Dust of My Wings by Carrie Ann Ryan Read Free Book Online Page A

and smiled coyly. “Oh, I’m so sorry,” she purred.
    Shade didn’t bother with a reply. He gave her a curt nod and lifted his gaze to look behind her in a dismissal. With an obvious pout, she huffed away. Good. He wasn’t here to placate the feelings of a woman who didn’t interest him. No, he was here for Lily. The file had said she liked to play dominos in the park on Saturday afternoons, and he wasn’t going to waste an opportunity to meet the wide-eyed beauty.
    He adjusted himself as his cock rose to attention just at the thought of her. He’d only seen her through the paned glass, yet he wanted her. He liked the way her average height held such delicious not-so-average curves. Those damn sexy hips of hers begged his hands to grip them as he rammed into her body bent over any surface he could find.
    Shade groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. This was so not the time to be thinking these thoughts. He’d seen the woman exactly once and didn’t know a thing about her that he hadn’t read from a file.
    Oh, and the fact that she held the evidence that could destroy him and his brethren.
    She couldn’t be the woman for him, but he could still look. He just had to make sure he could still function.
    A slight gust of cool air whipped through his hair, and he shook his head, thankful for the breeze that cleared his thoughts. He had a job to do, and that job didn’t consist of fantasizing about a woman with big green eyes.
    Since the freak storm the night before, the weather had cleared up to be a pleasantly warm day with a cool breeze to temper the heat. It was the perfect day to find Lily and gather any information he could. He hated that he had to resort to smiling and flirting to get what he wanted, but it might be the only way.
    He walked through the park, his black boots making little sound on the concrete. He passed children playing on swing-sets, their mothers and fathers looking on in loving fashion, and, in some cases, boredom. He passed couples walking hand in hand, talking about their days and futures. Shade ignored the slight pain in his chest at the thought. He’d lost his happily-ever-after years ago and didn’t need another.
    He was only here for the woman, not for a trip down memory lane.
    Shade continued through the park until he reached the tables and benches that ran along the opposite side of the park, where he stopped in his tracks.
    There she was.
    Lily sat on a bench alone, her legs pulled up, and her arms wrapped around her knees. A box of dominos lay on the table in front of her, unopened. She rested her pale cheek on her knees, and he could feel the tension riding through her from where he stood.
    What had happened to her in the day since he’d last seen her?
    She looked as if she were ready to burst at the seams with energy, yet looked jittery and exhausted at the same time. It didn’t make any sense.
    Where was her friend, this Jamie that Ambrose had said she met with to play Lily’s favorite game—dominos—weekly?
    Something was off, but he couldn’t tell what from where he stood. She looked so lonely.  Shade wanted to run to her and wrap his arms around her, never letting her go. He barely refrained from doing just that, but he couldn’t just let her sit there alone with such a forlorn look on her face. He had been planning on making this just a reconnaissance trip, but plans had changed.
    Taking a deep breath, he walked toward her. She looked up when he purposely used heavy steps to alert her of his presence. Her green eyes caught his with alarm. Her dark brown bangs shifted and covered her eyes and he had to fight the urge to brush them away from her face.
    She shook her head, moving her bangs back into place, and opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out.
    Out of nowhere, energy swirled around them, sweeping though his body, and he almost had to sit down with the rush of adrenaline in his system. From the look in her eyes, he was glad she was already sitting