Kiss of Temptation: The Kavanaugh Foundation, Book 3 Read Free Page B

stiffened. “I’m not a lost soul.”
    “Of course, signorina . Whatever you say.” She led Daniela up a staircase and pointed down the hall. “He brought a bag full of clothes for you earlier this evening. You’ll find it in your room. I’m Sophia. Sleep well, and I’ll come fetch you for mass in the morning.”
    Mass? Was this some sort of religious halfway house?
    Sophia disappeared down the stairs, leaving Daniela alone. She gritted her teeth. Now more than ever, she wanted to grab her bag and disappear. Padre Luc could go rescue some other lost soul . She wasn’t going to fall for his little game of seduction, nor was she going to participate in whatever plan he had for her here.
    Inside room number seven, her backpack sat unopened on the bed. At least the spell she’d cast to keep thieves out of her bag prevented him from rummaging through her stuff. When she grabbed it, a piece of paper floated to the floor. She picked it up and studied the elegant script.
     
    You will not find what you seek in Rome. Stay here until tomorrow night. Then I will tell you more about the staff.
    Luc.
     
    Daniela sighed and sank onto the mattress. She wanted answers. She needed to find the Staff of Octavius. And the only person who knew where it was happened to be a defrocked priest who had a habit of rescuing girls off the street and made her want to fuck him senseless when he kissed her. All in all, a bad combination.
    She glanced at the open door across the room. With a flick of her wrist, it slammed shut and locked. One night wouldn’t be too long to wait, but she’d take precautions. She closed her eyes and began casting a protective spell on the room that would guarantee no one could barge in on her unexpectedly, including the sexy priest that plagued her thoughts.
     
     
    Luc waited until the light in room seven turned off before he approached the pensione . Unfortunately, the light downstairs remained on. Sophia was waiting up for him. Even though he was ten times her age, she still fussed over him like a mother and considered him a saint. Too bad she didn’t know his true nature.
    The unlocked door swung open as he approached the stoop, and she stood there with her hand on her hip. “This one is different from the others.”
    “Different?” he asked, feigning innocence as he slipped past her. “How so, Sophia?”
    “Older, less frightened. More worldly .” She closed the door and winked at him. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you sent her here for a different reason. Why else would you give her your usual room?”
    “Perhaps because she deserves the nicest room here.” He smiled and winked back. “Do you have another room for me?”
    “Of course. You’ve been my favorite guest for years.” She gave him a key and caught his face between her hands. He ran his tongue over his fangs when he noticed the intensity of her perusal. Nope, they’d long since retreated back to their normal size. “There’s something different about you tonight, Padre Luc.”
    He covered her hands with his own and gently pried them from his face. “Please, it’s just Luc. I don’t know how you weaseled out that secret from my past.”
    “I don’t know why you left the priesthood. If you’d stayed in, I swear you’d be Pope in ten years.”
    A bitter taste filled his mouth as he remembered the way Marcellus forced the blood into his mouth, changing him from a humble priest into a monster. “God had other plans for me.”
    “One day, you’ll tell me what happened.” She patted him on the cheek and turned toward her room. “How long will the signorina be staying with us?”
    “We’ll leave tomorrow night.”
    “We?” A mischievous light danced in her eyes. “That’s the first time I’ve known you to take someone with you.”
    “That’s because you were right, Sophia. This one’s different.”
    Luc climbed the stairs like he had lead in his shoes. Perhaps he would be better off returning to Paris without