Captivated by Nora Roberts Read Free Book Online Page B

her. “Here you go.” He passed her the glass. “You look like you could use it.”
    “I’ve had an annoying day.”
    He grinned. “I know.”
    She would have sipped, but her teeth had clenched. “You know I hate it when you poke into my mind.”
    “I didn’t have to.” In a gesture of truce, he spread his hands. A ring with a square amethyst and intricately twisted gold winked on his little finger. “You were sending out signals. You know how loud you get when you’re annoyed.”
    “Then I must be screaming now.”
    Since she wasn’t drinking the wine, he took it back. “Darling, I haven’t seen you since Candlemas.” His eyes were laughing at her. “Haven’t you missed me?”
    The hell of it was, she had. No matter how often Sebastian teased her—and he’d been doing it since she was in the cradle—she enjoyed him. But that wasn’t any reason to be too friendly too soon.
    “I’ve been busy.”
    “So I hear.” He chucked her under the chin because he knew it annoyed her. “Tell me about Nash Kirkland.”
    Fury snapped into her eyes. “Damn you, Sebastian, you keep your psychic fingers out of my brain.”
    “I didn’t peek.” He made a good show of looking offended. “I’m a seer, an artist, not a voyeur. Ana told me.”
    “Oh.” She pouted a moment. “Sorry.” She knew that, at least since he’d gained some maturity and control,Sebastian rarely invaded anyone’s private thoughts. Unless he considered it necessary. “Well, there’s nothing to tell. He’s a writer.”
    “I know that. Haven’t I enjoyed his movies? What’s his business with you?”
    “Research. He wants a witch tale.”
    “T-a-l-e, as in story, I hope.”
    She fought back a chuckle. “Don’t be crude, Sebastian.”
    “Just looking out for my baby cousin.”
    “Well, don’t.” She tugged, hard, on a lock of his hair that lay over his collar. “I can look after myself. And he’s going to be here in a couple of hours, so—”
    “Good. That’ll give you time to feed me.” He swung a friendly arm over her shoulders. He’d decided she’d have to blast him out of the house to make him leave before meeting the writer. “I talked to my parents over the weekend.”
    “By phone?”
    His eyes widened in shock. When he spoke, the faint wisps of Ireland that occasionally surfaced in his voice enlivened his tone. “Really, Morgana, you know how much they charge you for overseas calls? They positively soak you.”
    Laughing, she slipped an arm around his waist. “All right, I’ll give you some dinner and you can catch me up.”
    She could never stay annoyed with him. After all, he was family. When one was different, family was sometimes all that could be relied on. They ate in the kitchen while he told her of the latest exploits of her parents, her aunts and uncles. By the end of an hour, she was completely relaxed again.
    “It’s been years since I’ve seen Ireland by moonlight,” Morgana murmured.
    “Take a trip. You know they’d all love to see you.”
    “Maybe I will, for the summer solstice.”
    “We could all go. You, Anastasia and me.”
    “Maybe.” Sighing, she pushed her plate aside. “The problem is, summer’s my busiest time.”
    “You’re the one who tied yourself up with free enterprise.” There was the better part of a pork chop on her plate. Sebastian stabbed it and ate it himself.
    “I like it, really. Meeting people. Even though some of them are weird.”
    He topped off their wineglasses. “Such as?”
    She smiled and leaned forward on her elbows. “There was this little pest. He came around day after day for weeks. He claimed that he recognized me from another incarnation.”
    “A pathetic line.”
    “Yes. Fortunately, he was wrong—I’d never met him before, in any life. One night a couple of weeks ago, when I was closing up, he burst in and made a very strong, sloppy pass.”
    “Hmm.” Sebastian finished off the last bite of pork. He was well aware that his cousin