Green Fire by Stephanie James Read Free Book Online Page B

afraid seeing you abroad in the moonlight has brought back memories of his own freewheeling past. When he saw you out here he couldn't wait to get outside himself. But I don't believe he's using the opportunity to think. He's probably hunting. Lord knows what he'll bring into the house tomorrow morning."
    Flint watched her for a long moment. "If he does bring something home, he'll expect you to tell him what a terrific hunter he is."
    "No doubt."
    "You will, won't you, Rani?" Flint suddenly sounded quite certain. "You'll scold him at first and then you'll relent and tell him how magnificent he is."
    "I don't see what all this has to do with your being out here at midnight. What were you trying to think about?" Rani took a couple of steps closer to him, attempting to read his eyes in the shadowed light. The gaze that was so unusually green in the daytime, however, was mysteriously lacking in color tonight. She couldn't begin to guess at his thoughts.
    "I was trying to work on the article."
    "I see. It's not going well?"
    "It's not going at all," Flint growled. "I was sitting there surrounded by a ton of notes and I couldn't write page one. I've been thinking about this article for a long time. I know the facts cold. But it isn't going nearly as smoothly as it should. Not like the others I've written. Tonight I couldn't even figure out how to write the first sentence."
    Rani heard the frustration in his voice and impulsively reached out to touch his jacket sleeve. "Are you a night person?"
    Flint eyed her warily, and she continued, "Is that when your thinking is clear? Is that when your biological time clock is at its peak?"
    Flint shrugged. "Lady, I don't know what you're talking about. All I know is that I couldn't even make a start on that damn article tonight."
    "And now you're tense." Rani tugged lightly at his sleeve. "Come inside, Flint. I'll make us some hot cocoa and then we can discuss your problem."
    She wasn't surprised when he followed without protest. Any offer of food seemed to hold a definite allure for Flint. Silently he allowed her to lead him into the kitchen where he took off his jacket. Then, his gaze following Rani's every movement as she set about making hot cocoa, he sprawled on a chair with an unconscious, arrogant grace.
    Leaving her trench coat on as a makeshift robe, Rani switched on the stove and measured milk into a pan. "Now, about this biological time clock, Flint."
    "What about it?"
    "I was under the impression you're an early riser."
    "lam. So what?"
    "Well, so am I."
    "Something in common," he murmured a little too blandly.
    Rani disregarded his tone of voice, "Exactly, Now, we early risers generally have something else in common. We usually do our best work, regardless of what it is, in the morning. What sort of work were you doing bright and early this morning?"
    "You know damn well what I was doing. I was raking leaves, hauling rocks and pushing a wheelbarrow."
    Rani turned to glance at him, her smile triumphant. "Precisely my point. You put most of your energy into hard physical labor today, using up your best hours on that kind of thing instead of on your article. Then you wonder why you can't seem to get it together at midnight to do your writing." She stirred briskly. "Want some advice?"
    "I'm listening."
    "Get up early and do your writing in the morning. Save the gardening and repair work for after lunch. You've got several weeks to get the grounds in shape and fix the odds and ends that need repairing. Use your evenings to relax and get some sleep." She poured the cocoa into mugs and brought them to the table.
    "Is this valid scientific fact or pop psychology?"
    "Trust me. It works." Rani sipped at the hot drink. "Tomorrow morning get out of bed bright and early, have your breakfast, pour yourself a cup of coffee and then go to work on your article. At lunchtime you can quit and start the outside work."
    Flint looked at her over the rim of his mug. "You know, you're sweet when you're