Tall Dark Handsome Lycan by Anastasia Maltezos Page A

out into the hall.  Her steps faltered as she ran her gaze over his tall, muscular physique. 
    He stopped dead in his tracks and looked up at her as she proceeded to make her way down. She smiled nervously at him, her stomach fluttering a mile a minute. He didn’t return the smile as he stared at her. A low, imperceptible sound reached her and she frowned.  Was he growling softly?  The sound stopped as soon as she reached him.  He raked a dark, smouldering gaze over her face.  His nostrils were flared, his dark eyes hinting flashes of amber, and a muscle was throbbed alongside his strong jaw.  Sam wondered if she put on too much perfume. 
    “You look beautiful, Sam,” he said, his tone husky.
    “Th ank you.”
    She almost blurted how gorgeous he looked and cleared her throat to cover the nervous giggle that rose in her throat.  She inhaled a shaky breath and smiled up at him. He took her hand and as soon as he touched her, an immediate wave of calm settled over her.  He led her toward the kitchen.
    “I thought we would eat here. It’s much more personal than the huge dining room. Is that fine with you?”
    “Perfect,” she said.
    She saw he had already set two dinner settings on the kitchen table. He walked over to the stove. “The steaks and asparagus are done.” He prepared two plates and brought them to the table.
    “Can I help you with anything?” She asked politely.
    “No, thank you. Everything is ready.” He opened a bottle of red wine and poured some into two crystal wine glasses. He picked up the glasses and turned around, watching her where she stood near the entrance. His gaze held hers as he made his way slowly toward her.
    “To getting to know each other,” he said quietly, handing her a glass.
    Sam smiled. “Yes. To getting to know each other.”
    They chatted for a bit about day -to-day things—the weather, how she enjoyed her trip so far, good stores to visit in town—and all the while, Sam knew Leo was trying to make her feel at ease. 
    The steak was succulent. Sam finished every morsel and smiled her appreciation at him. She complimented him on his cooking and he returned her smile with a pleased look on his face.  Their conversation turned toward his property.
    “I have a couple of homes in addition to this summer house,” he explained.  “One is in England and the other one is in New York.”   He paused, giving her a deliberate stare.  “You live in Maine.  It is not far from New York.”
    “No, it isn’t.  You can say we’re practically neighbors back in the States.” 
    He nodded, his expression curiously satisfied.  “Our twelve hotels are scattered all over the world. This villa is my place to get away from it all. I come here almost every summer.”
    “You travel a lot.”
    “Yes, but I would like to put down roots one day and start a family.  Perhaps in my home in New York.”
    Sam thought of Leo with a family, living in a beautiful home, with his children playing in the backyard, while his wife made dinner.  Her heart tightened.  She gave him a contemplative look.
    “I think you’d make a fine father one day,” she said, speaking her thoughts out loud as she recalled his kind gesture when he bought Alek the paint set. As soon as Sam voiced the words, she was embarrassed.  “Leo, thank you for a wonderful dinner,” she added quickly to change the subject.
    His face turned serious. “You were nervous at the beginning.”
    “A bit, but not anymore.” She placed her glass down. She had drank three glasses and she was starting to get tipsy. “I think the wine helped. I’m not much of a drinker.”
    “The night is still young,” he said holding her gaze.  “You could give me my reading now. We could go into the library.”
    “That’s a great idea.”  They both rose and together the cleared the dishes from the table.
    He took her hand and led her out into the hall. He paused and glanced down at her. “Don’t you need your cards?”
    She