Guardian of Werewolf Keep (Werewolf Keep Trilogy) Read Free Page A

lower lip, chewing on it nervously. Something had shifted between them, and he could see that she was as affected by it as he was.
    'You...you are still trying to frighten me away. Can't you see that such ploy will not work with me?' she said softly, brushing back the errant lock he had wanted to touch.
    'I am not trying to frighten you. I am trying to protect you. You have no idea what your pride has led you into.' His voice was little more than a whisper , and she shifted forward slightly to catch his words.
    'Who are you?' Her mouth formed a moue, as if caught on the last word. 'Why would you want to protect me?'
    Byron lifted his hand , and let his fingers touch those pouting lips. Like a sea anemone, they withdrew from his invasion.
    He grunted at his own lack of restraint. He had more pressing matters with which to concern himself than this pretty miss. And yet he regretted her rejection of his touch. It stung.
    'I am Byron Carstairs. I was your father's assistant.'
    Her eyes lit with amusement. 'You had a poetry lover for a parent, I assume?'
    Byron groaned. His mother's love of Lord Byron's poetry had, in truth, been the reason for his name. He had been teased mercilessly throughout his school years for it. And he had never liked his namesake's writing. It was highly unrealistic in its romanticism.
    'Good night, Miss Davenport. I will see you in the morning.' He tried to maintain his fierce persona , but she had dislodged it with her amusement, and though he knew it was no time for frivolity, he felt a lightness in the moment.
    She smiled a slow and knowing smile that created dimples in her flushed cheeks. 'Goodnight to you , Mr Carstairs. I will look forward to it.'
    His pulse raced , and for one daring moment he thought of dragging her into his arms, and kissing those smiling lips. She was like nothing he had ever known. In this dark place, with its horror and pain, she was a glimpse of light that shone brighter than the sun. He wanted to bath in it, to soak up the warmth of it, and let it drive the darkness away…
    I f only for a few precious moments…
    The howl that broke the spell was harsh and eerie, echoing up from the dungeons below. With sickening heart, Byron watched the beautiful face register shock at the sound , and then fear. She reached out, and grasped his arm.
    'My L ord, what was that!' she gasped, the lantern light flickering, as the hand that held it shook.
    'Go inside and lock the door. You will hear more of that in the coming hours. I did warn you that you would not sleep if you stayed here tonight.' He tried to draw his arm back from her , but she held tight.
    'Tell me what that howl is. It sounds like something is in pain. Is it a dog?' she asked, pressing him for answers he didn't have time to give.
    'It is something that only your worst nightmares have answers for. And it is pain, anguish and fury that you will hear in those howls. Go inside now. I have work to do.' He drew her clutching hand from his sleeve, and gently pushed her into the room. Her big eyes stared at him, as he pulled the door closed.
    He waited to hear the lock turn , and was relieved when it did. She was no fool. Suddenly, she had realised that his words of warning were not just designed to frighten her. He really was trying to protect her. She may not know from what, as yet, but she had been galvanized to action, none the less.
    Relieved, he turned and hurried along the balcony toward the staircase , just as another ear-piercing howl rent the air. If she wasn't rushing to hide under the bedclothes by now, she should be. He just wished that he could be under them with her. But he had duties to fulfil, and they could not wait.
     
     

 
    CHAPTER THREE
     
     
    Phil was so tired she thought s he would collapse on the spot. But the adrenalin surge that the strange howl had elicited, and the disquiet she felt from her last encounter with Byron Carstairs, meant that sleep was far away. She lay on the goose-down layered