Sometimes By Moonlight by Heather Davis Read Free Book Online Page A

the shadow.
     
    I ducked down next to the sink and crawled over to the Dutch door to take a peek outside. I figured it was probably Hans on patrol, now that he couldn’t trust his Dobermans. I didn’t think he could be bribed with cookies. I was probably busted. Slowly, I rose to peek out the glass half of the door and meet my fate.
     
    And I found myself face to face with Austin.
     
    His gorgeous amber eyes gleamed as he pulled back the hood of his black ski jacket. He smiled widely, his lustrous dark hair falling in waves around his face.
     
    My heart lifted in my chest. I reached up to wipe away any cookie crumbs on my mouth and then waved shyly at him through the glass.
     
    “Open,” mouthed Austin, pointing down at the handle of the door.
     
    “It’s not locked,” I whispered, letting him in.
     
    “Brilliant. And all this time I was trying to figure out if I’d trip an alarm.”
     
    “All this time?” I shut the door quietly. “But weren’t you out in the well house?”
     
    “What? No.” Austin pulled me to him. “It took me weeks to figure out getting through the fence,” he said. “Otherwise, I would have come before.” He bent his lips to mine and kissed me. I drank in his affection like a girl dying of thirst in the desert. He could never kiss me enough.  “Mm, gingersnaps,” he said, smiling as we caught our breath.
     
    “Yeah. I got hungry.” My heart was beating in a strange rhythm as Austin held me in his arms. I lifted my chin against his neck, comforted by the smell of his skin. It was so good to be in his arms again. I almost didn’t care that I wearing a stupid hoodie and yoga pants and had no make-up on.
     
    “How are you feeling, Shelby?” he whispered into my messy hair. The sound of him saying my name, with his British accent and slight growl, made me want to sink into him deeper. I didn’t think there was a sexier voice on the planet. Or that my name had ever sounded better.
     
    “I’m fine now,” I said.
     
    “No, love. I mean, how are you feeling?” He untangled his arms from mine and put a hand under my chin to lift it to the light. His eyes filled with concern as he searched mine.
     
    “I feel fine, I guess,” I said. “Why?”
     
    “You said you got hungry. Are you hungrier than normal lately? Are you hearing things more sharply?”
     
    “I heard something earlier. A scratching sound.”
     
    “Yes. Those were my new friends out in the guard house,” Austin said, releasing my chin.
     
    “They do seem like nice dogs.”
     
    He smiled grimly. “Actually, they’re trained killers.”
     
    “But I was out there yesterday and all they did was whine and scratch at their cages.”
     
    Austin nodded. “Dogs can be charmed,” he said, eyeing me with concern again.
     
    “Well, I heard the scratching noise tonight and then my stomach was growling so I came down here.”
     
    “The hunger,” he murmured.
     
    I patted my pocket. “Yep. Gingersnaps.”
     
    “Oh.” Austin let out a slow breath. “So no meat tonight?”
     
    “Huh? What is this? I mean, are you here to see me or to check in on my eating habits?”
     
    “No, I—”
     
    “And what do you mean about it taking weeks for you to get in here?” I asked, shaking my head. “You sent me the note at dinner. You left your sketchbook in the well house for me to find. You posted the picture of the dogs in the art room.”
     
    Austin’s face paled. “I did none of those things, love. I swear to you this is the first time I’ve been over the fence.”
     
    “No way.”
     
    “I couldn’t get to you, but I called to you in the night,” he said, holding my gaze. “I hoped that somehow you would hear me.”
     
    “I did,” I said. “I heard your wolf’s cry. I heard your voice, too.”
     
    He kissed me again, and I felt warmth moving through my body. His lips were so soft while his arms, encircling me again, were so strong. I never wanted him to let go.
     
    “Those other