Inarticulate Read Online Free Page B

Everything he did was calm and controlled—a jerk of his chin, a curve of his lips, a tilt of his head. The asshole knew he was intriguing. It was probably his calling card.
    “Then how did the two of you become close?”
    “Why don’t we talk about this later?” Dominic pulled on the crook of her arm. “It’s time for dinner.”
    “What about Penny?”
    Dominic winced. “Now, don’t get mad…”
    Too late. “She isn’t coming, is she?”
    He shook his head. “She won’t finish work for hours.”
    Savannah slid her tongue along the edge of her teeth, feigning annoyance even though she was relieved at not having to deal with the wicked bitch of the north. “You realize you owe me, right?”
    He inclined his head and made for the front door. “I’ll make it up to you next weekend.”
    “Next weekend?” She sauntered after him, sensing the silent stranger a few paces behind her, his presence making the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.
    “We’ll discuss it later.” He held open the door, allowing the rush of chatter and laughter from inside to echo into the front yard. “Let’s get through dinner first.”

Chapter Four
    N umerous serving plates were spread over a long trestle table. Eighteen people in total, all of them smiling from the effect of delicious food and friendly conversation. Savannah sat next to Dominic, across from Keenan, with her aunt graciously seated at the head of the table.
    “So, he never talks?” she murmured under the hum of chatter.
    Dominic cut her a glance as he chewed the food in his mouth. “He has his own way of communicating.”
    “I bet he does.” With his hands, and his lips, and his tongue. The evil death stare said a lot, too. “He’s attractive, has perfect dress sense, and doesn’t talk. I think I want him to father my babies.”
    She’d caught Keenan eyeballing her over dinner. More than once. It was a look with narrowed eyes. Not quite a glare, but close enough to show his annoyance. She wasn’t sure what she’d done to piss him off, but she’d give him a gold star for animosity.
    “You and every other woman he’s met since I’ve known him.”
    “Is that jealousy I hear in your voice?” She nudged his shoulder and winced when his knife clattered against his plate. “Sorry.”
    “No jealousy here.” Dominic jerked his chin in Keenan’s direction. “He’s good people. It just takes a while for him to warm up to strangers.”
    Warm up? She merely wanted to get past the stage where she thought he wanted to stab his dinner knife through her chest.
    He still intrigued her, though, and it wasn’t all due to her fluttering ovaries. Everyone spoke to him during the meal. There was no discomfort or lull in the conversations he was involved in. Yet she noticed nobody asked him questions that required more than a yes or no answer. Nothing that needed more than a subtle jerk of his head.
    “Who wants seconds?” Her aunt stood and held up a dish of potato bake.
    There was a mass of groans. Guests leaned back in their chairs, rubbing overextended tummies while others shook their head, or waved away the possibility of more food.
    Savannah chuckled to herself at the dramatics, skimming her attention over everyone until she reached Keenan. Their gazes collided and her breath caught. A rush of adrenaline slid through her veins as she waited for another one of his glares.
    The nasty look didn’t materialize. This time his focus was blank. No emotion. No expression. She broke eye contact, unable to match his unblinking stare without the threat of doing something silly like snorting, giggling, or blushing.
    The man was a damn robot.
    “The meal was lovely. Thank you.” She pushed from her seat, placed her dirty cutlery onto her plate, and then poked Dominic in the shoulder. “I’ll wash if you want to dry.”
    He peered up at her with incredulity. “What century are you living in? We have a dishwasher. You rinse, I’ll stack.”
    “Deal.” She