Read The Dark Proposal (The Claire McCormick Trilogy) for Free Online Page B

recognized this spot was where Daniel had himself photographed for his website.  
    After showing her around, Daniel asked if she wanted any more wine, which she accepted. As he went to the refrigerator to get it, he told her she could put on his MP3 player and play whatever she wanted. As Claire scrolled through the player, she was telling herself to calm down. Never before had she slept with a man so soon, and part of her wondered if he thought she was easy. She told herself a sort of mantra that told her what she was doing was fine, and besides, she was in the mood as well.
    She picked a soft rock band that she enjoyed and chose a song. After placing the MP3 player back on its dock, she sat down on the black leather couch which was opposite the media unit and right next to the door. She took note of the art work in the living room and adjacent dining room. There were about four paintings on the wall, and thankfully none of them were modern works, a type she despised. The funny thing was that these paintings were not prints; they were all originals, though she didn’t recognize any of the artists. They were old and were actual works that Daniel must have bought himself, none of which she recognized. He certainly came from wealth in order to afford such old, authentic paintings, not to mention a home in TriBeCa.
    He came out with the bottle of open wine. “Straight from Provence,” he told her and placed it on the wooden coffee table in front of her. He then poured the red wine into two glasses and gave her one before he sat on the arm of the couch, right over her. They clinked their glasses together before sipping their drinks while looking right at each other.
    “I was looking at your paintings,” Claire said. “Who painted them? And are they authentic? They seem to be.”
    “Well.” He didn’t seem to know where to start. Finally, he said, “Yes, they are authentic, not copies. They’re done by old friends of my parents, no one famous.”
    She raised her eyebrows and turned to look at the one above the couch. “Really? They look very old to me.”
    “No, they’re not,” Daniel said quickly. “I mean, they’re only a few decades old, not centuries old. If that’s old to you.”
    She looked back at him, giving a playful grin. “No, a few decades is not old to me. I’m not some shallow person, obviously.”
    “I didn’t mean that,” he muttered before sipping his wine. “So, I see you chose a band I like. Not too many young people like this sort of music, based on my students’ tastes.”
    She shrugged. “I’m not like most young people. I always tend to be different from other people my age.”
    “I know. I see that,” he said. “Does it make you lonely, if you don’t mind me asking?”
    “Well,” she sighed. This was Daniel’s most personal question yet and she didn’t want to give too much away, despite them being moments away from physical intimacy. “My roommates put up with me and my…quirks if you will. We do like some of the same music, but my tastes in art, writing, and other things are not their interests. They tease me sometimes, mainly because they don’t understand.” She paused. “Sometimes it bugs me that they do that. We are friends, and have been for four years, but you’d think they’d grow up and accept what I like.”
    He nodded and she kept going. “Monica and Samantha say I can be boring because I like slow, quiet music besides other types and I enjoy going to art museums. They never even attempt to go check out local plays with me because that’s not their thing. They tried it when we were students but got bored very quickly. Sometimes I wonder why I am friends with them if I have so little in common with them. But then again, there’s so few who like what I like.”
    “Stop,” he said quietly. “You got me.”
    Claire tried to smile, but she felt herself blush a little. How kindergarten of her! But her heart began thudding when Daniel ran his curled