Read Once in Paris for Free Online Page B

Mary had provided. She tasted it with delight.
    â€œHow delicious!” she exclaimed.
    â€œMary says it’s the amount of flavoring she uses that gives them such a nice taste.”
    She reached for her drink and sipped it, surprised to find that it didn’t contain any alcohol.
    He noticed her expression and chuckled. “I’m not giving alcohol to a minor, even in Nassau,” he murmured.
    â€œI’m not exactly a minor,” she informed him.
    â€œYou’re not twenty-one yet,” he replied. His dark eyes slid over her youthful figure and up to her pretty face with intense scrutiny as he satwith one big lean hand wrapped around his glass. “You’re young. Very young.”
    â€œBlame it on a sheltered childhood,” she said. Her gaze slid over him like searching fingertips. “How old are you?” she asked abruptly.
    One bushy eyebrow lifted. “Older than you.”
    She wrinkled her nose. “Much older?”
    He shrugged and sipped his drink. “Much older.” His dark eyes met hers levelly. “Almost twice your age.”
    â€œYou don’t look it,” she said, and meant it. He had the physique of a man ten years younger, and there were only traces of silver at his temples. She smiled at him wistfully. “I guess you haven’t given a lot of thought to seducing me?”
    Both eyebrows went up. “I beg your pardon?”
    His tone would have made a lesser woman falter, but Brianne was made of stouter stuff. “We talked about it in Paris,” she reminded him. “Of course, you were pretty drunk at the time, so I can’t really expect you to remember too much of our conversation. But I did admit that I was going to wait for you.” She grinnedwickedly. “And I have, despite the temptation.”
    He hated himself for asking. “What temptation?”
    â€œThere was a very handsome Portuguese nobleman in one of my classes. He was older than the rest of us, very cultured, very correct. All of us were wild about him, but there was a fiancée waiting back home.” She shook her head. “Poor Cara.”
    â€œWho’s Cara?”
    â€œMy best friend. She’s from Texas. She went to Portugal this summer to stay with her sister, and guess whose brother her baby sister got involved with?”
    â€œThe nobleman’s.”
    â€œBingo. I understand it’s been open warfare since her ship docked.” She shook her head. “Cara never liked Raoul in the first place,” she recalled. “They couldn’t get along.”
    â€œBut you liked him.”
    She nodded and smiled at him. “Very much. He was nice to me.”
    He chuckled deep in his throat, and there was a look in his eyes that didn’t make much sense to her.
    â€œWhy are you laughing?” she asked.
    He gave her a complicated look. “Do you think I’m nice?” he asked softly.
    She looked stunned. “Nice? You? Good Lord, you’re a barracuda!”
    The laughter grew, deep and rich. “Well, you’re honest.”
    â€œI try to be.” She looked down into her glass with a sigh. “Philippe Sabon’s after me, you know,” she said with visible discomfort. “He wanted to throw a birthday party for me on his yacht, and my stepfather was all for it. I refused, and now he’s not speaking to me. But I heard the two of them talking, and it made me nervous.”
    He didn’t have to ask why Sabon was interested in her. He already knew. He spun the ice around in his glass before he took another sip.
    â€œAccording to what I’ve heard, Sabon has a yen for virgins,” he said curtly. “I won’t tell you what he’s said to do with them. But he isn’t doing it to you.”
    His concern made her feel warm inside. She smiled. “Thanks. Could you loan me your security chief for a few days to make sure of it?” she added