On the Prowl Read Free Page B

Although he hadn’t seen Saskia Arcos in almost twenty years, he hadn’t had any trouble recognizing her. With her pale, creamy skin, red-tinged blond hair, and huge blue eyes, she still bore a striking resemblance to the eight-year-old waif who had dogged his footsteps throughout the entire week he and his parents had spent at Shadelea, the Arcos summer home in the English midlands.
    While their fathers had taken the first steps in negotiating an alliance between the two streaks, Nic had roamed restlessly around the aristocratic old estate, stretching his legs on long walks, tiring himself out with neck-and-nothing gallops over the hills, and relishing the UK drinking-age laws down at the village pub. Little Saskia had even followed him into that dim, smoky building, settling herself quietly in a corner with a coloring book and a cup of tea, keeping her hands busy even as her attention remained entirely focused on the baffled nineteen-year-old Nic. No one at the pub had commented on her presence, least of all Nic. He’d been deadly frightened that if he acknowledged her presence he would somehow be obliged to take care of her, and he’d had no desire at the time to take care of anyone. He’d still been learning to take care of himself.
    Saskia had never asked anything of him, though. Not during that whole vacation. She’d literally become his shadow, following him everywhere, staying a few steps behind him, observing everything but never speaking. It was odd how she’d never said a word to him and yet still managed to drag him through a minefield of unexpected emotions. At first he’d found her dogged attention amusing, maybe a little flattering, but like any nineteen-year-old boy, his amusement had quickly turned to annoyance. He’d tried a million tricks to get rid of her, but even the few times he’d managed to give her the slip she’d always managed to pop back up within an hour or two, still silent but ever more determined. When he’d run out of ideas for getting rid of her that didn’t cross the line into outright cruelty or physical harm, he’d allowed his annoyance to shift into bafflement and then resignation. He still hadn’t spoken to the girl, nor she to him, but he’d grown accustomed to her presence just behind him, and when he and his parents had finally left Shadelea he’d felt somehow naked and exposed without her at his back.
    Funny, but he’d forgotten all about that strange feeling until tonight, when the grown-up version of that little girl had once again become glued to his side like a shadow. Her presence brought those memories rushing back, but things felt different now. Saskia Arcos wasn’t eight years old anymore. She was twenty-eight and very clearly a woman full grown. Her skin and hair and eyes might look just as he’d remembered, but the slight, gangly frame of the girl he had ignored had lengthened, matured, and filled out in some very interesting places, each of them showcased in the strapless gown that floated around her every time she moved. The muted shades of orange and gold made her skin glow and her hair burn and the sweet sprinkling of freckles dusting her shoulders looked like a fine coating of cinnamon sugar. Nic couldn’t wait to lean down and taste them.
    The only thing about that thought that didn’t sit comfortably with him was that he knew for a fact he wasn’t the only man in the room imagining the honey-cream flavor of her skin. The head of the Council of Others had made little effort to hide some very similar thoughts of his own.
    Nic scowled and scanned the crowd to make sure the good-looking bastard had managed to find the exit. If not, Nic would happily escort him to it. Now that their engagement was official, by Tiguri custom Saskia belonged to Nic, completely. If the Felix De Santos didn’t learn to keep his salacious thoughts to himself, Nic would have every right and take every pleasure in pointing out the other man’s bad manners. With his