Read Online Loki's Game by Siobhan Kinkade - Free Book Online Page B

emotions again nagged at her, leaving her torn between wanting him to follow and needing a moment to recover. The concept of him having a second nature was a distant and vague problem. She had a much more immediate problem; she needed to deal with her stuttering heart and butterfly-filled stomach. Why his being so close had such an effect on her was so strange, but she liked it. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d enjoyed a man’s company so much.
    Hell, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a man’s company.
    Lily slipped off her sandals and pulled her sneakers out from under the bed. Her shaking hands made it impossible to tie them, so she threw them to the floor and stalked into the bathroom to splash cool water on her face. Despite the repeated tries to calm herself, Lily couldn’t forget about the pressing problem. A large shape-shifter wandering around her house, waiting to go for a walk. She just hoped he had more on the agenda than a walk, and felt the flush of embarrassment for daring to hope. Lily thrust her feet into her shoes, wrangled her hands into submission, and laced them a little too tightly.
    By the time she left the bedroom, Rowan had already found and disappeared into the yard. A thrill of anticipation shivered into the pit of her stomach at the sight of his broad shoulders blocking her back door. He was a massive man, and in his arms she felt small and safe.
    The wounds on her hips ached in response, but she pushed the pain to the back of her mind and skipped down the hall toward him.
    “Just promise you aren’t taking me out into the woods to kill me,” she joked, and squeezed past him to sprint across the yard. He chuckled, and the deep, throaty sound tied her insides in knots.
    “I have no intention of harming you, Lily.” He closed the distance in three long strides, and clasped her tiny hand in his large one. Together they walked deep into the woods, conversation often idling in favor of taking in the beauty of their surroundings. Several times Lily heard Rowan breathe deeply through his nose, his chest expanding with each breath. More than once she had to stop herself from reaching out to touch him. She wanted to…badly. But she wouldn’t. She was still a little afraid of him, and of this thing growing between them.
    “So how does this shifter thing work?” she asked as they crossed a small creek.
    “What do you mean?”
    “You’re over six hundred years old… How long will you live?”
    She caught the ghost of a smile on his lips. “Until I find my mate.” She pulled him to a stop and turned to stare at him with one eyebrow raised.
    “Really? Like magic or something? You just know you’ve found your mate and that allows you to stop living?”
    “Not exactly,” he replied, his eyes picking up a sparkle that mocked her. She wanted to smack him. And kiss him. And smack him. But mostly, kiss him.
    “Then do tell. I can’t exist another second without you telling me.” She snorted, and the laughter broke out of him. Rowan tugged her hand, pulling her hard against his chest, and wrapped his arms around her. Lily nearly suffocated against his chest and she hardly noticed for every nerve in her body firing at his sudden nearness.
    “I will tell you anything you want to know,” he replied as he let her go. “Let us keep walking and I shall explain.”
    “Okay…” she muttered, stepping away.
    “I think better when I am on the move.”
    “Understandable.” She swallowed hard, trying to push down the desire to crawl back up against him. “Tell me.”
    Rowan took her hand again and tugged her forward. Lily glanced up at the sky, surprised by the clouds forming above the trees. The day had been so warm and so pleasant that she hated to see it ruined by an evening storm that could bring in more cold, dreary weather.
    “My kind have quite a shelf-life,” he said after a moment’s thought.
    “So I gathered,” she replied with a smirk. Rowan cut his eyes