Veiled Desire Read Online Free PDF Page B

you worry about that.”
    She narrowed her eyes on him. “Do you have something planned?” Nah, this had been an impromptu idea on his part. Valentine’s dinner reservations took a bit more work than just deciding to go somewhere.
    He shrugged.
    “Where are we going?”
    “It’s a surprise.”
    “Mason, you have a lot to learn about girl-speak. ‘Where are we going?’ is usually code for ‘What should I wear?’”
    “Oh. No jeans. A dress.” He nodded decisively. “Red. Or blue.”
    “The place cares what color I wear?” she asked, amused.
    He glanced up at her from beneath his lashes. “You look good in bright colors.”
    Her hoodie felt a bit too warm all of a sudden. “Oh. Thanks. I’ll think about it.”
    He shrugged and turned, but not before she saw a light flush color his cheeks. “Whatever. Want to grab some plates?”
    Happy for the distraction, Leyla set the table and helped him arrange the food. By tacit agreement, they kept the conversation light and breakfast passed without incidence.
    As Leyla chewed her last bite, savoring the taste of strawberry, cream cheese and cinnamon, she glanced up to find Mason’s gaze on her mouth, his eyes just a bit unfocused. He looked hungry. And since his plate was clean, she figured it wasn’t for food.
    Her heart rate accelerated. Though she was careful with her love life, she’d received her fair share of admiring looks over the years. She knew what male interest looked like. But…Mason?
    Well, why not? Hadn’t she spent months wrestling with her attraction and feelings for him? Why wouldn’t that desire be reciprocated?
    Baby.
    Sweetheart.
    This is a nice thing to wake up to…
    “Why don’t you call me Lee-Lee anymore?” she blurted out. Sasha had tagged her with the nickname in childhood. Though her brother had grown out of it, Mason had continued to use it affectionately. But now that she considered it, he had switched to only calling her by her given name for months.
    He didn’t seem at all startled by her pulling the topic out of thin air. “Because it’s a child’s name. Neither of us are children, are we?”
    She was a bit too rattled to answer. Her heart pounding, she swallowed the lump in her throat and deliberately set her fork to the side. Leyla dipped her finger in the remaining syrup on her plate. His eyes flicked down to follow the lazy figure eight she made and followed her finger back up to her mouth, where she enclosed it and…sucked.
    His eyes flared, and he bit his lower lip. Hard.
    Oh my. Well, this was very interesting.
    Leyla had never considered herself a wilting flower, so as much as she wanted to swoon a little, she stiffened her spine at the obvious signs of desire she was suddenly noting all over him. Dilated eyes, chest rising and falling. Even his nipples were hard.
    Want to taste. Then maybe he would reciprocate.
    Her head was spinning from the onslaught of the sudden epiphany. Did he just want her for sex? Because that would never work. She wasn’t set up to be a fuck buddy. But if he wanted more, did she? What about Sasha? How would her brother react?
    Her natural humor kicked in, and she tried to fight the sudden urge to laugh at herself. Sasha had always been the impulsive Karimi, but here she was, ready to go nuts on the basis of a couple of hot looks. Time to slow down and really think about this. He hadn’t given her that much encouragement, if she looked at it objectively.
    To distract herself, she picked up her plate and stood. “You done?” Without waiting for anything more than his nod, she picked up his empty plate as well and carried them both to the sink. A small pile of dishes had already been gathered there.
    As she grabbed the sponge and drizzled some soap on it, she heard the scrape of his chair behind her. “You don’t have to do that.”
    “I don’t mind.”
    “Seriously, leave it.”
    Trying to diffuse some of her tension, she forced a smile into her voice and made a tsking noise.