Forbidden: Her British Stepbrot - Lauren Smith Page 0,1
a silly, goonish expression that made Kat and Lacy giggle.
Kat adored her new friends. She’d only known them since August, but something about them, their natural warmth, the way they opened up to her, made her feel like she’d known them for years.
Maybe it was the magic of the city, too. Ever since she’d come here for university, this little Elizabethan-era town had captivated her. Between the shops tucked in crooked, wandering alleys and the tolling bells of the various colleges throughout the day, Kat had been bewitched by this tiny part of the world. It was more of a home for her than any other place she’d ever lived.
“Well, don’t tell me you’re afraid to give it a go?” Mark laughed.
His brown eyes were dark and full of brotherly mischief, offering a friendship Kat hadn’t thought she’d find again since she’d left her last high school boyfriend behind. She and Ben had been good friends, more than she’d ever thought possible with a guy. Like him, Mark was easygoing, with a ready smile and a playful attitude that put her at ease.
She and Ben hadn’t been serious, and calling him a boyfriend was really more of a stretch. They’d hung out but never even kissed. When she’d confessed this to Lacy, her friend had gasped and immediately informed her that what she and Ben hadn’t been a “real” relationship.
Kat jerked herself out of the spiral her thoughts had taken and focused on her friends. She tipped back her drink and finished it. She couldn’t believe it was close to the end of November, and the term was winding down. As much as she’d enjoyed her classes, she was glad for the upcoming winter break. What better way to start the holidays than getting a jumpstart on her “Operation Adventure.”
When the front door of the pub suddenly opened, an icy wind cut through the cozy atmosphere of the building. Despite the dim gold light cast by the fixtures in the pub, Kat could see more than one person at the surrounding tables muttering, clutching at their coats and glancing toward the front door.
“Oh my,” Lacy murmured, her brown eyes all soft and dreamy as she stared at something behind Kat.
Mark coughed, catching Lacy’s attention, but Kat was already turning around in her seat. For some reason all of the breath left her body and she blinked, completely spellbound.
There, framed in the doorway, was a living, breathing god. When he closed the door behind him, snowflakes swirled and eddied around him, clinging to his dark hair and his black knee-length pea coat. He made her think of Hades, the dark god of the Netherworld, in search of his sweet, innocent lover Persephone.
Kat would never have thought she’d describe a man in such terms, but this man…oh yes, the description was perfect. So perfect it almost hurt to look at him. The kind of gorgeous that made a woman’s body respond instantly. A slow wave of heat overtook Kat as she stared at him, and she clamped her thighs together when a slow throb began to build in her lower abdomen.
Now that’s the sort of man I want to get involved with . One who would sweep me away, make me forget who I used to be, and show me who I might become. A woman who lives life on the edge, who explores dark passions and truly experiences life. The thought of being with a man like him…it felt right to want him.
The decent-looking guys a few tables away had nothing on this man. And that was just it: He was a man. Nothing about him screamed “college student.” The way he walked, in an almost predatory, graceful movement, sucked her in, and she couldn’t look away. He was the sort of man who would stop every woman in her tracks as he strode past, demanding their attention, their desire …
His eyes swept over the room, not even noticing her.
No surprise. She was just another undergraduate student bundled up in jeans, a thick sweater, and boots.
Not like him.
A pinch of pain in her chest made her set her cider down and blink rapidly. She’d never minded being invisible before, but looking at this sexy god of a man…she wanted to get his attention. It was a stupid, girlish feeling, but she wanted him to look her way, see her. The pull he had on her was strange, magnetic, like nothing she’d ever felt before. It was as though something inside her