Carved in Stone: Monochrome Destiny Read Free

not about to allow this bully the
satisfaction of seeing her fear so she swallowed hard and lifted her gaze to
meet Derek’s, dark, cold stare without flinching.
    “Would
you let me pass, please?”   She spoke her words in a saccharine sweet
tone meeting deep hatred with fluffy friendliness.  It took all of her
willpower to achieve the result, but it didn’t work.  Derek didn’t move.
    “No-one
wants you here, Darrow.”  It was an old record but one Derek kept on
playing.  He’d had a problem with both her and Kat from the start.
    “Then
that would be their problem, not mine.”  Robyn dropped the façade and
spoke in staccato tone as she sidestepped again.
    Derek
blocked her once more then inched even closer, his frame towering over Robyn’s
five foot four.  He meant to intimidate her and it was working.  He
reached out and placed his large hand over the top of Robyn’s mug.  She could
feel her heart thudding painfully even before Derek bent down to whisper in her
ear.  “You and your slapper friend are not welcome here.  Why don’t
you just take the hint, freak! ”
    Anger
flared.  It eclipsed her fear in a brilliant hot pulse that Robyn could
not control.  She was not a freak.  She jerked her mug from Derek’s
grasping hand, intent on putting him in his place with vicious words, but her
violent manoeuvre sloshed the tea over the side of the cup, spraying not only
the kitchenette but the pale shirt of the man standing patiently behind her.
    Horrified
by her clumsiness, Robyn forgot Derek, turning away from him to grab a nearby
dishtowel, and hastily placed her half empty mug on the counter.  She took
a step towards her victim, intending to mop at the stain before it could set
in, but was stopped before she could touch him.  As she reached out, he
grabbed her wrist with supple, long fingers and suddenly all the breath left
Robyn’s body.
    The
kitchenette faded as warmth seeped into Robyn’s skin under the stranger’s
touch.  It was too overwhelming a sensation to be caused by normal body
temperature.  It caressed and pleasured her every cell.  It flowed
through her tissues with graceful fluidity working its way up her arm.  All
her thoughts were suddenly gone in a cloudy miasma that took everything away
except for the delicious heat.
    Robyn
felt immediately enticed and addicted to the blissful sensation and stepped
into his touch for more, the urge to do so overpowering.  She could no
more have prevented the move than she could have fought gravity.  They
were two orbiting satellites, drawn to each other by a power stronger than they
could resist.
    Enthralled,
Robyn looked up into the palest eyes she had ever seen.  Black pupils
contrasted so starkly against pale irises that Robyn was mesmerised and, as if
drawn in ink, he had dark rings encircling the pale shade, making his eyes
stand out even more.  He captured her gaze and held her frozen even as
fear snaked up her spine.  It was irrational, but not entirely unexpected
and Robyn found herself quaking even as the warmth of his touch held her in
place.
    Robyn
stared as the eyes that had captured her so widened with shock before narrowing
with disgust.  She had no time to wonder who this mysterious man was,
because he blinked, caught her hand in his and firmly pulled the tea towel from
her grip.
    The
mysterious stranger turned away so quickly Robyn thought he might get
whiplash.  He strode from the room on long legs and Robyn just watched him
go, wondering what in the hell had just happened.
    Left
with nothing but ice in her veins, Robyn shook her head free of the remaining
grogginess and turned to find a very angry Derek Ellis stalking towards
her.  His suit trousers were marred with a spreading tea stain and his
face was aglow with pure rage.
    Backing
away, not entirely recovered from her strange interaction, Robyn found herself caught between the irate giant and the pigeon holes
that sufficed as a rudimentary, if not out-dated,