Free Dark Enchantment by Kathy Morgan Page A

woman, I was speaking of a bloody horse. Not yourself.”
    “A-a horse?”
    “Damned if there’s not a bleedin’ echo in the room.” This comment followed by an annoying eye-roll and a pointed sigh.
    Arianna ignored the display of ill temper. If he was telling the truth, the man had every right to be feeling pissy. Granted, she was no expert on horse breeding, but she had listened to Michaela talk enough about the process to recognize some of the terminology. And as she let the dialogue play again through her mind with this new slant it all fit.
    Shamefaced, she scratched her nose and cast a sidelong glance at Caleb. If his expression was anything to go by, the guy was definitely not having happy thoughts.
    Then suddenly he was unfolding himself off the sofa and moving determinedly in her direction. She sucked in a breath and started to take a step backward, but the blazing fire behind her left no path of retreat.
    As he drew nearer, she picked up again on that slightly musky, feral scent she’d noticed on him earlier. “Horses, you idiot,” she muttered.
    “ Cad é sin ?” He stopped a foot or more away from her. Not nearly in her personal space, although it felt like he was towering over her. “What did you say?”
    “Nothing.” Her response was glum. “Just talking to myself.” At least I haven’t started answering myself back yet.
    She forced herself to meet those unsettling eyes. Dead cold now. And diamond hard.
    Caleb held his hand out. “Give it to me.”
    Arianna stared at him. “What…?”
    His furious gaze turned scornful. Reaching out, he pried the poker from her senseless fingers and tossed the “weapon” back into the stand. Strung tighter than an Irish fiddle, she jumped at the loud clang of iron striking iron.
    “Now, as to your assertion that I was planning to have my wicked way with you—”
    Arianna’s expression was sheepish. “Okay, so I was off the wall about—”
    His hands skimmed from elbows to shoulders, then settled on her upper arms. Holding her lightly in place, he bent his head. His breath against her cheek stirred memories of midnight fantasies in a shadow world of salt-scented breeze and silvery moonlight. “I’ve a confession to make,” he whispered into her ear.
    “So find a priest,” she breathed.
    “When I kissed you tonight, I wanted you more than I’ve ever wanted any woman in my life.” His words both shocked and seduced. Daring to meet his gaze, she watched as something hot and dark, something tortured, rolled through those crystal windows.
    Abruptly ending the intimate exchange, Caleb released her and stepped away. She felt instantly cold, bereft. He swept his jacket off the back of the armchair. “I’d best be going now. Before this leads to something we’ll both regret.”
    He was leaving. For good. Arianna could see it in his eyes. The thought of never seeing him again hit her with a feeling of loss not unlike the grief of her father’s death. “Before you go, I have to say something.”
    Caleb turned to her, lips tight, a forbidding expression on his face, as if he were expecting another wild accusation.
    “You don’t understand…There’s more to….” She drew in a deep breath. How could she explain something like this without sounding crazy? She couldn’t. “I’m sorry. You went out of your way to help me tonight, and all I did was heap on the abuse. Guess the proverbial straw was accusing you of being a sexual predator.”
    “Indeed,” he said. “Not to mention a vampire and a dark faerie.”
    “Yeah.” She let out a defeated breath, caught her bottom lip between her teeth. “I’m really sorry about that.”
    Arianna saw him taking stock of her appearance, shivering like a puppy rescued from an icy lake at dawn. Probably looked like one too, she thought, combing her fingers through her straggly hair without effect.
    “Look at the soggy wet state of you,” he said in a gruff voice. A glance at the hearth revealed that the fire