Highland Vampire Read Free

for food and company, while she was content to remain out of sight for a while. The very last thing she wanted was to confront her attackers again. David had taken a note to her cousin Lady Barbara Matheson so that woman would not search for her or worry.
    As she sipped her wine, Efrica studied the tall, slender man sprawled on the bed. It annoyed her to discover that her infatuation with the man still lingered despite three years of strangling it. His looks made such feelings understandable, for he was a beautiful man with his deep black hair and creamy skin. A long straight nose, high cheekbones, and a firm jaw gave his face an elegant, aristocratic look, whereas his thickly lashed golden eyes and sensuous mouth gave his face the warmth such perfectly carved features often lacked. In looks, he was all any woman could ask for. It was his nature that had made her so determined to kill all attraction to him. That was obviously going to take a lot more work.
    She should have realized she had not cured herself of her fascination with Jankyn. From that first meeting at Cambrun when she was just a girl of sixteen, he had entered her dreams and stayed there. When she had arrived at court, she had learned of his reputation with women and the pangs that had roused should have warned her. If he had not exiled himself from those at court, she would have seen him with one or more women and ruefully admitted she would have undoubtedly suffered far more than a pang. It was unacceptable, but she was not sure what she could do.
    Finishing her wine, she settled herself more comfortably in the chair, resting her feet on the edge of his bed. She would stay with Jankyn until she was sure he had recovered, and then she would do her best to stay far away from him. She refused to allow her heart to be held captive by a licentious rogue who lived in the shadows. Closing her eyes, she carefully listed all of Jankyn's faults until she fell asleep.
     
    Jankyn slowly opened his eyes to a room lit only by a nearly burnt-out candle set near his bed. A moment later, he recalled why he was lying on his bed and feeling a little weak. As he started to look around, his gaze settled on a pair of small, stockinged feet resting on the edge of his bed. After an appreciative study of the slender legs exposed almost to the knee, he looked at the woman sleeping in the chair and grinned. For a tiny woman, Efrica was taking up a lot of the large chair she was sprawled in, her slim arms dangling over the arms of the chair. Even so, the heavy, ornately carved seat accentuated her delicate build. He wondered how she had managed to move it, then recalled the strength she had revealed as she had helped him to his chambers.
    Careful not to jostle her, he pulled himself up into a seated position, resting against pillows someone had obviously plumped up behind him. Although she still looked very young, her features had lost the last of the childish softness she had still possessed at sixteen. Her thick, honey gold hair hung in tangled waves to pool around her slim hips upon the seat of the chair. There was a faint touch of gold to her beautiful skin. There was also a slight feline cast to her delicate, fine-boned features, except for the full, tempting shape of her lips. Even at sixteen her mouth had been one to turn a man's thoughts lustful. Of course, right now, that tempting mouth was slightly open and emitting a faint snore. And that long, beautiful neck of hers was cocked at an awkward angle that could probably cause her a twinge or two when she woke up.
    Telling himself he was only doing it for her own good, to try to save her from a little discomfort, Jankyn nudged her foot with his until she started to wake up. When her eyes opened, the clouds of sleep that lingered there turned them a warm amber color. It made him think of how her eyes might look clouded with the heat of passion. It was a dangerous thought.
    "Ye have your feet upon my bed," he said and relaxed a