Kate Sherwood - Dark Horse 2.3 - Into the Light Read Online Free PDF Page A

worry about appearances, and just tell the truth. “Maybe. Why don’t we get a drink here, and see if things calm down?”
“Sounds good.” He nodded over to a table near the fireplace. “There?”
     
We went and sat down. Just like at Zio’s I knew most of the staff

Into the Light | Kate Sherwood
    here at least to say hi to, but it was pretty clear right from the start that I was of only marginal interest to anybody. Ryan was the draw. At first it was sort of cute, the way that there was always somebody at our table, chatting away. Then it got annoying, and I could see it as Ryan noticed my reaction and tried to shoo people away from the table. But for every one that he got rid of, at least one more appeared, and finally it just got ridiculous and I started to laugh. He saw me, and smiled back, and right there, in the middle of the crowd, that’s when I felt the first strong, hard pull of attraction.
    Before that, it had been tentative, easy to mistake or dismiss, but not anymore. I wanted him. I wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted to do once I had him, but that seemed like an unimportant detail. I knew there would be skin involved. Golden, beautiful skin, preferably lit by firelight. I wanted him horizontal, definitely, our limbs free to tangle together.
    His eyes didn’t leave mine, and it felt like he could read not only every thought I was having, but also every thought I’d ever had, and a few that hadn’t even come to me yet. He leaned forward over the table, until he was close enough that I could hear him as he quietly asked, “Want to get out of here?”
“Yeah.” I maybe could have been a bit more subtle, but there was no point.
    He smiled again, quick and genuine. “Okay. Let’s go.” He reached around as if looking for his wallet, but I was too quick for him. I had a twenty in my hand, and I tucked it under the empty beer glass on the table and stood up. “You don’t have to pay for everything, you know,” he said, but he wasn’t really arguing.
It took us a while to get out of the restaurant, with every person in the place needing to give him a personal goodbye as if he were going off to war. By the time we made it out to the sidewalk, my nerves were back,

Into the Light | Kate Sherwood
    but now at least I was sure that I wanted to fight through them. “You want to try Zio’s?” Ryan suggested.
    “Or we could go to my place.” Again, I was a bit confused about the different rules. That would have been pretty sleazy, probably, if I’d said it to a woman. But if I’d suggested it to a guy friend, it would have been fine. Where did Ryan fit in? “I mean, I’m not a great cook, but I’m okay. I’ve got—I don’t know, we could do pasta, or a stir-fry. Or—how late is Bart’s open?” Bartleby’s was the closest the town had to a gourmet food shop. “Have you had their grass-fed steaks? They’re pretty good.”
    Ryan checked his watch, then grinned at me as he pulled his phone out and hit a speed-dial number. “Hey, Paulo? Are you guys closed? Yeah? Are you still there, though?” He made a face at me. “Yeah, okay, he’s a bastard, you’re a slave, I know. But, listen—can I come by and pick up a couple steaks? And maybe some side dishes—whatever’s good.” He listened again. “Yeah, so I’ll owe you.” He smiled, and it probably shouldn’t have made me want to hit this Paulo asshole in the face, but it did. Apparently once I’d decided that I was attracted to Ryan, I was going for the full cave-man approach. Interesting, since I wasn’t normally all that possessive about the women I dated.
    Ryan finished up his call with a cheerful, “Okay, we’ll be there in a few minutes,” and then turned to look at me. “You’ve been in town long enough to know the names of the right places—that’s good. But have you been here long enough to know who you need to call at those places?”
“Paulo, huh? Maybe you can introduce me.” I tried to keep my tone