Halcyon Rising Read Online Free PDF Page B

afraid you have found me out. I am no sorcerer, just a clever fraud.”
    His words held a touch of sadness and self-derision that didn’t seem warranted, or appropriate to the situation. He had nothing to be ashamed of, yet she sensed he was. Blinking up at him in confusion, she let the thought go, too exhausted to pursue it.
    “What are you going to do with me now?”
    He sighed and sank back on his heels, staring at her from behind the curtain of his impossibly long, dark lashes. Such dazzling eyes. She wished she could sink into their cool, emerald depths.
    “I would request you return upstairs with me,” he told her softly. “You need to sleep. I swear to keep you safe.”
    “Can’t I sleep here? I don’t think I have the strength to push myself up off this floor.”
    “You cannot sleep on the cold stone.” Exasperation laced his voice. “I suppose I will have to carry you.”
    He didn’t sound any happier about the prospect than she was. Not only did she doubt his ability to carry her weight up the steep, twisting stairs, she feared the intimacy such a thing would involve. So far, he hadn’t touched her, and she thought it best if he didn’t. She might be far too tempted to rest her head upon that broad chest and give herself completely into his care.
    “I won’t be carried like a child.” Bracing her hands on the floor, she marshaled the last of her reserves and pushed to her feet. She swayed unsteadily as the room spun around her.
    Sebastian stepped forward, his face darkening with concern. She tried once again to tell him she was all right, that she didn’t need his help, but the words wouldn’t come. Blackness swamped the edges of her vision, and her legs buckled beneath her…
     
    * * *
     
    Sebastian caught the girl in his arms as she collapsed. She gave him no time to think, no time to do anything but react.
    He stumbled backward, bracing his shoulders against the wall as he struggled to adjust to her weight and the feel of her soft curves pressed against him from chest to thigh. Her breath puffed softly, intimately, against his throat.
    Overwhelming memories — both good and bad — swamped him.
    Jesu, have mercy.
    Closing his eyes, he tried to will his overheated body into submission, reminding himself she certainly had not seemed to want to end up in his arms. It did not help. With his eyes closed, the rest of his senses became more acute. Every deep breath drew her womanly scent deep into his lungs, and his skin burned with sensation. He wanted to run his hands and mouth over every inch of her, but he managed to step away from the wall and cross the room.
    What sort of a lecherous beast was he, to have such inappropriate thoughts about an unconscious woman? He mounted the stairs, cradling the girl to his chest, and then laid her upon his bed, staring down at her in dismay. He pressed his fingertips upon the slim column of her throat, relieved to find her pulse beating steadily beneath her pale, luminous skin.
    No doubt she had fainted from sheer exhaustion, but he worried for her anyway. She had been through a terrible ordeal during the last few days. Crossing the room, he wet a cloth in the kettle of warm water which still simmered on the fire, wrung out the excess, returned to her side and bathed her lovely face.
    She blinked up at him, her eyes wide and confused. “What happened?”
    He moved away from her, stunned by the strength of his relief. “You collapsed. Fainted dead away.”
    “I’m sorry.” She made a valiant effort to sit up. “I didn’t want you to carry me, and I certainly don’t want to steal your bed.”
    “Do not be foolish.” He placed his hand upon her shoulder and pressed her back against the furs with gentle insistence. “You are no heavier than a sack of flour, and I am just glad to see that you are well. Besides, I do not sleep much.”
    “Why not?” She glanced up at him with what appeared to be genuine concern.
    He gave a short, uncomfortable laugh.