Fleeing Fate Read Online Free Page B

take in her
surroundings, her eyes were drawn back to him like iron to a lodestone. Telling
herself it was only the newness of being able to feel, the unfamiliar rush of
emotions and sensations, really didn’t seem to help. Everything inside strained
toward him, wanting to watch, to touch, to smell and taste him.
    Before coming to the Midnight Café all she’d wanted was a
chance to find the truth, no matter where it might lead. Now she found herself
longing for the one thing she knew she didn’t have—more time to explore this
man and the emotions he brought to life in her soul.

Chapter Three
     
    “Well, sweetness, that’s the last one, and I don’t see
mention of banshees anywhere.” Jakuta closed the tome and rested his hand on
the leather cover, watching the play of emotions crossing Gràinne’s face. “I
guess your kind isn’t heavy into body art. I’m going to have to buy you dinner
instead.”
    Despite the blush immediately staining her cheeks, she sent
him a look that would quell a lesser man, and Jakuta sighed to himself, even as
it made him want to laugh. They’d spent an hour going through Hervé’s books,
with no luck. Every moment they spent together was subtle torment, and his
temper was beginning to fray. Though she’d tried to keep her distance,
occasionally Gràinne would come to lean over his shoulder, and her proximity
spiked the need gnawing at his belly. There was only so much even a god could
take. The restraint he’d displayed by not dragging her into his lap, kissing
and touching her the way his body demanded, deserved a medal.
    Jakuta was inclined to give up, use the time to explore the
wicked lust building between them, but he knew she wouldn’t agree. Something
was driving her, forcing her to prowl with impatience, and he already knew she
wouldn’t give up until she got it.
    “There must be some information.” She paced from the
cushion-covered daybed on one side of the room to the opposite wall where
bookshelves lined Hervé’s office so as to run her finger over the titles.
“Banshees have been around for a very long time.”
    Watching the small digit skimming the spines of the books
made a hot shiver of longing wash over his chest. He was drawn to her in so
many ways it was almost frightening. Physically his need was almost painful,
yet it wasn’t strong enough to negate his intense curiosity, the strange and
overpowering urge to keep her safe, although she didn’t seem to be in danger.
    Unable to resist, he got up and moved to stand behind her,
taking in a deep draught of her fresh, sea-spray scent. The urge to surround
her with his arms, pull her into his embrace, made his voice rough as he
replied, “Your kind may be old, but tattooing of the higher beings isn’t. Up
until a couple hundred years ago only arcane wizards had the ability to bespell
markings onto their skins, so the art is still growing.”
    She shivered, and he knew their proximity was affecting her,
just as it affected him. His cock was harder than he could remember it ever
being, desire pulsing through every vein, and knowing just standing close
caused her body to react made the yearning that much more acute.
    “So I’ll be the first.” Gràinne’s voice was breathy, but
determined. “You can figure it out, right?”
    His heart dropped into his belly. This was one
responsibility he didn’t want. “Every new being who decides to get body art
adds to the knowledge, but it’s risky being the first, sweetness.”
    She turned to look at him, her sea-foam-green eyes
reflecting equal parts fear and resolve. “I’ve heard that, but I don’t care,
Jakuta. I have to have this tattoo.”
    What the hell is she after?
    “Why?”
    But she only shook her head, lowering her gaze so he
couldn’t read anything in her eyes. “What else can we do?” Spinning back toward
the shelves, she continued perusing the titles. “There must be something in one
of these damn books.”
    Suddenly the knowledge came to