Rose's Rapture: Lords of the Night, Book Two by Jordan Summers Read Free Book Online

Rose now knew better. Lazarus was right.
    They meandered through the crowd for several minutes. Rose gradually relaxed. Hamish seemed to know everyone in attendance and more than a few raised a brow when he approached. Rose had assumed he attended these events with regularity, but from the snippets of conversation she’d caught that hadn’t been the case.
    A gong sounded and everyone filed into the banquet area. Hamish led Rose skillfully through the crowd and stepped through the archway.
    Rose caught a glimpse of Abigail through the throng. Lazarus stood to her right. Rose smiled. Her friend was in for a treat with this scrumptious morsel. She almost giggled as she imagined Abigail’s response when he decided to lay siege to her defenses. Rose turned back in time to see Hamish scowl. She shook her head. Men could be such...such...delightful cretins.
     
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CHAPTER FOUR
     
    Lazarus flirted shamelessly with Rose throughout the meal. Damn the stonehearted bastard’s hide. Anger rolled off Hamish in waves as he fought to control the urge to reach across the table and choke him with his bare hands. He needed to get Rose alone long enough to warn her.
    No wonder Richard had entrusted Rose’s entry into society to Hamish. She was naïve in so many ways, especially when it came to men and their intentions. Even as Hamish considered his next move, he knew he couldn’t come right out and tell Rose the truth about Lazarus without exposing himself. He’d planned to depart right after the meal, but couldn’t now. He wasn’t about to leave Rose with a creature that fed upon passion and was rumored to have a kiss guaranteed to enslave any woman. He’d heard enough stories about grotesques to know they were extremely dangerous if their appetites got out of control. They could go from feeding on passion to draining a life force in the blink of an eye. The irony was not lost on him.
    The thought of Lazarus feeding from Rose as she came apart in his arms left Hamish chilled to the bone. The murderous calm that enveloped him should’ve scared him enough to flee McKeon Manor and never return, but he didn’t. Couldn’t. Instead, he rode the possessive feelings surging through him, hanging on tight as they ebbed and swelled like a building tide. It took a moment for Hamish to realize how utterly foreign these feelings were to him.
    The meal droned on until Hamish thought he’d crawl out of his skin. When the end was announced, he practically sprang from his seat. He pulled the chair out for Rose.
    “May I have a word with you in private?”
    She nodded and allowed him to escort her out of the dining hall. Hamish knew McKeon Manor well. He’d lived so long in this land that he knew all the old homes. He led Rose toward the library, masking their bodies so that if anyone glanced down the hall they’d see nothing. He wasn’t about to risk Rose’s unblemished reputation.
    They reached the room at the end of the hall. Hamish turned the doorknob, then stepped aside to beckon her in. Rose hesitated for a moment, and then entered. He shut the door behind him and locked it. He didn’t want anyone to disturb them as he tried to convince her that Lazarus was dangerous. At least that’s what Hamish told himself.
    Draped in green and gold, the room held welcoming warmth despite its size. A stone fireplace dwarfed one wall, while rows and rows of old tombs covered the shelves along the others. A desk lay at one end of the room mirroring chaise. Hamish guided Rose toward the chaise, so she’d be near the fire. He didn’t want her catching a chill.
    “What is it you wished to discuss?” she asked.
    Hamish seated her and then restlessly paced in front of the blaze. He hadn’t been prepared for the visceral punch that came from being alone in a room with Rose. His skin heated as he inhaled, catching a whiff of her enticing blood. Hamish’s gaze slid from her face to the crests of her full breasts as they shimmered like pale moons