Druid Temptation (A Druid Quest Novel Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

she mustn’t linger.
    Emilie tugged on her hand, doing her best to haul Diana toward the stairs. Even if she wanted to bolt, she couldn’t bring herself to break the little girl’s heart. Grateful for the reprieve and time to shore up her walls, Diana allowed Emilie to lead her away. If she were smart, she would put the child to bed, then find another exit and leave.
    She glanced at him over her shoulder. He stood unmoving, his arms crossed, legs splayed, the imposing master of all he surveyed.
    Her traitorous heart skipped a beat.
    He didn’t shy away from her unladylike actions.
    He wouldn’t back down from a challenge.
    However, people like him weren’t supposed to notice people like her.
    Not if she could help it.
    Something in her expression must have signaled her intentions to sneak away. Mendenhall narrowed his eyes, and her stomach fluttered to have the full attention of those dark blue eyes focused solely on her. “I’ll have Milles escort you upstairs…and show you to the study when you’re done.”
    Diana understood an order when she heard one. She had the sinking feeling he’d allowed her to put Emilie to bed only to get the child out of the way.
    Much to her consternation, the aching loneliness she carried around with her eased at the thought of seeing him one more time.

    * * *
    E arlier in the night , surrounded by darkness, Gabriel had gained only a sketchy impression of the woman who saved the only thing that mattered to him.
    His daughter.
    Then he walked into the hall and saw her.
    Diana.
    Something wrenched in his chest at the rightness of seeing Emilie and this woman together.
    His little girl had a talent for bamboozling; even the most resistant eventually succumbed.
    Diana hadn’t stood a chance.
    The ennui that had plagued him the last few months vanished the moment he walked through the door and saw her.
    She practically glowed under the moonlight, standing tall and proud like a faerie queen. He couldn’t pry his boots from the floor while he fought to control his arousal. It was a novelty not to have to strain his neck or hunch his shoulders to look at a woman.
    She had delicate features, her skin as pale as porcelain, and his fingers twitched to brush her cheek to see if she was real. Her nose was slightly turned up at the end, her full lips invited kisses, and his cock hardened further. She had straight hair that fell to her lower back like a waterfall of silk, such a pale blond it shimmered in the light, begging for his touch.
    Thick, dark lashes drew his attention to her eyes. The blue was so pale they appeared nearly colorless, the power of them slamming into him and arresting his breath. They should be cold and cutting, but heat lurked in their depths, branding him with one look. He lingered in the hall as if in a trance, watching her graceful journey up the stairs, enchanted by the seductive sway of her hips.
    The dress she wore was slim-fitting with no ridiculous bustles or hoops to hide her true shape. Though not fashionable, the dress was perfectly respectable…until she moved, revealing large slits up both sides that stopped mid-thigh. Beneath, he saw not the normal petticoats, but a tight pair of breeches that left nothing to the imagination…and the longest legs he’d ever beheld.
    Her dress, combined with the bow and quiver strapped to her back, completed the overall image of a real-life Amazon.
    Proud.
    Fierce.
    Gorgeous.
    His eyes burned, and he realized that he hadn’t blinked for a full minute, not wanting to miss even a second.
    He had behaved shamefully earlier. At the very least, he owed Diana an apology. Emilie was his life. He didn’t know what he would have done if anything had happened to her.
    That did not excuse the fact that he had barged into her cottage and as good as assaulted her.
    He entered his study, headed straight for the decanter of whisky, and poured himself a generous amount.
    With the image of Diana lingering in his mind, he downed the whisky