Read Meadow's Keep (The Gatekeepers Series) for Free Online

The sun glinted off her gold spiral earrings. She smiled. Perfect white teeth surrounded by a lush mouth. God. He felt his groin tighten. It was going to be damn near impossible to be around her without a hard-on.
    “Mr. Vreeland,” Jasmine said , setting her sandwich down and wiping her hands on a napkin. “As I told you yesterday, my name is Jasmine Monroe. I’m from Ruthorford, Georgia. I have someone I want you to meet.”
    “Okay,” he said and looked around.
    “He’s in Ruthorford.”
    His eyes narrowed. “Sorry,” he said wearily. “We’re running through the weekend.”
    “That’s fine,” she said, ignoring the coolness in his voice. He probably thought her to be some sort of stalker. “I wouldn’t ask this if it wasn’t important.” She tilted her head and looked at him, reading him, then reached down, and pulling her purse up beside her, drew out a photo and held it out to him.
    C areful not to touch her, he took the picture. As he studied it, a crease formed above his brow and he looked up at her. “What the hell?”
    He looked back at the picture. A man and a woman stood side by side, arms around each other’s waist. Her other hand rested atop her large, pregnant belly. They smiled from ear to ear. The man was the spitting image of him, except for the eyes. Yet, his eyes stared back at him—from the woman’s beautiful face.
    “That’s Dorian Drake and his wife, Morgan.”
    He laughed. “I’ve heard we’ve all got doppelgangers, but this takes the cake.” He started to hand the picture back. She shook her head.
    “Keep it. He’s not a doppelganger. He’s your brother.”
    “I don’t have any brothers …or sisters, for that matter.”
    She lifted one beautifully arched eyebrow.
    “Hey, look at the eyes,” he pointed to Dorian’s image.
    “Hey, look at the woman,” she challenged.
    “He married his sister?”
    “ Of course not. It’s complicated. That’s why I want you to come to Ruthorford. Meet Dorian. Talk with Bask.”
    “Who the hell is Bask ?”
    Jasmine laughed. “Now , that’s a good question.”
    He watched her. She was light itself. When she laughed, she laughed with her whole being. He longed to run his hands over the fluttering black hair, to see if it was as soft as it looked. He wanted to put his lips over hers and feel her warmth. He watched her smile die.
    Jasmine saw his eyes change; she saw the lust in them. For a second, she panicked. Gathering her reserve, she pulled her purse to her and started to stand. “I need to go. Someone will be in touch.” She didn’t look at him.
    He blinked , scanned her through his “filter,” and watched her aura change. The energy had pulled close around her, almost protective. He blinked again.
    “I’m sorry. Somehow , I’ve frightened you. I didn’t mean to,” he said softly and started to reach for her hand.
    She drew back. “It’s okay. I really do have to go.” She turned to walk away.
    “Stop.” He spoke low, barely audible. “Don’t go.” It was a command. He pushed his thoughts at her slightly. “I just want to talk.”
    Jasmine stopped. She could tell something was happening. Where she’d wanted to run before, she now wanted to stay. She fought it, then turned and looked at him, anger in her eyes.
    “We’ll sit here and talk. ” He’d stopped pushing when he saw her waver. “Please.”
    She narrowed her eyes at him, but moved back to the bench. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing.” She sat, a defiant look on her face.
    “Why’d you want to run?”
    “That’s none…” She looked at him. He wasn’t being forceful. He really seemed to want to know. She decided to be honest, sort of. “Look. You make me nervous.”
    He immediately looked down.
    “Not your eyes. I am very used to eyes like yours. It’s no big deal where I come from.”
    “ Seriously?”
    She nodded. “Seriously.” Was that hope she heard in his voice?
    “So , why do I make you nervous?” he