Be Mine Tonight by Kathryn Smith Read Free Book Online

right—he had been on such an expedition before. One that had failed. Hers would not be so unlucky. It couldn’t.
    “I assure you, sir, that I have put a great deal of work and effort into this quest.”
    “That I do not doubt.”
    At least he was willing to give her that. “Thank you.” Good Lord, she sounded positively smug! How had he managed to get under her skin onsuch short acquaintance? He looked at her as though he understood her when there was no way he could. It was both comforting and annoying.
    “But you said yourself that you are desperate, and desperation makes a mockery of caution.”
    Perdition, but the man did not know when to leave a subject alone! “Are you going to tell me the moral of this tale, Mr. Chapel, or are you going to extend the anticipation for as long as you can?”
    Again, he didn’t look the least bit offended—a fact that irked her—but his expression was strained in the moonlight. “I was once as eager as you to learn the Grail’s secrets. A man died as a result of my actions.”
    “Oh.” No wonder he had spoken as he had. What she first understood as condescension now took on an entirely different meaning. What an utter cow she was.
    Hesitantly, she reached out to him, her fingers falling on the solid crook of his elbow, just above the roll of his cuff. “Would you care to talk about it?”
    His gaze dropped to her hand, so quickly and so intently that Pru imagined she could feel it burning her flesh. She did not release him, though. Instinct told her that he was like a wild animal and if she moved too quickly he might pounce.
    Slowly, his gaze traveled up her arm, tingling her flesh as it moved ever closer to her face. Sensation rocked her as his eyes locked with hers. The glow she thought she had seen earlier had returned,lighting his eyes from deep within. It had to be a trick of the moonlight, because no one had eyes that bright, that beautiful. It was as though his gaze beckoned to her, pulled her closer. She could feel her body leaning toward him, her lungs struggling for air as he completely overwhelmed her.
    His firm, sensuous lips parted, revealing a glimpse of startlingly white teeth. Were those his canines she saw glistening in the dark? No, they couldn’t be—it was just a trick of the night.
    “You aren’t going to bite me again, are you?”
    He jumped, jerking his arm from her grip. He shook his head as if to clear it. “What?”
    Smiling at the knowledge that he had been—even if just for a second—as captivated by her as she by him, Pru held up her hand so that he could see the scratch on the back of it. “Are you not responsible for this?”
    Eyes narrowed, Chapel studied her knuckles. “Responsible for what? There is nothing there.”
    Now it was Pru’s turn to frown. Flipping her hand around, she lifted it toward her face, stopping when the moonlight stained her flesh. He was right. There was no mark. She tilted her knuckles to the light. Still nothing. The scratch had completed disappeared.
    There was no way she could have imagined it, but how was it possible that it had healed so quickly? Unless it hadn’t been a scratch at all, but merely a welt. But she could have sworn…
    “It will be dawn soon.” His voice sliced through her thoughts. He was watching the waning moonwith a slight furrow in his brow. “We should return to the house.”
    Her hand forgotten, Pru grinned at his tone. “Still worried about my safety, Mr. Chapel?”
    Chapel’s gaze met hers. He obviously didn’t share her amusement. “My own.”
    It was so difficult to gauge if he was jesting or not. “Too much safety can lead to regret,” she informed him with mock sageness.
    He tilted his head to one side. “As can recklessness.”
    He took himself far too seriously for one so young. She smiled at him. “Do you have many regrets, sir?”
    A dry chuckle escaped him as he glanced down at the path beneath his feet. “It seems I’ve built my life on them at