Spirit [New Crescent 2] (BookStrand Publishing Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page A

for him to hide his body’s response to her. It thrilled her, and she moved her hips against his. Her thighs trembled. He stopped, dragging his mouth from hers. She made a sound of protest and followed his talented lips wanting more, but he stopped her. Grasping her upper arms, he gave her a little shake.
    Reggie looked up at him, mystified. She couldn’t interpret what she saw in his eyes. Was it pity, regret? The champagne haze dissolved, and all that was left was cold, harsh reality. She shook her head, much preferring the hazy world to this new, stark one. The one where Chase McCann kissed her then rejected her.
    “I think that’s enough, Reggie. I’ll get Sam to take you home.” He backed away and left her standing alone. She wanted to go after him, demand an explanation, but she was rooted to the spot. She hadn’t moved an inch when Sam found her, and she made no objections when he drove her home.
    Chase had never again shown any inclination to kiss her until a few months ago when both their lives had been threatened. He’d come to rescue her, and she’d been so happy to see him alive that she had launched herself at him. They had kissed each other with relief and with growing passion, or at least that’s what Reggie had thought, until the next day when she’d gone to the hospital to see him and found him gone. They still hadn’t talked about what had happened.
    But just yesterday at Bennett House, he’d kissed her again. And what a kiss! She touched her tongue to her top lip, remembering the taste of him. It was essence of Chase McCann, gourmet cuisine. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She was spiraling out of control.
    With well-practiced self-discipline, Reggie forced all thoughts of him aside and parked the car close to the front entrance. Her dog, Pru, knew exactly where they were headed and showed her excitement by wagging her tail and looking over her shoulder with doggy impatience.
    “I’m going as fast as I can, so calm down, will you?” Reggie’s entreaty was ignored as Pru barked at her. Finally, she opened the passenger door. The little dog jettisoned out of the car and ran to her favorite spot. Reggie didn’t bother to enter the lobby of the Seniors Residence. Like Pru, she knew exactly where Ernestine Sinclair would be at this time of the morning. She made her way there, but with a little less haste.
    When she rounded the last bend in the pathway, she couldn’t help but smile. Her little dog lay splayed on the ground, her pink belly exposed as Ernestine made a great fuss over her.
    The old lady looked up. She smiled widely, and the lines on her face deepened but somehow that smile made her look younger, immortal. Of course she wasn’t, though with power like hers, Reggie wouldn’t have been surprised if the old girl did live forever.
    Ernestine Sinclair was Guardian of New Crescent. She’d inherited her power from her ancestor Elizabeth Goode. She watched over the people of the town, protecting their secrets from outsiders. Ernestine always knew when trouble was brewing and guided the town to safety. Her advice was followed, her word was respected, and her wisdom was unfailing. Most New England towns had histories filled with tragedy, hurricanes, bigotry, shipwrecks, disease, financial disaster or juicy scandal, but not New Crescent. The Guardians had always protected their little town from such things. Ernestine had been Guardian since her twenties, just after her mother died. Like so many before her, she’d inherited her gift on the morning of her fourteenth birthday. Six a.m. on that fateful day, she had woken feeling different. There had been a potency to the air she’d never felt before. She’d laughed in wonder as Mother Nature’s intentions became clear to her and she knew that one day she’d be a Guardian of New Crescent. As she grew up she’d accepted her awesome responsibility. There was potential for good and evil in the town’s future. Ernestine had a duty