Dark Summoner (Relic Keeper Series Book 1) Read Online Free Page B

gaze.
    “Are you looking for something?” he asked.
    I shook my head. “No. I . . . I just thought I had seen something earlier, but I must have been confused.”
    I inspected him from the corner of my eye as we walked side by side. He seemed harmless enough wearing a deep gray, finely tailored suit with a matching navy tie. The suit fit like it was designed for him with sleek and clean lines. He had the persona of wealth and position, exuding both confidence and charm. It made me wonder what kind of a man he actually was.
    Most of our walk was silent. He behaved as though he was deep in his thoughts, only every so often casting a glance in my direction. Personally, I was grateful for the break from the expected pretenses. It was the reason I usually didn’t make new friends or even acquaintances. People expected things from you. Politeness, interest, the sharing of personal info. I wasn’t good at faking the first two and the third. Let’s just say that my life secrets prevented me from sharing anything about myself. It was better to be alone than to be exposed.
    I’m not sure what caused me to speak and break the silence, but I did. “So, you caught me as I fell?”
    “A fortuitous circumstance. I was leaving just as you entered.” A small, guilty smile spread across his lips, catching my interest.
    “What?”
    “It’s nothing.”
    I stopped walking and faced him. “What?”
    He hesitated before answering, rubbing his neck with his palm. “Well, if you must know, I actually feel a bit responsible for your fall.”
    “Why is that?” I asked.
    “You knocked straight into me, but I was looking at my phone when I’d opened the door. If I’d been paying better attention, you wouldn’t have hit the table.”
    I thought, Maybe, but I was still running from a monster that probably would have killed me given the chance.
    “At least I didn’t hit the floor, too,” I said as I started walking again. “I’m lucky you were there. Who knows what would have happened if I’d hit the table and the floor.”
    “Still, some would consider it my fault.”
    He was being way too hard on himself and a part of me I didn’t recognize wanted to ease his discomfort.
    I punched his arm playfully. “Don’t beat yourself up.”
    The moment the words fell from my lips, I cringed internally. Being playful, comforting, and flirtatious were all completely out of character for me. I noticed that when I touched him, it felt like I’d landed directly against steel and not skin.
    “You’ve a good arm for someone who just blacked out.” He winked at me and rubbed his arm.
    I bit my lower lip to hide a smile. A voice inside of me screamed, What the hell are you doing, Abby? Flirting? Your life as you know it is over, and you’re flirting with someone you can never see again.
    After that, I shut down and kept my eyes on the ground the rest of the way. As we turned the last corner, the bright lights of the café glowed against the unnatural gloom that had consumed the day. He followed me across the street as we stopped outside the entrance. The awning that hung over the patio covered us from the rain.
    “Well, this is me,” I said. I barely recognized my awkward and uneven voice.
    He frowned, searching for something to say. I was flattered. Maybe this incredibly good-looking man preferred his women a little more ordinary? I waited, but as the awkwardness increased, I started to turn away. I’d never been good at goodbyes.
    A frigid gust of moist wind assaulted me from behind, and my left heel caught a pothole, causing me to trip. I tried to reach forward to catch myself before I hit the side of the curb, but I fumbled with the bags in my hands. I stopped mid-air to find Dorian standing in front of me, his arms wrapped tightly around me as he held me against his chest.
    “How did you . . . ?” I whipped my head back and forth between where he had been and where he was now. I swallowed the question, thinking some things