Dragon King: A Dark Kings Novella (1001 Dark Nights) Read Online Free PDF Page B

legs. “I was thinking.”
    “Ahh,” he said with a nod. “About your book?”
    Grace grasped the out he gave her. “That’s right. About my book.”
    She really needed to pull it together. There was no telling how long she would be in the cave with him. Her stomach chose that moment to growl loudly.
    His sexy smile did her in. “I was about to ask if you were ready to eat.”
    “Eat? As in you have food?” she asked hopefully.
    He chuckled and stood. That’s when she saw he now wore a pair of jeans. Grace saw him walk off, wondering where his shirt and shoes were. Not that she minded him shirtless.
    “Of course I have food.”
    “Of course,” she mumbled grumpily to herself as she stood. “Why didn’t I think to ask for it earlier.”
    When she followed him, she found him staring at her. The light from outside was fading, so she was only able to make out his raised brow.
    “Sorry,” she said with a wince. “I tend to get obnoxious when I’m hungry.”
    “Then I’ll make sure you have plenty of food.”
    There was a click and light flooded the area from an electric lantern set by the water. Grace looked around in awe before turning back to Arian. She stared into his champagne eyes and forgot to breath. It was wrong for someone to be so handsome that he made all thought vanish.
    “Choose whatever you’d like,” Arian said.
    Grace pulled her gaze from him and looked down where there was a basket of food perched on a boulder that came almost to her waist. And good food like roasted chicken, several kinds of cheese, bread, water, and even a bottle of wine.
    She glanced up at him and asked, “This looks like a picnic basket. I hope I didn’t interrupt anything with you and your woman.”
    “I doona have a woman. I bring food with me when I doona know how long I’ll be staying.”
    The words sounded right, but there was just something that didn’t sit well with her. Grace studied him, wondering if she could believe him. It wasn’t like she had much choice. She was stuck in a cave with him while the next great flood was happening outside.
    And he had food.
    Grace grabbed a chicken wing, a piece of bread, and water. She stood beside the basket and began to eat, snagging a piece of cheese every few bites.
    She wasn’t the only one. Arian was also eating as he stood on the other side of the basket. She could feel his gaze on her, but Grace didn’t care. She was starving.
    “When was the last time you ate, lass?”
    Grace took a long drink of water before she said, “This morning when I reached the B&B where I’m staying.”
    “You should’ve brought food with you.”
    “I should’ve. Then again, I didn’t realize the storm of the century was going to happen today and that I’d get stuck in a cave.”
    He smiled and took a bite of chicken. “Why did you choose this mountain?”
    “It was by chance.”
    “Tell me,” he urged.
    Grace finished chewing. “Coming to Scotland was my last-ditch effort to get the story written. I’ve tried everything conceivable that other authors have attempted to break past their writer’s block. Nothing worked.”
    “So you came here.”
    “I’d been two years earlier and loved it. I thought perhaps if I returned that it might get me writing. I headed out this morning looking for a place that was quiet and beautiful.”
    Arian’s head cocked to the side, allowing several thick strands of black hair to fall over his shoulder. “There are no roads leading here.”
    “I know.” Grace laughed and shook her head at her foolishness. “I decided to find my perfect place I needed to get off the beaten path, so to speak. I took the first road I found. Then I turned off that onto a narrower one. Again and again I did that until I came to a dirt road. I traveled that for a long while, veering different directions at times until I ended up here. To be honest, I’m hoping I can find my way back.”
    “You will.”
    He said it with such authority that Grace believed