Under the Full Moon (Crimson Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page B

be lying in wait. However, arguing would merely set testosterone levels raging and would be a waste of good energy. She needed to get the shop open and do some research of her own once everyone was out of her hair and she could think straight.
    “Grace, what do you think? Don’t you think it’s too dangerous for them to go?”
    Yeah she did but as much as Grace wanted to side with Beth, she couldn’t. Not without pushing Damien away. He needed to be He-man. She’d recognized the trait in him from the first day they’d met.
    “Yes, I think it’s worrisome, but I don’t think anywhere we are right now is safe. I was here at home and look what happened.” Grace pointed over to the door that was nailed closed.
    “Point,” Beth whispered. “Fine, but you damn well better check in every hour or so. Are we clear?” she stated, turning to Moss with a definite tone and stance that signaled he’d better answer with a yes or there would be hell to pay.
    Grace always got a kick out of her niece’s fiery spirit.
    “Reception can be spotty, but I’ll agree to try. However, don’t panic if you don’t hear from us for a few hours,” Moss reminded Beth in a patient tone.
    “I can’t promise I won’t panic, but I won’t go traipsing after you unless neither of you has checked in by tonight. Deal?”
    “Deal,” both men answered at once.
    Grace caught something that sounded like “pussy whipped” and the sneer Moss threw toward Damien in return rather backed up her suspicion.
    Yup, she needed to handle Damien with kid gloves. You could take the man out of the wild, but getting the wild out of the man in this case was impossible.
    “I don’t want you staying here alone. Can your aunt accompany you around today, Beth?” Damien turned from Grace to address Beth.
    “Excuse me. I don’t appreciate you speaking for me as if I’m not here. I assure you I’ve managed just fine by myself before you came along. I happen to have a full day. I need to open the shop and go over inventory.” She wasn’t a child and damn sure wouldn’t be treated like one.
    “Shop?”
    Shit!
She wasn’t ready to explain that yet.
    “Well … ”
    Before Grace could shoot Beth a look to shut up, the younger gal blurted out, “Oh it’s her lovely spiritual shop. Grace didn’t tell you about it?”
    Damn, damn and double damn.
    The room plunged into silence. Damien flat refused to even look in her direction, and she prayed he’d give her a chance to explain, maybe even allow her to take him on a tour of her shop. When he started out the door, calling for Moss, she knew her chance to do so, at least for today, had evaporated.
    Beth kissed Moss goodbye and reminded him of his promise before apologizing. “Shit, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize you hadn’t told him or he’d even consider Whimsical Notions that big a deal. Damn but I really put my foot in my mouth this time.”
    “It’s all right. You couldn’t have foreseen his reaction or my lack of telling him. I should have, but kept waiting for the right time. I’m not truthfully sure when that time would have been … so I kept procrastinating.”
    “He’ll come around. He … he, well, sort of seems like a bit of a hard ass.”
    “I hope you’re right. And yes, he bears some scars. But as with a lot of things in life, time has a way of healing things we never thought possible.” Grace didn’t elaborate, but before she’d met Damien, she’d been resigned to becoming an old spinster. Then she met Damien and he turned her emotions and resolve, ass over end. Beth left and Grace geared up to head into town and open Whimsical Notions. She’d hit the coffee house on her way and maybe that would help shake the uneasy feelings that were settling deep. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw the all-clear. She was in fact, still alone.
    Why then would she swear someone was watching her?

Chapter Six
    The sense of being watched increased the closer she got to Whimsical Notions.