Quick, Amanda by Reckless Read Free Book Online

the instant the feminine fear in her dissolved beneath a wave of desire. The Veiled Lady made
    an achingly sweet, soft sound against his mouth. Gabriel swallowed up the tremulous cry as if he were a
    starving man being offered food. He immediately craved more.
    A deep satisfaction flared in him as he felt the undeniable stirring within her. She trembled. Her free hand
    was on his shoulder now, clutching at the heavy wool of his greatcoat. He felt her lean forward as if she
    wanted to be closer to him.
    The hint of passion in his Veiled Lady sent a shudder of heightened desire through Gabriel. His own
    body was throbbing with an urgent need to possess her. He had definitely been too long without a
    woman. His arm tightened around her.
    "My lord?" She sounded dazed.
    "There is a chill in the night air," Gabriel muttered hoarsely against her throat. "But I vow that when I lay
    you down on the ground over there in the woods, you will soon be warm enough. I shall use my coat to
    make a bed for us, my Veiled Lady."
    In the blink of an eye the spell was broken. The Veiled Lady shuddered as if she had been burned.
    Suddenly she was pushing at him, trying to wrench herself free of his grasp.
    Gabriel fought a battle with his clamoring senses and won. He reluctantly released the lady. With a
    muffled exclamation, she sat back, grabbed at her veil with fumbling fingers, and lowered it hastily. He
    could hear her unsteady breathing. The knowledge that her nerves and passions were unsettled gave him
    some satisfaction.
    "You had no right to do that, sir," she whispered in almost inaudible tones. "That was most unchivalrous.
    How could you be so ungallant? I thought you an honorable man."
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    Gabriel smiled. "You seem to have acquired some very odd notions of my sense of chivalry based on
    your reading of The Quest. It goes to show the critics are right, I suppose. Young ladies should be
    prevented from reading tales of that sort. Their emotional natures are too easily influenced."
    "Rubbish. You are deliberately trying to provoke me." The strength was returning rapidly to her voice
    now. This was not a woman who was easily overset.
    "You have been deliberately provoking me for the past several weeks," he reminded her. "I have already
    told you that I'm extremely annoyed with you, madam."
    "You do not understand," she wailed. "I was trying to capture your interest, not make you angry. I
    thought you would enjoy the adventure of it all. It was the sort of mystery the hero of your book would
    have enjoyed."
    "The hero of The Quest is a much younger man than I am," Gabriel said. "He still has a decidedly
    unhealthy amount of knightly idealism and youthful naivete."
    "Well, I like him that way," the Veiled Lady flung back. "He is much nicer than you are, that is for
    certain. Oh, never mind. It has all gone wrong. I regret I ever embarked on this stupid venture. What a
    disaster it has been. A complete and utter waste of time. I do not even have The Knight and the Sorcerer
    to show for all my efforts."
    "The next time I see you," Gabriel said softly, "I shall return your manuscript and give you my decision
    concerning your quest."
    The Veiled Lady urged her mare away from Gabriel's stallion. "You do not know who I am. You will
    not be able to find me."
    "I shall find you." He knew even as he spoke the words that he was making a vow to himself and to her.
    Tonight's venture had done nothing to satisfy his curiosity about the Veiled Lady. Indeed, it had only
    whetted his appetite. He had never met a woman like her and he knew now that he would not be content
    until he had possessed her. "It is you who began this business, madam, but be assured that I am the one
    who will end it."
    "I am convinced you have already ended it," she said bleakly. "I must tell you again that you are a grave
    disappointment thus far, my lord."
    "I am, of course, stricken to hear that."
    "It is