Read Online The Queen of Swords: A Paranormal Tale of Undying Love by Nina Mason - Free Book Online Page A

shoulders and pulled her mouth against his. Her breath caught in surprise, but she didn’t pull away. Instead, she entwined her tongue with his. His answer, as he’d hoped, was lost in the tussle.
    He began to melt into the kiss, to forget himself and the threat of Fitzgerald. Remembering with a pang, he jerked away.
    “That was nice,” she said. “Why’d you stop?”
    “ You’re putting yourself in mortal danger.”
    Her eyes narrowed. “From who? Branwen O’Lyr?”
    “No,” he said, and then added, unwillingly, “Gerard Fitzgerald, the bastard who stole my life...and everything else I held dear.”
    Hell, why not tell her? Maybe if she knew she’d come to her senses and stop acting rashly. Though, if she was as stubborn as her previous incarnations—and he’d wager she was—telling her wouldn’t do a lick of good.
    “Is he the one who made you?”
    “Cursed me,” he corrected her.
    “Did he kill Caitriona and Catharine?”
    “Aye.”
    “Why?”
    He suspected it had something to do with Fitzgerald wanting him, but couldn’t be sure. Both women were murdered when he wasn’t there, so whatever transpired between them and the dark wizard beforehand went with them to their graves.
    “I don’t know,” he bit out. “ Any more than I ken why you keep coming back to fuck with me.”
    “I don’t want to fuck with you.” A smile danced on her lips. “Well…not in the way you mean.”
    The thought of bedding her nearly knocked him off his tightrope. “Let me go . Please. Before it’s too late.”
    Getting to her feet, she walked to where the candle flickered. She stood there for a long while, saying nothing, and then, “Tell me the story of your life.”
    He coughed. “That would take days.”
    She stayed where she was, head bowed toward the candle on the altar. “So what? It’s the weekend.”
    His mind conjured dozens of excuses why he couldn’t possibly stay here the whole weekend, but his mouth refused to give them voice. In the end, he disclosed the only true obstacles he could think of. “I’ll need to feed and walk my dogs. And feed myself.”
    “ You have dogs?”
    “Why should that surprise you?”
    She turned to look at him, her face shadowed. “I’ve just never thought about vampires having pets.”
    He was still on the floor, still sitting in the spot where he’d landed. He could see nowhere else to sit but the bed, which was out of the question. It could only lead somewhere he couldn’t afford to go.
    “I’ve got horses too ,” he told her without knowing why. “Animals make loyal companions and ease the loneliness of eternity.”
    She got quiet for several moments, and then asked, very softly, “Are you lonely, Graham?”
    It was the first time she’d said his name and the sound of it on her lips stirred a bittersweet flurry. “Aye. Very.” He cringed as the words dropped from his mouth. Damn her spell . It not only prevented him from speaking falsely, it made him sound pitiful.
    “Me too.” She said it softly, like she was telling him a great secret. “Can’t the O’Lyrs look after your dogs for a couple of days?”
    “I suppose they could,” he replied, against his will once more, “if I ask them nicely and tell them what to do.”
    She got quiet again and then asked, “Branwen has a thing for you, doesn’t she?”
    He tried to swallow the answer, but it wouldn’t be stifled. “Aye.”
    “ What about you? Do you have a thing for her?”
    He hesitated, afraid of what might pop out. “No .”
    She walked to the window and looked out. Lightning flashed, lighting up her pretty face. “It could be fun. Like re-enacting Interview with the Vampire .”
    He scraped his teeth across his lower lip. “ Interview with the Vampire wasn’t all that fun, as I recall, for the interviewer.”
    “But you won’t kill me. Unless you intend to. And I certainly hope you don’t intend to.”
    He wanted to lie, to scare her into letting him go, but couldn’t. “I