Inarticulate Read Online Free

comforting embrace. “Thank you for the dinner invitation.”
    “Oh, please,” her aunt chastised. “You don’t need an invitation. Come around any time.”
    There was a whirlwind of introductions. Her aunt took position on her right, gushing with affection and compliments, while Dominic remained on her left, muttering snide comments that threatened to make her laugh.
    A timer dinged from the kitchen, a welcome reprieve as her aunt excused herself and left Savannah to take a breath. There had to be twenty people crammed into the small house. All of them smiling and friendly, unlike the man outside who still lingered in her thoughts.
    “You want a drink?” Dominic nudged her elbow.
    Hell yes. “Please.” She followed him to the back of the house, into the laundry, and toward a fridge stocked full of beer, wine, and pre-mixed drinks.
    “Help yourself.”
    He held the door open while she grabbed a small bottle of something red and no doubt comatosingly sweet. “Thanks.”
    “I’m gonna hit the bathroom.” He closed the fridge door and looked at her in concern. “Can you survive for a few minutes without me?”
    “I guess I’ll have to. I’m not going to follow you to the toilet.”
    “ Obviously ,” he drawled. “You gave up that opportunity when we were eight.”
    “Twelve.”
    “Ten.” He chuckled and walked from the room, leaving her alone with the hovering threat of chatter from the other end of the house.
    It was time to go incognito. She didn’t have the energy to smile at strangers. Alcohol would help, but for now, she needed cool fresh air…and maybe another glimpse at the menacing eyes of the man she’d met on the porch.
    She shoved the bottle into her coat pocket and sauntered down the hall, measuring her steps to lessen the clap of her heels. She reached the front door without notice and pulled it open, slipping into the darkness of twilight without a word.
    The man was still at the end of the porch, a beer bottle now visible in his hand as he leaned over, resting his elbows on the banister. He didn’t acknowledge her presence. She supposed a man with arrogance ebbing off him in waves didn’t have to. His dismissal gave her the opportunity to appreciate his ass stretched in well-worn jeans and the perfection of how his black jacket rested at his hips to give her an unhindered view.
    “Hi,” she offered for a second time.
    He didn’t move, didn’t even spare her a glance as she approached the banister. He continued staring straight ahead as he lifted the beer bottle to his lips and took a long pull.
    “It’s a lovely night for a family dinner.” Was he a distant relative? God, she hoped not, otherwise Dominic’s inbred tendencies were rubbing off on her.
    He replied with a jut of his chin. A jut of his God. Damn. Chin.
    What an asshole. And wasn’t she just the stupidest set of ovaries to walk the earth, because it only made her itch to push his blatant need for solitude, to poke at him with questions until he acknowledged her with the respect she deserved. The respect any human deserved.
    “So… you like beer…” she drawled, glib as hell.
    The corner of his mouth twitched as he continued to focus on the street. But still, no answer.
    She could smell him, could practically taste his delicious aftershave on her tongue with each inhalation. He was a taunt to all her senses…well, except her ears because the pretentious ass wouldn’t say a word.
    He took another swig from his bottle and straightened to face her. She could see his eyes now, the steely silver, almost blue, that made her shiver with their ferocity. He was tall, too. At least an inch above her even with her heels.
    She pulled the pre-mix bottle from her jacket pocket and twisted the lid to keep her hands busy. She could see two outcomes eventuating. Either he would smile, knocking her off her feet with the brilliance of his appeal. Or he was going to pull a gun from the inside of his jacket and blow her brains