Forever (Book #3 in the Fateful Series) by Cheri Schmidt Read Free Book Online

not. I just haven’t liked any I’ve met thus far.”
    In truth, while Ethan had met a couple of sorceresses, he hadn’t met any practicing witches yet. So he had no idea what to expect from them, except that they were known to favor the color black and used potions for most of their magic.
    The crumpets popped up. He set them on plates and slathered the hot spongy bread with butter and strawberry preserves, wondering what was taking Danielle so long. As though just the thought of her was able to conjure up her image, she entered from the left doorway. Without saying anything, a cautious gaze flickered over the imposing man in the room.
    Gathering in the look of worry in her expression, Merrick whispered with a wide toothy grin, “I offer my aid in seeking out the wee fairies.”
    Her brown eyes rounded at that and it looked like she was about to say something when Cedric and Casanova entered from behind Merrick on the other side of the room. “Count me in too,” said Cedric.
    “And me, ma chérie,” added Casanova. His thick French accent made him sound like some romance novel hero, and the sweeping bow he performed along with, “At your service,” made him look like one too.
    Ethan choked down the objection he wanted to bellow, but based on the amused twist of Danielle’s mouth, she probably noticed the way his lip curled in irritation. Apparently forgetting his jealous distress, which he knew she was aware of, her eyes landed on the crumpets. Bending forward slightly, she drew in the delicious smell of the toasted bread, then lifted one of the plates. After biting into it, her tongue shot out to clean the preserves from her upper lip. Another surge of jealousy socked him in the stomach when he realized all of the men’s gazes were fixed on her full mouth.
    “Thanks for breakfast,” she said, now pouring a generous measure of honey and cream into her tea before stirring it.
    She wore a snug-fitting pair of jeans, paired with a white baby t-shirt that showed off her curves. After tightening the plaid shirt tied around her waist, she gathered her teacup for a sip now that she’d doctored it up in a way that many Brits would frown upon.
    She’d French braided the front part of her hair into a long braid that ran along the side of her head and caught that up with the rest of her hair into a smooth ponytail that swung when she moved. That must have been what had taken her so long to come down. She’d stopped to do her hair and make-up. Ethan kept his amused chuckle inside as he bit into his own crumpet and washed it down with his unsweetened tea. Danielle was vain enough to worry about her appearance, but not so much so that she was a snob. He doubted she even knew that no matter what she wore she looked like some sort of 1940’s bombshell one might see painted on the side of a B-29 bomber.
    It was more than clear that she was oblivious to the way the other men looked at her. Does she know how gorgeous she is? Ethan wondered. No , he decided after watching her eat. She was just savoring the simple breakfast in a way that was sexy to watch. She couldn’t possibly be aware of it or she wouldn’t eat like that in front of these men. When he again caught the men staring a little too closely, it awakened something primal within him. Something that tempted him to grunt out “mine!” toss her over his shoulder and stalk from the kitchen.... Or better yet, challenge them all to a duel. Of course, that wouldn’t fare well for him since he was mortal and they weren’t. With eyes trailing to the knife drawer, which was close at hand, Ethan’s thoughts turned from gentlemanly to murderous in a trice.
    After sighing, he tossed back the rest of his tea, ignoring the fact that it burned his throat. He really needed to get a handle on his jealousy. Danielle had finished eating and had slipped two fingers into one of the belt loops on his jeans so she could snuggle up to him and offer a bright smile that he knew belonged