Read Online Demon of Mine by Ranae Rose - Free Book Online

enough to silence
the charge against you. As it is, I will have to settle for
hoping.”
    Lucinda glided past her brother, her
skirts rustling faintly as she headed in the direction of the
house. Left alone under the stars, Damon sighed.
    Elsie sighed too. How terrible it must
be for him – accused of murder. A thorn snagged her hand, the
sudden sting as unexpected as the realization that sometime during
her eavesdropping, she had come to believe that Damon was innocent.
She studied the slumped set of his shoulders and the way he pushed
his hands into his jacket as he tilted his head back and looked up
at the stars. If he was reading something there, he didn’t like it.
With a disgusted sigh, he turned abruptly on his heel and began
taking long strides toward the rose bushes. Within moments, he’d
come within a few scant yards of Elsie.
    She pressed herself against the
bushes, hardly daring to breathe as she ignored the sharp little
pains of thorns piercing her clothing and digging into her
skin.
    Damon breezed past her, the heady
aroma of rose blossoms drifting behind him as he brushed a bush,
disturbing its foliage. Elsie was on the verge of sighing with
relief when he stopped. Guilt crashed down on her as she stood
frozen, and she experienced an eerie sense of being watched. That
was impossible, of course – his back was to her. But as she waited
breathlessly, he slowly turned and looked directly at
her.

Chapter 4
     
    Elsie didn’t say anything. How could
she? This wasn’t as bad as if she’d been caught watching Damon in
his bedroom, but it was a fairly close second. What would he think
of her and her motives for eavesdropping? There was no way she
could explain to him that she’d only wanted to have a look at him,
to hear his voice, because she feared she’d die soon and knew she
couldn’t possibly get enough of him before that day
came.
    Surprise flickered across his face,
but he quickly tamed it. “You’ve been here for a while, haven’t
you?” His voice wasn’t the velvet rage she’d expected. If anything,
it was calmer than when he’d spoken with his sister.
    “ Yes.” Elsie answered,
feeling as if someone else had spoken for her. Someone who wasn’t
thanking God that it was too dark for Damon to see how red her face
was.
    He stood perfectly still, peering down
at her with an unreadable expression.
    “ I’m sorry,” she said. “I
didn’t mean—”
    “ What are you doing out
here?” he interrupted. “It’s past midnight. You should be in your
bed.”
    “ With all due respect sir,
I’ve had quite enough of my bed. That’s why I’m here.”
    He strode forward, stepping into the
shadow of the bush she was still pressed against. She forced
herself to relax a little and breathed an automatic sigh of relief
as the sting of the thorns ceased. The distance left between them
now was polite, but it sent her heart racing nonetheless. She could
smell the spicy, musky scent of his cologne. “Did it go poorly with
the physician, then?”
    He remembered? Elsie would have felt a
spark of pleasure, had she not had to relay such grim news. For a
moment, as she’d breathed his scent, even she had forgotten about
the physician’s prognosis. “It did. I… He does not expect me to
survive my illness.”
    He might have frowned, but the shadow
they stood in was too deep to tell for sure. “I am truly sorry to
hear that.”
    “ You’re too kind, sir.” She
was trembling now, though for once it wasn’t a symptom of her
sickness. The full weight of the doctor’s news seemed to crash down
on her at once, and it was staggering. Why, God, did she have to
lose her calm now, while standing in Damon’s shadow? It was
difficult enough for her to maintain her composure when near him
under normal circumstances.
    “ Here.” Damon reached into
his coat and pulled out something white.
    Elsie took the kerchief, her hand
trembling as her fingertips brushed his. Heat crept through her
body, a slow burn to vie