Arjun Read Free Page B

But Arjun didn’t move from his spot at the window, standing still, almost like…like a….

A tree.

I couldn’t help but laugh, although it was more from sheer giddiness rather than something funny.

“You know what’s funny? For one second I almost thought you were a tree.”

Anyone else would have laughed, or at the very least, cracked a smile.

Arjun didn’t, and the fact that he didn’t, scared me, if just a little bit.

“A tree?”

I covered my mouth and tried to stifle my giggles. “Well, yeah. I mean, there I was, about to cut down a tree, and then the tree starts to talk to me. And then, as if that’s not weird enough, said tree says he’ll show himself to me. And, lo and behold, guess who walks out! Butt naked, I might add!”

His eyebrows furrowed, and if I wasn’t mistaken, a faint glimmer of concern flashed in his eyes. “Evelyn, you are in shock.”

“No, I am not!” My last word came out a bit more forceful than I’d meant it. “Now, if I was totally off my rocker and completely insane, I’d say you’re a dryad, but that’s just plain myth, so I’m still trying to figure out who or what the heck you are!”

I’d shouted again, but I couldn’t help it. Better out than in, Dad always said.

“A dryad.” His lips curved into an utterly beguiling smile. “You think I am a dryad? A nymph?”

Why was I blushing no intention of dying h could n’t ? “No, I don’t think so! Only females are dryads and nymphs.”

The gleam in his eyes was definitely playful. Nice to know he regarded this as a joke, while I fretted over my sanity. “Then you believe in those beings, Evelyn?”

“What? No, I don’t believe in them! Well, that is to say that I don’t usually believe in them, but then I just can’t—” I clapped a hand to my mouth before I made even more of a fool out of myself. What the hell was wrong with me? “You know what? I’m going to shut up now.”

“Evelyn.”

He pushed away from the window and sauntered toward me, looking more dangerous than a man wearing Snoopy pajamas ought to look.

“Wh-what?” I hated how my voice trembled.

“Are you scared? You look as though there is something that greatly disturbs you. As if….” His grin widened. “As if I disturb you.”

I stood but refused to back up. That just wasn’t me.

“I’m not scared of you, Arjun. I’m not.” I took a deep breath and realized that doing that was a mistake—a very big and a very bad mistake.

The scent of evergreens, the crisp bite of pine needles caught at me, leaving me breathless and unable to think clearly.

His hand, strong and lean, reached for me, but he didn’t touch me. Instead, his fingers extended