Read Taken by You (Taken by You Book One) for Free Online

living through this, but either way I liked it.
    “ So, I suppose for me to be able to write off this dinner I should ask you about the internship. Tell me, what is your hope for this position?” Blake asked.
    “ Well, I would say my biggest hope is to build a foundation for after graduation. I’m a coder, as my resume said, and I want to not only better myself, but also the company I work for. I guess my end goal is like any other college graduate’s, and that’s to find a company I can stay with for a long time after graduation,” I said.
    “ It’s weird to me that you’re a coder,” Blake said, with an inquisitive tone.
    “ Because I’m a girl? I get that a lot,” I said, smiling.
    “ No. Because you’re beautiful,” he said.
    My stomach sank as I continued to push my food around on my plate with the gold fork I was given. Did I remember to clean my ears this morning when I got out of the shower? I must not have, because I thought I just heard Blake say I was beautiful.
    “ Thank you,” I said, as I looked up at him. “That’s a very nice thing to say.”
    “ I don’t just say things, Penelope. I mean them.”
    I smiled, though I tried to hold it back, as I bit my bottom lip a little and felt my cheeks getting warm. I tried to mask it by putting some food in my mouth, but I was sure he’d seen it and knew what kind of effect he was having on me. Maybe I shouldn’t have had that glass of wine. This was why I wasn’t a drinker.
    “ Tell me, Penelope, do you like literature?” Blake asked.
    “ Yeah, I do,” I said, perking up. “Back home reading was all I really did, well, aside from coding and sitting on the computer.”
    “ I have a rather extensive collection of ancient and classic literature back at my apartment. It was actually featured recently in a magazine. I don’t show it to many people in person because of its intrinsic value, but I’d be willing to show you,” Blake said.
    “ I shouldn’t. I should probably get home,” I said.
    “ Oh, come now. I don’t live that far away and besides, my driver will take you home whenever you’d like, so it isn’t like you have to drive or sit on the bus. I promise you won’t regret it,” Blake said, smiling.
    I sat there with my hands in my lap as I fiddled with the white linen napkin and ran through a thousand possibilities and scenarios in my head all at once. Maybe he was just being a genuinely nice guy and wanted to connect on a hobby. Maybe he wanted to show off how expensive his collection was. Maybe he wanted to get me in bed. Maybe, just maybe, and I was just throwing this out there, he was a sociopathic killer who wanted to cut me up into little pieces and feed me to the squirrels in the park. Even though all of those were valid, there was a part of me that still wanted to see not only his collection, but also his apartment. What exactly did a billionaire have? I was curious enough to possibly find out.
    “ I guess that sounds fair enough. I’ll come by, but I shouldn’t stay long. I don’t want my roommate to worry,” I said convincingly.
    “ Excellent. I think you’ll enjoy everything you see there,” Blake said.
    Blake paid the check with a black credit card that almost brought envy to the waitress’s eyes. I took another sip of my wine, the rest of the glass, and felt it slide smoothly down my throat before I took a breath and felt the sting of the alcohol on my tongue against the crisp air.
    “ Here you are, sir. Thank you for dining with us tonight and we hope to see you two again soon,” our waitress said with a smile, before seeing herself out.
    “ My car should’ve been brought around front by now. Shall we go?” Blake asked, as he checked his watch.
    “ Yes, please,” I said, getting out of the booth.
    My heels clacked against the wooden floor. The staff was waiting at the front to open the doors for us and say goodbye. I wasn’t sure if they were smiling because they liked us, or because they were