, I nodded and smiled, hoping that was the right response. He looked pleased enough, so I guessed it must have been.
I walked over to one of the shelves, unable to stay away from the books any longer.
I noticed a section which appeared to be dedicated to the romance genre. Oh my, I scanned the titles and saw so many were books by my favourite authors. Geez, I must have died and gone to heaven!
I picked up a Maggie Cole book and smiled. I had this on my Kindle, but I really loved the smell and the feel of a real paper book. I touched it lovingly. I guessed someone here liked their romantic novels, too. Probably Sonia. Something we would have in common then. I wondered who her favourite book boyfriend was? I could never choose just one. I loved them all!
Oh my god, there was a whole collection of Sophie Lark’s books! And the latest from Eden Summers, too! This was definitely my favourite room, and I would definitely be spending as much time as possible here from now on. Maybe I shouldn’t bother with the other room and just take up residence here instead? I could easily live in here. It was every book lover’s fantasy, a library of their own.
“So, what type of romance is your favourite?” Ash asked.
I heard myself saying, “Dark mafia romance,” without thinking.
Suddenly, he moved closer, and I looked up at him.
“You wanted to know what those guys wanted with me?”
I blinked, confused for a minute. What was he talking about? Oh, right, the black dudes! This was important, I reminded myself. I’d better pay attention, I guessed. I could gush over the books later.
“You are a clever woman, Gracie, and I am sure you have already figured out that this situation is not about a case of mistaken identity. My brothers and I are known as Oligarchs, which simply means Russian businessmen, and we do indeed own numerous businesses both here in the UK and abroad. However, as you know, sometimes in business, you make enemies. People want what you have, and the men who kidnapped me, beat me, then attacked us this morning, want to take some of our business away.”
I nodded.
