A Little Night Muse Read Online Free Page B

he couldn’t know
she was musetta .
    He gazed across the valley. The sun glinted on the hint of gold
stubble on his jaw. “Anyone who doesn’t love it here should just get the hell
out.” Though the words held the ring of a warning, his tone was pensive.
    He was obviously not speaking to her, but to a memory. Still,
she took the words at face value. It wasn’t as if she wanted to be here. As soon
as she knew the Hunter and sylfana were within her
grasp, she could contact the vizier, and then she would leave Wolly and Bunco in
the dust with the speed of her departure.
    Until then...
    “It is magical,” she murmured. She kept her face turned upward
toward Josh.
    Slowly, almost reluctantly, his gaze drifted down to her.
    So close, snuggled into his chest, she saw his eyes weren’t
truly muddy, just...complicated. The sparkle of light off the melting snow
seemed to pick out each stroke of color, even the cloudy moonstone gleam that
marred his right eye lens. Under her fierce regard, the ruddy flush returned to
his cheeks. He shifted, and she felt the prod of his erection against her
hip.
    Despite his commentary on the terrain and the hint of memories
that troubled him, he was not at all unaware of her.
    She took advantage of his restless adjustment to nestle closer.
“It is a cold magic though. Too cold for me.”
    He opened his coat and tucked her in. Pressed tight against
him, something harder dug into her hip. She wedged her hand between them to feel
the curved top. He sucked in his breath, whether at her icy fingers or sudden
familiarity, she wasn’t sure.
    She traced the chunk of metal—not iron, but copper—that stood
like a shield between her and the rousing heat behind his fly. “What’s
this?”
    “My belt buckle.” His voice sounded strained.
    She tilted a little away from him to look down between their
bodies. “That is a mighty belt buckle.”
    “Are you making fun, Miss Golden Slippers?”
    “Not at all.” From her angle, she couldn’t see much, but the
ridges of carving ticked under her questing fingers. “It seems a fine
buckle.”
    “It holds up my pants.” He caught her hand. “Let’s keep it that
way.”
    She let him lace his fingers through hers. “You made it, didn’t
you?” The echo of his spirit reverberated in the copper. “You are a metal smith,
an artist?”
    “Just a cowboy. I learned some basics to shoe the horses, do a
bit of machining when things break. The buckles...” He shrugged. “I sell a few,
enough to pay for a bale of hay here and there. People seem to like them.”
    So he had a calling in him, simple though it was. He would be
more amenable to her musetta powers. And he might
have iron. Could she trick him into capturing the Hunter and sylfana ? If so, she’d return to the phaedrealii a hero.
    She bit her lip. Her musetta powers
had never been tried against a human on a task more critical than an ode. And
look how well that had turned out.
    When Josh focused on her lips, she forced a smile sultry enough
to melt a crater in the snow around them, maybe through the bedrock below.
“You’ll have to show me more of your great talents.” More of what was hidden
behind the metal.
    He must have heard the double meaning in her voice, because he
did not let go of her hand again.

Chapter 4
    Josh groomed Bunco, but the usually calming routine had
no such effect today. With his hired hands spending the weekend in town thanks
to the sudden freeze, the chores were all his. He took a slow breath, trying to
find serenity in the scent of hay and the snuffle of contented horse.
    But his every nerve was fine tuned to the cabin. While brushing
Bunco’s tail, he wanted to run his fingers through Adelyn’s dark locks. Would
her hair be as silky as it looked? His fingers caught in a knot, and the tail
twitched out of his grasp.
    “Sorry, sorry. I wasn’t watching.” Wasn’t thinking right,
either, if he really imagined his gorgeous guest wanted his rough hands