Protected by Stone (A Paranormal Romance Novel) Read Online Free PDF Page B

corner of his mouth tugging like he might laugh. “I imagine you'll sleep. Farra, you look exhausted.”
    Gingerly, I touched my cheeks, felt my sore neck. He's right, I haven't slept very well since Grault woke me. The train hardly counts for much.
    “How about this,” he said, wandering towards the door across the way. “You go use my shower, clean up, and then spend the night here. I'll even make you breakfast, if you want.”
    The idea of a shower, of actual sleep, was making me more drained. Covering my mouth, I stifled a yawn. “It sounds amazing, but...”
    “Hm?”
    Darting a glance away, I bit my tongue. My question felt too vulnerable to ask, yet it was halfway out of my mouth before I considered stopping it. “Why are you being so nice to me? We just met, what's the reasoning?”
    Then he did laugh, the lines on his face growing deeper with his amusement. Again, it lacked any sense of cruelty. Dirk didn't seem capable of such an awful thing. “I guess I just like helping people. Comes with the job, I suppose.”
    Of course, he's a doctor. Must be his nature. It was enough of a reason to calm me down. Maybe I was naive, but... I trusted him, I did believe he meant me no harm.
    “Alright,” I said, crunching down on the last of the lollipop. “Show me where the shower is, please.”

Chapter Four.
    I didn't remember dreaming.
    The scent of bacon was in my nose, the ceiling above me strange. Turning my head, I spotted drawings of the human body on the walls. That's right, I'm at Dirk's house.
    Sitting up on the table in the small room, the place I knew he normally had patients sit while he asked them questions, I scratched my scalp. The place might have been creepy, doctor offices notoriously were. Somehow, Dirk had made the room feel homey. The walls with their charts, the rubber human body in the corner, it all served to remind me more of a science classroom.
    Straightening my hair, then the long shirt and sweat pants I'd slept in, I inhaled deeply. He's cooking breakfast for sure. But where? Cracking the door, I peered into the main room. I saw no hint of Dirk at all. Then, above me, the ceiling creaked.
    Glancing at the stairs, I nodded to myself. Aha, he must have a place to cook up there. The shower had been attached to the room I'd slept in. I hadn't wandered upstairs, or considered it, till just then.
    “Hello?” I called out, taking the steps slowly. There weren't many of them, so I was worried about catching Dirk by surprise.
    “Come on up, Farra!” he shouted, seconds before I poked my head into the upper room. It was wide, a giant attic. Light poured in from a few open windows, glowing on smooth wooden floors. Doctor Colton stood in a corner, bent over a tiny stove. “Morning,” he said, flashing me a grin.
    “Morning,” I replied, wandering into the middle of the room. The rafters stretching above, hanging with strings of dried flowers and apples, had me turning in a circle. “This is wonderful! Look at this place, wow!”
    Snorting, Dirk scraped at his frying pan. “It does the job. Hungry?”
    “Starving,” I admitted, moving over to hover by the cooking eggs. In an easy motion, the doctor spooned the scrambled yolks onto two plates already stacked with crispy bacon.
    Like a hungry dog, I followed him to a small table he'd set by a window. “That smells great.” Inhaling through my nose, I dropped into a chair. “Really great.”
    “Thanks,” he chuckled, setting everything down. I was confused when he didn't sit. Watching him wander over to a tiny fridge, pulling out a pitcher of bright orange juice, gave me both understanding and a watering mouth.
    Together we dug in, chewing away in a silence understood by hunger. Dirk ate slow, not a hint of impatience showing. I, however, had to keep myself from shoveling the delicious breakfast into my mouth.
    I copied him when he dabbed at his chin with a napkin. “Good?” he asked, knowing the answer.
    “Yeah, really good.”