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Authors: V. J. Devereaux

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BOOK: Blood Bound
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Julian walked closer, taking in the image on the screen, enraptured.

“That’s more like it. Much more like it. Her I would very much like to meet.”

Grinning, Nico folded his arms in satisfaction, keeping his glee to himself. He might be a geek and a nerd, and he might not be the salesman Julian was, but he knew how to make a presentation. He’d deliberately kept this one until last. He knew Julian’s tastes well, since they were a mirror to his own.

He looked at the chestnut-haired woman on the screen. She stirred him as well.

Julian turned to look at him. “So, how do we do this?”

 

Chapter Two

 

The Ambassador Club was a major step up from Rafaela’s usual dates. On-line matchmaking services were
so
not her, but she was getting desperate. It was becoming difficult to find a decent man these days. Given her surroundings, though, she had higher hopes this time. Unlike her last internet date, she was meeting this one in one of the most exclusive restaurants in the city. She loved the cool elegance of room, the low-key lighting, and the flights of architectural fancy.

Arching beams soared over her head while glass panels overhead gave a view of the stars and pale sheer drapes framed the view of the lights of the city below. At the center of the room a grand piano was surrounded by a small dance area. As the pianist played, he crooned romantic old standards. She recognized the song
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
and smiled.

She walked into the room confidently, negligently tossing her hair over her shoulder, hoping to hide any indication of uncertainty. This wasn’t her normal environment, although she much preferred it.

The luxurious surroundings certainly didn’t intimidate her nor did the circumstances. Not really. She hardly cared about money. Although some considered hers a blue-collar job it didn’t mean she couldn’t appreciate the finer things in life. While her job wasn’t nearly as glamorous as TV portrayed it, the unpredictable hours made it difficult for her to meet people. As a result, her love life hadn’t been exactly stellar lately and her choices had become a bit limited.

A place like this begged the question, though – what was a man who could afford this and looked like his profile picture doing using an on-line matchmaking service?

Internet dating narrowed her options in many ways, except when people lied…and they lied a lot. They posted ten-year-old pictures, took off coke-bottle glasses. How could you start any kind of relationship with a lie, a lie that indicated you didn’t like yourself much? A few extra pounds didn’t mean looking as if you were trying to smuggle a basketball under your shirt.

Frankly, she was getting tired of it all, but she was lonely and there were days when it would have been nice to have someone to come home to. Someone to play with. She was a normal woman, more or less, with a healthy, if slightly overactive, sex drive. She smiled a little at that thought.

Still, what was a girl to do? She hadn’t met anyone remotely interesting any other way. It wasn’t as if she met too many eligible men at work.

The usual assortment of businessmen of various heights and sizes sat around the bar. One or two looked intriguing and were probably married or gay. She wouldn’t mind making a little conversation though if the date didn’t work out. It would be nice to sit and talk to someone about politics, the weather…anything other than her work.

Rafi was aware of eyes on her, of the men watching her. She wasn’t uncomfortable with it, she was accustomed to it, she had the kind of body that drew stares. But some men forgot there was a woman attached to the body. What was worse, though, was it sometimes seemed as if one man wasn’t enough for her. She was affectionate by nature and that scared more than a few men off.

She made her way to the bar, sat and ordered a drink as the pianist played As Time Goes By.

The blatantly romantic song made her smile, thinking of Rick and Elsa from Casablanca. Maybe it was an omen. She hoped so.

*****

 

Heads turned, catching Julian’s attention. He turned as well to watch the woman who entered the bar. Recognition jolted him.

She was his date.

He was more than pleased to find there were no unpleasant surprises, she was exactly as advertised. If anything, her picture hadn’t done her justice. A camera couldn’t quite capture her air of wry amusement. While she wasn’t classically beautiful, she was lovely, her eyes pretty, bright, and curious. Those pretty eyes were blue, a little stormy in color, her mouth finely shaped and firm. He liked the curiosity in those eyes. Almost unconsciously she moved in time to the music, hips swaying, a small smile playing on her lips as she walked to the bar. Her eyes sparkled, clearly pleased by the ambiance. He liked that, too. After all, it was his restaurant.

Her body?

Julian sighed with pure pleasure. That was very nice, just shy of hourglass, her breasts high and firm, hips rounded but tight, proportional to the rest of her. The dress was marvelous - fluid silk in a color to match those incredible eyes. It moved over her body as she walked, the neckline revealing enough of her breasts to entice without being obvious. Her legs were phenomenal, shapely and well muscled, with a dancer’s taut calves.

According to her online profile, her tastes were as eclectic as his in everything from music to literature. That was important. He liked well-rounded women. He needed to be able to talk to someone besides Nico about things that mattered – something he found sorely lacking these days. She liked almost everything he liked - most music but not the kinds he loathed – she’d read everything from the classics to fantasy. She admitted to liking romance novels, unlike those who pretended they didn’t. That honesty was refreshing. She seemed fairly open-minded as well. That was also important, he’d experienced too much to be tolerant of those whose minds were closed, plus he dealt with clients of all kinds and preferences.

Overall, he liked what he saw. Certainly, he couldn’t argue too much that she drew the eyes of so many of the men here. In fact, he felt a certain amount of pride in it. After all, she was here for him.

Now, if only he liked what was inside the skin, what was behind the eyes. He watched as she leaned an elbow on the bar to wait for the bartender, and went to greet her.

Catching his movement from the corner of her eye, she turned to watch him as he walked toward her.

Now that
, Rafi thought,
is very nice
.

He was tall, around six feet or thereabouts, with a thick head of perfectly cut black hair that gleamed like a raven’s wing beneath the lights, deep and dark, casting off bluish highlights. It tumbled down almost to his shoulders, nearly unfashionably long, and yet on him it worked. Then there were his eyes, so dark a brown they were almost black, long-lashed and beautiful, yet there was nothing feminine about them or him. Those eyes were intelligent and aware, his gaze confident. With reason. His mouth was a little full, sensual but firm. His features were aristocratic, his cheekbones defined, his nose slightly aquiline.

But that mouth…had she mentioned she really liked his mouth?

He was undeniably handsome.

Then there was his body. She took a breath through lungs that suddenly felt constricted.

Broad shoulders moved beneath a perfectly tailored jacket. His tie was loosened a little for comfort but was still knotted precisely.

He moved loosely, easily, and gracefully, with a touch of the predator about him. That was very promising. She thought she caught a hint of muscle beneath his dress shirt. Sex seemed to pour off him, from the light in his eyes to the way he moved. She shivered a little – a touch of anticipation, of excitement. A rush of heat went through her.

What was hiding underneath that marvelously fitted shirt
? she wondered.

She wouldn’t have minded running her hands over that crisp material to find out. Maybe she’d get the chance.

He was walking straight toward her.

He also bore a strong resemblance to the picture of the man on the internet. For once, it looked as if the picture was accurate.

It seemed he really was her date. She was astonished. Her pulse picked up. She’d hit the jackpot. This promised to be very interesting.

His eyes studied her curiously and an eyebrow lifted a fraction.

Suddenly she found she was looking forward to the rest of the evening.

Julian wondered what amused her as her lips curved, her eyes lightening as he approached her.

Tilting her head sideways a little, she smiled and offered her hand, “Julian Lüceanu?”

When she smiled, she went from lovely to truly beautiful in an instant. To his surprise his heart and his breath caught a little at the sight of it. It had been some time since a woman had affected him so quickly.

She surprised him, too, by not mangling his last name. Another point in her favor.

Julian smiled, inclining his head a little in acknowledgement. “Then you would be Rafaela Stratford?”

Her stormy blue eyes assessed him.

Rafi was accustomed to making quick appraisals of people, it was necessary in her line of work.

He was handsome, but not arrogant about it.

There was pride in his stance, dignity without conceit, and strength underneath it all. Not just physical strength, either, although she suspected he was far stronger than he looked. On close inspection there was definitely muscle beneath that shirt. To her astonishment, she also sensed honor and a strength of character not often seen any more. It was something about his manner, the way he carried himself. He wasn’t a man to trifle…or one to trifle with.

His voice was marvelous, just a little deep, with the faintest trace of an accent. Her heart fluttered a little.

Still…

“I would be, but my friends call me Rafi,” she said, intrigued.

Lifting her hand to his lips in a courtly gesture that didn’t look stupid on him at all, he gazed at her with those sexy, long-lashed dark eyes.

His warm lips on her skin sent a flush of heat through her.

“So, Rafaela,” Julian asked, a rush going through him at the invitation he could see in her expression, “am I to be a friend, then?”

He watched her lips twitch in response to the light brush of his lips over her knuckles.

“Oh, there’s a very strong possibility of that,” she said, her eyes twinkling before her gaze softened at the romantic gesture.

Julian very much liked that light in her eyes.

He also liked the slender curve of her throat, the way her hair streamed in rippling waves over her shoulders and down her back, the way she sat so straightly, so elegantly. So many American women slumped unattractively and most didn’t know how to walk properly either, clumping around in their expensive, uncomfortable, designer shoes.

“Will you join me?” he asked, waiting for her assent before nodding to the maitre d’.

The man escorted them quickly to a secluded table by the windows with the best view of the lights of the city below. It was truly breathtaking.

She glanced at Julian quickly as he held her chair for her.

“Thank you, Philip,” Julian said quietly, as he took his own seat.

He watched Rafaela Stratford.

Her expression softened and her lips parted a little in pure pleasure as she looked out over the city. What surprised him was the proprietary air in her look.

So she saw the city as her own. As did he. That was intriguing.

No sooner had she sat than the sommelier arrived with champagne in a bucket. A very good champagne. She looked at Julian and one eyebrow lifted as she noted the label on the bottle.

Julian had ordered the very best, his own vintage, and wondered at her reaction. So, she knew wines.

The man poured the sparkling liquid into their glasses.

Lifting hers, Rafaela nodded and took a slow sip, rolling it around in her mouth before she sighed with pleasure at the taste.

Julian watched her eyelids flutter as she savored the wine, and was heartened even more. She was both an expressive and a sensualist. Even better.

Clearly approving their selection, the sommelier departed.

The look in Rafi’s eyes as her gaze met Julian’s was far too wise and he saw that mobile mouth twitch once again in amusement. She was on to him already and refused to be impressed by the show of wealth. That was a very good sign.

BOOK: Blood Bound
3.28Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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