Chapter 7


    DEZMOND


    Dez couldn''t take his eyes off the vision that had him pushing aside all the damn crap that was


    suffocating him over the past few months. Anna was an instant balm on his scattered mind from the


    moment heid eyes on her.


    (Anna.)


    Dez repeated the name in his head a few times as he unpacked their food. It was a fitting name and it


    was climbing up on his favorite names list.


    "Do you live in this huge loft alone?"


    Her voice slid over him like a soft caress, causing Dez to shiver. That sort of response to a woman''s


    voice was peculiar and it took Dez a full minute to shake off the unusual sensation. Once he did, he


    realized he hadn''t answered Anna''s question. When he looked up, she was watching him.


    "Uh, yeah, I live here alone."


    "Hmmm," Anna said. She turned around and looked at his bookcase.


    Dez continued cing their food on the tes he took from the drawer. He kept looking up, watching


    Anna glide around looking at this and that. With Anna inspecting his books, movies, and décor, he felt


    strangely inadequate. Like he hadn''t read the right books, watched the right movies, or decorated his


    ce nice enough.


    After the tes were filled, Dez carried them to the table. He went back to the kitchen and grabbed the


    wine and two sses when he heard an ear-splitting scream.


    (What the hell?)


    Dez was taken aback; the wine bottle and the sses he carried wobbled in his grasp. He had to


    juggle to keep them from falling as he rushed to the dining room to peer into the open space of his


    common area. His heart raced until his eyes fell on Anna.


    She was fine, or rather, Anna seemed to look fine as she stood in front of one of his full-sized arcade


    games. She whipped around, excitement gleaming from her hazel eyes.


    "You have Gorbert? I love this game!" The smile on her face was mesmerizing.


    Anna''s enthusiasm made Dez forget that he was ready to kill to protect her. He smiled as he stared at


    her.


    (Damn, this woman is sexy, cute, and she likes my favorite game.)


    "Can we y?" Anna asked then turned back to the game and inspected the front. "Do we need


    quarters?"


    Laughing, Dez raised his brow as he watched her. When she turned back and red at him heughed


    again at the hopeful look in her eyes. "I rigged it to just start but it''s unplugged. Damn thing is an


    energy drain." He turned and walked back to the dining area, avoiding the pir he almost plowed into


    when he heard her scream. Dez nced over his shoulder and said, "Food is ready. Come eat, we can


    yter."


    When Anna came to the table, Dez was there to pull her chair out.


    "You don''t have to do that you know? Pulling chairs out and opening doors." She had a scowl on her


    face as she stared up at him.


    Dez locked eyes with her for several seconds. He loved that she didn''t look away; it showed she was


    confident. "The men you date, they don''t hold doors and pull out chairs for you?" He watched her curl aContent ? provided by N?velDrama.Org.


    stray braid around her finger then ce it behind her ear as she looked away.


    Ah, he thought as he took his seat, her past rtionships are not up for discussion.


    "It''s just not necessary for you to do, every time."


    Dez poured her wine first then his own before he straightened his posture and spoke with a proud tone.


    "I feel that manners and being a gentleman are very necessary, Anna. My parents raised me to value


    my role as a man and to appreciate a woman''s worth." He shrugged. "To do otherwise would not be in


    my nature."


    Anna was smiling but Dez noticed that when he mentioned his parents her smile faded some. She also


    started tapping her foot under the table. (Family issues too.) Dez filed that with all the other things he


    was discovering about this captivating woman.


    "So, you are an independent woman, who likes salmon and sd, and loves to y games that were


    popr before your time."


    "That''s about all there is to know about me," she said with a shrug.


    Dez smiled to himself, he knew there was much, much more to know.


    Anna lowered her head, for what he figured was to say grace, for several seconds, then lifted her full


    fork to her luscious lips. The idea of watching her eat was a tantalizing thought, but instead Dez began


    eating his braised beef, potatoes, and seasoned green beans.