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

mattress, surrounded by fine linen sheets and warm woollen blankets, and couldn’t make her body relax, for all the comfort.
    What had made that unearthly noise? It was like nothing she had ever heard before. No dog or wolf she had ever heard had howled that way. But if not an animal, then what could make such a sound?
    And what of the man: What was he hiding with all those veiled warnings of dire consequences, if she entered the Keep this night, or later, if she left her room? There was purpose to it, she was sure. Was he trying to drive her away because she was the heir to this pile of stones, and he was next in line to inherit if she didn't fulfil her three month stipulation? Or was he really trying to protect her from something; something that had a howl that made the hairs on her arms stand on end?
    He was an enigma: s o big and strong, she felt he could break her if he wanted to, yet he seemed to be struggling under a weight that was more than he could bear. He was tired, so bone wearily tired, and yet so tightly wound.
    But he was also vital and alive. There was something intensely primal about that vitality; something that spoke of danger and survival, life and death.
    When Byron had touched her lips , and looked at her as if he wanted to devour her, it had been shock that made her draw back. If she’d had more than a moment to react, she might have stayed where she was, allowing his fingers to feel their way across her moist lips. She could still taste his fingertips – salty and tantalising.
    He had touched her despite himself, she could tell. He didn't want to be attracted to her. And yet it was very clear that he was attracted to her; so attracted, that, for a few moments, he had forgotten his terrible burden, and flirted with her.
    She had very little experience wi th flirtation. Because of their poverty, Phil had not been presented to society in the way her pedigree required. Then, when her mother had died, and she had taken up the position of governess to her friend Fidelia’s step children, soirees had regularly been staged to give her access to eligible men. Some of these gentlemen had flirted with her because she was pretty. But even with Lady Fidelia Montgomery’s sponsorship, none of those eligible bachelors had found her so attractive that they would forget her penury, and offer marriage.
    Several had stolen kisses in the garden. Curiosity had led Phil to acquiesce. But after a few moments of wet, encroaching mouths and groping hands, she had pulled away and feigned her best maidenly horror, sending them off with fleas in their ears.
    But she wondered whether she would be so quick to dismiss Byron Carstairs , if he dared to kiss her. There was something very appealing about his rugged features, even though they were regularly twisted into a frown of annoyance or worry.
    Only for a moment had the darkness receded. For a moment, he had almost smiled. She wanted to make him smile, despite the worries of the world he seemed to carry.
    As her imagination composed a scene where he smiled as he kissed her, another shriek split the air. It wa s a sound that belonged in Hell. She shivered, and pulled the blankets up around her more tightly. Not cold. It was quite mild in the big, pleasantly furnished room Byron had assigned her. The shivers were of terror – primordial terror, and she was helpless to control them, as they wracked her body long after the sound had ceased.
    Later, when the lengthening silence allowed her to doze, w arm thoughts of the dark, unwelcoming stranger returned to her mind again. He was so impolite it had infuriated her. No one, not even the less gallant of the young men she had encountered at Fidelia's, had spoken to her as if she was a dim-witted, foolish woman. The worst they had subjected her to were leers and patronising comments about her impoverished status. None had been overtly rude.
    But for all his boorish ways, Phil found Byron deeply appealing. Compelling. Whatever his