A Werewolf to Call Her Own (Mystic Isle, Book 2) Read Online Free PDF

whisk her away. Something. Anything but the frown that deepened.
    “Come on. I will walk you to your room.” His accent deepened.
    He held out his hand to her. She stared down at it, seeing every crease on his palm. So this was it. One life-altering, soul-awakening kiss and it was over? Wasn’t this a sex resort? She’d come along for the ride, not planning to meet anyone special. But she had. And he’d ignited a yearning inside her. Made her want things… hot things she’d never wanted before. His touch put images in her mind. Beach sex. Kisses beneath a waterfall. Nights basking naked beneath the stars.
    Sighing, she placed her hand in his. “I’m actually in one of the cottages.” She pointed quickly before dropping her hand to her side.
    “You never did tell me why you hate demons,” he said after a lengthy pause. Maybe he was just trying to make small talk.
    The reason wasn’t a secret. And it definitely cooled her desire, so she pulled the memory to the front and said, “A demon murdered my parents seven months ago.”
    He halted and faced her, his gaze searching hers in the darkness. “That’s awful,” he whispered.
    She blinked back the tears threatening to fall.
    “I’m sorry I brought it up.”
    “It’s all right. You didn’t know.” She offered him a watery smile. “I’m not crying for my parents. Not really. They’d reared me, but their form of love was suffocating. They told me things to keep me scared. Compliant .”
    As if he couldn’t help himself, he pulled her against him and wrapped his arms around her. Strong, solid, and warm.
    “I guess I am crying for me. For relief. So much of what they told me is false. And it took their death to set me free.”
    “I can understand that.” He rubbed his hands up and down her back, soothing her in a way no other hug ever had. “Did they find the bastard?”
    “No. He was a drifter. My parents’ property has a cottage on it. He wanted to rent it, but they preferred… women. Couples.”
    “Not single men snooping around their daughter.”
    She nodded. “They tried to hide me away from the world.”
    He stepped back and reached for her hand. “Then they definitely wouldn’t approve of me.” He didn’t sound the least bit insulted.
    “But I approve of you.” They were almost to the cottage and she thought about refusing to tell him which one was hers so that he couldn’t drop her off. “That’s what matters,” she whispered. “We’re here.”
    He led the way onto the deck and escorted her around to the front door. She liked the way he moved, an easy, loose gait that spoke of the predator he was underneath. She adored the feel of his hand at her lower back. Familiar. Proprietary.
    “Ceara…”
    “Don’t worry, Maxim. I may be young and inexperienced, but I understand the game.” Not that she’d ever played it. But the words sounded good, confident. And it was true. She’d studied so many aspects of humanity. And more recently, watched how her covenmates dated and interacted with the opposite sex.
    He made a sound of disbelief. Somewhere between a grunt and a sigh.
    Why did being with him make the shyness fade away? Before tonight she couldn’t have imagined standing on her doorstep, having such an easy conversation with a man this gorgeous. Feeling… at ease. She frowned, realizing she’d never felt like this before. The ease. The complete lack of fear that she was doing something wrong. That her parents would disapprove.
    Twin sconces hung on either side of the door, casting the two of them in a soft yellow light. For the first time in her twenty-one years, she felt as if she were emerging from the darkness. Spreading her wings. There was no one hovering over her, questioning her choice of attire, music, companionship.
    She liked it. Liked him. Was thankful she’d met him. So very thankful.
    “Do me a favor,” she said while she had the courage.
    “Anything.”
    “Kiss me goodnight?”
    He made that sound again.