Free Druid Temptation (A Druid Quest Novel Book 2) by Stacey Brutger Page A

would run even faster.
    He couldn’t allow that.
    She had jarred him out of his protective shell. The need to start living again took root, and the thought of her at his side made it bearable.
    He didn’t just want to help her, he needed to rescue her, and bind her to him in whatever way possible.
    He released a breath and leaned forward, carefully printing Diana’s name without a second’s hesitation. With each firm stroke, excitement sizzled at the battle ahead. The tightness in his chest eased while he watched the ink dry. He re-folded the paper and tucked it in his breast pocket, carefully smoothing the jacket, unwilling to have it out of reach.
    He recalled Diana’s confession about being a Druid. The title meant something to her, it clearly involved more than being a protector, and Williams was using it against her.
    He winced at his own lie of omission, debating whether he should tell her the truth about his life, but ultimately decided to hold his own counsel.
    He couldn’t take the risk.
    Once they reached London, she would hear the rumors soon enough.
    By then it would be too late, because she would be his.
    The story she spun about her past was completely plausible, but he doubted it was the whole truth. To eliminate the threat, he needed to know what being a Druid meant—the real reason why Pastor Williams was hunting her.
    He knew of only one person who might be able to help him get to the truth of the matter.

    * * *
    I t had taken Gabriel a good ten minutes to sneak out of the house without Diana catching him.
    Even an hour later, pleasure sang through his veins at the thought of her waiting for him at home. He rode toward an old house at the end of the dirt lane. The man who resided there was someone whom he admired, a man he considered a friend. The grizzled, stooped professor also had a habit of collecting old books.
    If anyone could help Gabriel find answers and debunk the mystery around Diana, it was him. The urgent need to find out everything about his soon-to-be-bride had taken firm hold.
    She was brave and beautiful.
    She would never compromise.
    So why was Williams so determined to get his hands on her?
    Gabriel dismounted and knocked, frowning at the overgrown shrubs, mentally noting it was time to send someone out to trim them back. When a minute passed with no response, Gabriel banged on the door repeatedly, remembering the housekeeper he hired was just as deaf as the professor.
    Finally, the door creaked open. If the professor was old, the housekeeper was ancient. His old nurse’s face creased into a smile of greeting, but before she had a chance to speak, the professor interrupted.
    “Shoo. Stop hovering, woman. I might be old, but I can still answer the damned door.” The crotchety old man waved her off. With a harrumph, she obeyed and tottered toward the back of the house. Professor’s scowl lifted when he spotted his guest, and he threw the door wide in welcome. “Gabriel, it’s good to see you.”
    Gabriel stifled his laugh at their antics, leaning forward to engulf his friend in a quick hug. “Samuel.”
    The old man shuffled backward with a smile. “Please, come in. Come in! I was just in the study.”
    Gabriel followed Samuel’s uneven gait into the tiny, musty room. Books were crammed on every surface, stacks heaped on the floor ten high, the shelves piled lackadaisically, not a clear surface in sight. The sun appeared smoky as it streamed through the dirt-crusted windows, as if Samuel couldn’t be bothered to clean them and refused to allow anyone else access to do the job properly for fear they would destroy his precious books.
    “Sit. Sit.” Samuel waved a distracted hand as he circled his desk.
    Gabriel raised a brow and gave a dubious look around the room. He edged toward the chair with the smallest pile of books—it only took two trips to set them aside—and gingerly lowered his large frame onto the spindly chair. Wood creaked in protest but held his