In Love and War Read Online Free PDF Page B

like it?” His smile coaxed her to accept. “I saw how much you enjoyed yours.”
    Oh yes, she was definitely in trouble here. Reaching out, she picked the berry from between his fingers and took a dainty bite while he watched. It felt naughty, full of implications.
    Stop it Ariela, you’re being ridiculous . It was just a damn strawberry!
    Except what was happening between them, while feeling deceptively casual, was intensely intimate. It was one of the strangest dates she’d ever been on, not that it had veered far from the norm. It hadn’t. It just felt different.
    Setting the stem aside, she dabbed her mouth with her napkin. “Thank you.”
    This was one time she actually wanted a man to dominate the conversation. She repeatedly opened up subjects only to be drawn back in when Dylan asked questions in return. It was impossible not to feel disappointed because he was so fascinating, his experiences wildly different from hers. She pictured him as the metaphorical canteen of water in the desert, an oasis, a cool, gratifying plunge into experiences both foreign and elemental. She wanted to drink deep, get her fill, but he smoothly turned the discussion back around, leaving her thirst for more unquenched.
    For some inexplicable reason, he seemed to find her just as interesting. Imagine. They laughed like old friends, and sometimes her spontaneous trills of delight drew glances from other diners. Dylan wasn’t the least bit bothered by it either, earning even more points in his favor. He was as lost in the moment as she was.
    P icking up the thread of their earlier conversation before he could turn it back on her again, she asked, “And that’s why you haven’t settled down?”
    “Not since Greece. Neither of us was ready for a commitment, especially Maria." Dylan shook his head and chuckled to himself. "I was in and out of her life so often, when I got back from Rome the last time I found she’d given away most of my clothes to her various boyfriends. I was lucky to get away with a few pairs of underwear.”
    Ariela covered her mouth, laughing into her hand. His anecdotes were some of the best she’d ever heard. “How could you stand her?”
    “Well, she was gorgeous and uninhibited. That’s a sexy combination for any guy.”
    “I’ll bet,” she said dryly, studying this charmer across the table. “Do you have your passport on you?”
    “As a matter of fact, I do —habit.”
    “Can I see it?”
    “Sure.” He reached back and pulled it out. It was warm and curved from being in his pocket.
    Ariela smothered a nother laugh when she saw it and went to work pressing it flat before opening it. She scanned all the stamps with interest. “Where’s Tenerife?”
    “It’s an island off the northwest coast of Africa, part of the Canaries. Belongs to Spain. Very beautiful. You can climb the mountains and get lost in the clouds. Palm trees and miles of topless beaches.”
    “Topless beaches, hmm?” The corner of her mouth twitched when she glanced up at him before returning to the passport. “There on business?”
    “She asked knowingly,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. “No, I was doing a little research on my own time.”
    “I s uspected as much.” It was impossible to hold back her smile. “My mind is full of all kinds of possibilities.”
    Now he laughed outright and without apparent shame. “Au natural isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, I assure you. All it means is no matter what the age or physical condition of the bathers, anyone can go topless—and they do. So, for every opportunity to eyeball perky beauties, there’s an even better chance you’re going to find yourself experiencing a full-body shudder. Try and picture biting into the sourest lemon there is when you least expect it, and you’ll understand the reaction I’m talking about here.”
    “I never realized public nudity could be so risky,” she teased, returning the passport.
    “You have no idea.” He grinned and shifted