Dana Marie Bell - Heart'sDesire01 Read Online Free PDF Page A

and the strain she’d been under had done its work. It would be morning before she could leave his side. He just hoped whoever she called was willing to leave her in his care.
    He couldn’t let her go. Not yet. Not until he’d made her his. Definitely not before he’d dealt with the threat Cole represented. He barely knew her and already he would sacrifice his own life to keep her safe. She would learn that she could trust him with her very soul.
    He picked her up, marveling at the warm weight of the woman in his arms. The scent of apples was now mixed enticingly with the scent of the chocolate, calling to him, seducing him more thoroughly than he’d ever been seduced by the practiced wiles of other women.
    He carried her up the stairs, laying her in his bed, careful not to wake her. The last thing he wanted was her fear. He covered her carefully, kissing her forehead before heading out of the room and back down the stairs. He picked up her jeans, poncho and shirt, planning on washing them for her.
    She’d need something to wear in the morning.

    And that reminded him. He went back upstairs and stripped the still wet underwear from her body, glad for the darkness. He wasn’t ready yet to see her completely bared for him in full light, or even pale moonlight. He wasn’t certain he’d be able to stop himself from taking her if he did. He carried them downstairs and threw them in the wash with the rest of her clothes. He leaned against the washing machine and hoped he’d done the right thing. She’d been shaking with more than cold; what he’d thought might be arousal was actually fatigue. She needed rest after her scare in the woods, and he was determined she was going to get it.
    He got her purse from by the glass door and carried it into the great room. Opening it he dug out her wallet, determined to know the name of the woman fate had decreed should be his.
    Alannah Evans.
    The name shot through him with the force of an electrical shock.
    It couldn’t be. It shouldn’t be.
    But there it was in black and white. Evans. Everything she’d said about wizards suddenly clicked into place.
    He picked up the phone and dialed.
    “’Lo?”
    The sleepy voice on the other end reminded him how late it was, but this was too important to let go. He had to know if he was right. “Gareth?”
    “Do you know what fucking time it is, fucktard?”
    Christopher sighed. “Alannah Evans.”
    There was silence for a moment. “What about Alannah Evans?”
    The wary caution in Gareth Beckett’s now very awake voice was enough to drive Christopher to his feet. “I need to know if she’s a member of the Evans family.”
    “Give me a sec.” He could hear sheets rustling, knew his brother was climbing out of bed. “Right.
    According to The Registry, Evans … where’s she from?”
    He checked her driver’s license. “Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.”
    There was the sound of rustling pages, then the creak of an office chair. “Dude. The Evans family practically rules Philadelphia.”
    Christopher groaned. “Wonderful.”
    “Hey, at least she’s not a warlock.”
    “Right. I need a mate who distrusts my kind, not a mate who tries to feed me to demons.”
    There was a pregnant pause. “Did you say mate?”
    Christopher gritted his teeth, cursing himself silently for the slip of his tongue. “Yes.”
    “A witch.”
    “Gareth.”
    “You? You mated a witch?”
    Christopher hung up the phone. Gareth could laugh his ass off all by himself, thank you very much.

Chapter Three
    Christopher woke to the feel of a rough tongue on his cheek. He opened one bleary eye to find Alasdair staring at him and purring.

    He lifted his head. His workshop. He’d fallen asleep in his workshop. It wasn’t the first time he’d done that, and he doubted it would be the last. He looked down at the book spread out below him, The Registry of Wizards, Witches and Warlocks, and groaned.
    Alannah Evans. A witch, not a wizard.
    Well. That will teach me