Hot Summer Bites: A Castle of Dark Dreams Novella (A Penguin Special from Berkley Sensation) by Nina Bangs Read Free Book Online Page B

“Sorry to scare you. I’m Conall, Eric’s brother. Asima pointed you out. I figured you were waiting for Taurin.”
    Okay, going all defensive here. “Uh-uh, not me. I was . . . just looking for people to interview for my story. In fact, I have an appointment with Banan right now. I’m meeting him on the beach.” She offered him a plastic smile.
    Conall frowned. “Banan? Maybe you should wait until Taurin gets here. He can go with you.”
    Now see, he’d gone and said the wrong thing. “I can walk to the beach all by myself. I don’t need anyone tagging along. It was great meeting you.” Kristin knew he was still watching her as she escaped through the door.
    It only took a few minutes to cross Seawall Boulevard and go down the steps to the beach. With darkness falling quickly, the beach had emptied out. Looking around, she spotted Banan sitting on the sand staring at the Gulf. Kristin walked over and sat down beside him.
    “How’s it going?” She joined him in staring at the water.
    “Decided to come after all?” He turned and smiled at her.
    Nightfall made him look even more spectacular. Why wasn’t she tempted? Probably because he was still a scary guy. “Yeah, I needed to get out of the castle. Besides, there was always the chance that I could pump some info about the castle out of you.”
    His smile never dimmed. “Wouldn’t count on it. Want to go for a swim?”
    “Isn’t it a little late for that? No lifeguards around.” She didn’t miss the eagerness in his voice. “You must like the water a lot to sit out here all afternoon.”
    “I love the seas. I have to be near them.” His voice had taken on a hypnotic singsong cadence. “Come with me and play in the water.”
    “Uh, I don’t think so, but don’t let me stop you. I’ll just sit here and watch.” This guy was seriously strange.
    He stood and glanced around at the empty beach. Kristin followed his gaze. Hmm. It was almost completely dark and they had the beach all to themselves. A prickle of unease suggested that maybe she should go back to the castle, that being here alone with a man—a man her instincts were telling her felt wrong—wasn’t too smart.
    But she had a story to write, and he hadn’t said or done one threatening thing. This time she’d ignore her instincts.
    She rethought that decision as he stripped off his shorts and T-shirt. No swimsuit underneath. Yikes.
    The grin he turned on her was almost boyish. “I swim nude. I get off on the feel of freedom with nothing between me and the water.”
    “Uh, good.” Kristin’s gaze skittered away from him. Great. She was here to write a story about sex, but when she found it, she did a dumb-virgin act.
Get over it.
She looked. Very nice.
    “Do me a favor? Wade into the surf. You don’t have to go in past your thighs, but you can hand my shorts to me when I come out.” He laughed. And for the first time she didn’t feel the danger. “I don’t want to be stuck out there if a bunch of people show up.”
    Kristin didn’t think a bunch of people would show up in the pitch dark. Sure there was some moonlight, but not much. She saw his point, though. A cop might come down to the beach to see what was going on. Banan wouldn’t want to chance an indecent exposure charge.
    Besides, July in Galveston was damn hot, and night didn’t cool things down much. The wind was blowing, but it just pushed the hot air around. The water would feel good. “Okay, but don’t go out too far. I don’t do water rescues.”
    He handed his shorts to her, and she followed him down to the waterline. As he raced into the water, she admired the rear view. Trophy-quality butt.
    Banan had already disappeared into the surf by the time she waded out to where the water lapped at the hem of her shorts. Warm water. So much for heat relief. The waves were low and choppy, but she wasn’t in any danger of being knocked off her feet.
    As she stood waiting for Banan to emerge, her thoughts wandered to