Consume Me (A Burning Desire Novel) by R. F. Allie

really loved him, very much.
    People
who weren't into PDA might've thought we were some kind of a sect. But I didn't
care much. It was the French way to show affection. We kissed and hugged a lot,
which was a foreign concept between friends in this country. Ryan grew
comfortable to embrace it, just like Jude, Jenna and I'd started out.
    "I'm
sorry to cut on your fun."
    Mr. Dark
and mysterious Landon Davis stood next to us.
    "Can
I steal a dance with Miss Dane?" He asked with one of those smiles that
didn't reach his eyes.
    Ryan
eyed me with a questioning look. He didn't understand anything that was
happening, and it frustrated him. His look was also intended to ask whether I
wanted to dance with our intruder or not.
    I'd
felt confident enough, courtesy of a cranberry colored Russian drinking juice
that'd managed to recover my fried brain cells and give me some resolve to accept
his offer. Ryan nodded and gave me a feathered kiss on the cheek before turning
to Landon. Surprisingly, he seemed to be sizing up my friend, which I found
both absurd and hilarious.
    "Excuse
me." Ryan walked back to our table and Landon Davis stood there, in front
of me, watching me with darkness in his piercing eyes.
    It took
me a moment to gather up my thoughts again and accept the hand he'd offered me.
When I took it, Landon Davis pulled me hastily to him and gripped the small of my
back to press me further against him.
    I was
both angered and delighted by the way he did it. I was confused by the
statement it made.
    Landon
Davis was definitely a skilled dancer. He knew how to lead with grace. He kept
watching me silently. I didn't want to speak, I found myself cherishing the
moment as much as I did the kiss.
    He had
the strongest arms I'd ever been wrapped in; I found myself unconsciously
gliding my palm down his arm.
    It
should've been illegal to look like that. He was no man; he was a walking
eye-gasm. Felt like one too.
    "Are
you enjoying yourself Miss Dane?" He asked mildly.
    "I
have no idea what gave you that impression."
    I said
tartly.
    "I
don't know, might be the groping that seems to put this smile on your
face." He brushed the corner of my mouth with his thumb.
    I
hadn’t realized I was smiling. I was thinking about the way he'd lifted me in
his arms back in Paris. He'd done it effortlessly and with so much grace.
    "My
smile has nothing to do with you. And I wasn't groping you." I said dryly.
    "If
you say so."
    I
nodded.
    "So
tell me Miss Dane."
    He said
rounding me in a swift pirouette and grabbing me just as expeditiously.
    "Do
you have some sort of arrangement with your friends over there?" He cocked
his head gesturing to Ryan and Jude.
    They
were fixing us, seemingly amused; but mostly dying with curiosity.
    Landon
carried an unreadable expression; which added to my confusion as to what he'd
meant.
    "I
don't understand. Arrangement?" I asked disconcerted.
    He took
a hard breath in. He examined me and seemed annoyed by my ignorance.
    "Don't
be coy Miss Dane. Just tell me what I'm dealing with here. Are you fucking
them?"
    I
froze, suddenly turned to stone.
    I
wasn't expecting that, or was I. After his statement in Paris, he'd shown me
how crude and impolite he could be.
    I
blinked at him and slapped him.
    Sadly,
he stopped me by grabbing my wrist. I tried to get out of his grip, but he'd
managed to hold me in place.
    "Just
answer me Miss Dane ."
    Landon Davis
wasn't the least disturbed by the situation. As if he'd expected me to react
the way I did. I grew even more annoyed by his temper.
    "That
is none of your business. Let go of me you asshole." I bit at him furious.
    "The
hell it isn't. I've been looking for you, so I need to know what I'm dealing
with here." I was taken aback, but he continued.
    "I
need to know if you're having a three-way relationship with those two
men."
    There
it was again. I was nauseated by the suggestion, and furthermore by his boorish
audacity.
    "What
is your problem you bastard." I rasped at him trying to