Crave the Night by Sharon Ashwood, Michele Hauf, Patti O'Shea, Lori Devoti Read Free Book Online

reserve. This wasn’t
getting him answers.
    “ Why are your gargoyles invisible
now?” he asked, deliberately changing directions.
    “ Huh?” She blinked, and then looked
uncomfortably around the room. “Um. They prefer it that
way.”
    “ I’ve never heard of sensitive
gargoyles.”
    Rafe heard rustling again. He’d posed the
question to unsettle her, but he was truly curious. He leaned in
from his side of the desk, closing the distance between them. “They
usually revel in their ability to frighten the enemy. Why are these
so different?”
    “ Don’t.” To Rafe’s surprise, she put a
hand over his. “Please, don’t. I can’t answer that
question.”
    Adrenaline jolted through him at her touch.
Her fingers were cold, slight tremors coursing through them. She
was afraid? Disturbed? Certainly shaken enough to break with her
tough-girl stance.
    Unexpectedly, it moved him. “Why not?”
    “ I can’t tell you that.”
    Of course not. Fey don’t
give straight answers
. Playing to the moment, he put his
other hand over hers, warming it. “What about the other servants?
Are they also invisible because they’re shy?”
    “ Yes. No. You’re holding my hand, Mr.
Devries.”
    “ So I noticed.”
    She closed her eyes, as if refusing to look
at him. “It’s not necessary.”
    “ Is it pleasant?”
    “ That’s immaterial.”
    He released her, sitting back in the
chair. She suddenly felt too far away.
Get serious. She’s a psycho fairy
. “So what’s
the deal with the staff?”
    “ They came with me. They built this
house.”
    “ They’re your people? All of them?”
Rafe glanced around the deceptively empty room. “Wherever they
are.”
    “ They are light fey, like me, but we
are a confederation of many sub-species. Not that it’s any concern
of yours.” She leaned back in her turn, folding her arms. “Given
the option, we’ll hide ourselves rather than interact with
others.”
    “ Why so unsociable?”
    For a moment, her face softened, as if she
were dropping her guard a fraction. “Maybe it would be easier if
you understood.”
    “ Probably,” he said dryly.
    She gave him an annoyed look. “We
don’t
use
magic, we
are
magic. Just like your friend
said, if a vow is spoken in our presence, it becomes true. That’s a
dangerous state of affairs unless one takes precautions. Humans
never could follow the rules. Just read their so-called fairy
tales. Promises, vows, enchantments, gold pieces turning into dried
leaves, princes turning into frogs—it was pure chaos, and we always
took the blame. So we hid for safety in the wild places. If we have
to be near other species, invisibility acts like a dampening field.
Far fewer accidental spells take hold.”
    Rafe felt like he’d been handed a puzzle
piece, but wasn’t sure if it was from the right jigsaw. “Must be
getting harder, with so few uninhabited places to run to.”
    “ These mountains are one of our last
refuges.”
    Did that mean Lila was from these
parts? “But you seem perfectly comfortable as a corporate type. How
does that work?” 
 “A few of
the younger generation pursued an education. I admit that even with
precautions there is risk involved, but we’re not as eager to hide
away. We find the modern world exciting.” It was the first
substantial thing she’d said about herself.
    She rested her hands again on the desk, near
his but not touching. His fingers itched to brush against her fine,
smooth skin, but knew it would be a mistake just when she’d decided
to start talking. As with coaxing a wild animal, haste was his
enemy.
    He adopted his shooting-the-breeze voice.
“Yeah, well, the wolves went through the same thing. The rural
Packs like ours were the last to resist human contact. We gave
in.”
    “ Did it cause a rift among your
people? Those that wanted to keep to themselves, others who did
not?” It sounded like she really wanted to know.
    “ Oh, sure,” Rafe answered, realizing
that they’d found