The Satyr's Curse (The Satyr's Curse Series Book 1) by Alexandrea Weis Page A

nodding. “Big yellow mansion. I know it well. Didn’t know it belonged to the Devereaus though. The place is supposed to be haunted.”
    “How do you know that?”
    “I’ve taken the ghost tours in the Quarter. It’s one of their stopping points.” He sat back on the sofa. “The place belonged to some guy who was cursed by a voodoo priestess to spend eternity as a man who only wanted women and wine, but would never know love. In other words, he became a satyr.”
    “How come I never heard about this place?”
    He folded his arms over his chest. “Have you ever taken a ghost tour?”
    “No,” she replied.  
    “That’s why. The tour guides know all the gossip on those old houses in the Quarter. That, or they make it up.”
    “But Julian told me the same story,” she pointed out.
    “Maybe he took one of the tours. Did you get to go inside?”
    She shook her head. “But he is preparing dinner for me there Wednesday night, and promised to show me the house then.”
    His light brown brows went up. “He’s preparing dinner? Cooking or catering?”
    Jazzmyn chuckled at the idea of Julian cooking. “Does he look like he can cook?”
    Kyle’s features squinted into a scornful scowl. “The man acts like he has had others serving him all of his life. So no, I’m sure he can’t cook.” Kyle studied her face as he sat back on the sofa. “Do you really like this guy, Jazz?”
    “I don’t know. There are times when I’m not really interested in him, and then times when he really….” She glanced over at Kyle and decided it was better not to tell him what she was thinking.
    “When he really turns you on. That’s what you wanted to say, isn’t it?”
    She rubbed her hand anxiously behind her neck. “Kyle, I don’t think we should talk about this.”
    “No, I want to hear this, Jazz.”
    She let her body sag into the sofa. “No, you don’t.”
    He leaned in closer to her. “Yes, I do. I want to know what he has that I don’t. I’ve been racking my brains for weeks, since he first came into the restaurant, desperate to figure this out. I’m not an idiot, Jazz. I know you feel something for me. I just want to know why you think this guy will make you happy.”
    She pushed him away. “Maybe you should go.”
    Kyle reached for her, but Jazzmyn pushed him away once more. She stood from the sofa and began to leave when Kyle stood up in front of her, blocking her retreat.
    The instant she saw his face, she knew. His eyes appeared to be lit by a raging fire, and his countenance became uncharacteristically serious. He reached for her, pulling her into his arms with a strength she never knew he possessed.
    “Do you know how it feels to watch you be seduced by another man?” he murmured against her mouth.
    “Kyle, don’t do this. You’re my—” But she never got to finish her words before his mouth covered hers.
    Just when she was about to raise her fists and begin fighting him off, a strange thing happened. A spark from somewhere deep within the reaches of her belly came forward. As his lips tempted hers, she felt that spark grow in intensity until, without realizing, she slipped her arms about his neck.
    Suddenly, there was no Julian obscuring her thoughts. Kyle’s kiss seemed to brush away the cobwebs that Julian’s presence always created in her mind. But when Jazzmyn pressed her breasts against his broad chest, Kyle pulled away.
    She frantically searched his eyes, unsure if she should slap him or play it cool. Jazzmyn realized at that moment Kyle’s kiss had revealed her true feelings, and she feared she would never be able to hide those feelings from him again.
    “I knew you weren’t his,” he softly said.
    “I’m not anybody’s, Kyle! Don’t ever come at me like that again or I’ll….”
    Kyle grinned, knowing he had figured out part of the puzzle. “The problem is not that I came at you, Jazz. It’s the way I came at you, isn’t it?”
    “Get out,” she shouted.
    “All right.