Read Aris: A Sexy Romance Novel (Thief of Hearts Series Book 1) for Free Online Page A

avocado sandwich thing that was really good.  You should eat something.”
    “No, thanks.  Where’s my laptop bag?”
    “It’s in the corner by the other table.”  Aris appeared at her side offering her a delicately painted cup on a small matching saucer,  “Oh c’mon.  I make fabulous coffee!  You’ll never want to go back to Starbuck’s again.” he smiled at her disdainful grimace.  She took the cup without saying anything, watching Denise having a riot with Noah.
    Saoirse sat down at the other table with her laptop looking at copies of contracts she had loaded with a few that she had yet to finish writing.  Her laptop had run down about an hour of its battery when Aris approached the table.  He set another delicate dish in front of her, taking a sip from the demitasse she had left on the other table.  The coffee was probably cold by now but it didn’t seem to bother him.  
    “You can’t spend twenty-one days not eating anything and working on other people’s contracts.”  he sat down opposite her,  “Can you?” he took another sip of the coffee watching her type.  “Raw, unsalted cashews.  They’re your favorites.” 
    “You spent two hours with me with seven years ago, not all of that time actually with me, but you think you know what my favorite anything is?”  Saoirse arched an eyebrow wrinkling her mouth as she made it clear she didn’t believe he could know anything about her.
    “Psychic.” he smiled at her but her expression didn’t change,  “Tell me I’m wrong.  Tell me you don’t like cashews.  I’ll bring you something else.”  Aris shrugged his shoulders looking at her over the demitasse as he took another sip.
    “Psychic.  Then you would have known I don’t like emerald green.”
    “No, you wear emerald green quite a bit.  Two of your power suits are emerald green.”  Aris laughed, “You don’t like the fact the dress was from me.” 
    Saoirse was mad.  She didn’t like the fact that he was right.  She liked it even less that he knew he was right.  But how did he know? 
    “Seriously, my love...”
    “Oh please!”  she rolled her eyes.
    “You’re right.  Raw, unsalted cashews was just a good guess.  They’re a common preference among women like, smoke and stout caramel, or dark chocolate with bacon pieces, or havarti with dill.  Lots of women love ham sandwiches with fig paste or crave macaroni and cheese with gruyere and gouda if you catch them at the wrong time of the month.  Of course, there is always that preference for brownies with cream cheese frosting.  Parlor tricks, right?”  Aris smiled at her anyway,  “But the fact remains, you haven’t eaten in at least the last ten hours.  You ate hardly anything at dinner last night.  I didn’t expect to have to spend twenty-one days attending your hunger strike.”  Aris looked straight at her. 
    He was right, she was already breaking her word.  She wasn’t honestly giving him a chance.  Saoirse felt Denise’s eyes on her too, even though she was still playing the game with Noah.  She licked her lips considering what she had to do and what she should do. 
    “Fine.  I’ll eat something.” she went back to typing on her contracts.  Aris got up from the seat.
    “Do you have a preference?”
    “Does it matter?” she fired back without looking up from her contract.
    “Yes.” there was something in his tone of voice that made her stop.
    “I don’t have any preference.”  her voice was nicer, but she didn’t look up from her laptop.
    Aris returned with a bowl of Hungarian mushroom soup with wild rice and bits of pot roast in it.  He set it down beside her laptop.  He set a bottle of water down beside that. 
    “You need some water, we’ve been in the air quite a while.”
    She nodded her head but didn’t stop typing.  Aris walked around to her side of the laptop looking over her shoulder.  She found it difficult to concentrate with him standing there.