Read Nyght's Eve for Free Online Page A

wasn’t the only one to think it either. What people didn’t
seem to understand was that it wasn’t just a job for her. It was a labor of
love. Evie kept the smile on her face through strength of will. Nothing
bothered her more than the patronizing tone of someone who didn’t understand
what she did.
    The Beaumont Rescue Center had been her dream
from an early age, and her family money had allowed her to build that dream
into a reality. She enjoyed her work, and it gave her a sense of pride to take
care of the dogs within her care, but the truth was they gave back so much more
to her than she could ever give to them. It was difficult to put into words
exactly what she felt seeing some poor, abused animal flourish into a happy,
healthy dog. Every time she found one of her dogs a new home with someone it
was like witnessing a miracle.
    She’d learned quickly after the center had
opened its doors that dating wasn’t easy. What she did wasn’t a normal nine to
five job, and men didn’t like the dedication she gave the center. On top of
that, Evie was also part of a search and rescue unit that took turns being on
call with other teams in the area in case there was an emergency. All in all,
it kept her very busy, but she wouldn’t have it any other way.
    “My SR unit is on call tonight. I like to
stick close to home when the unit is on standby.”
    Andrew’s frown grew more pronounced. “You
really do need to learn to delegate more. Can’t someone else cover for you?”
    Patience tested to the point of breaking,
Evie lost her smile and eyed him coolly now. “No, I can’t, nor do I want to.”
    “I’m sorry, Evie. You know I just worry about
you.” Andrew barely held back a wince as if he realized that he had screwed up,
but the damage was already done. He tried to take her hand, only to have her
pull back out of reach. His face paled slightly as one of her dogs let out a
little warning growl.
    Placing a calming hand on her dog’s head, she
took pity on Andrew and said, “Thank you for coming by today, Andrew. I’ll get
you that paperwork as soon as I can.”
    Dismissed, he said goodbye then hurried off
in the direction of his car, turning back as if to make sure her dogs weren’t
following him. Unable to help herself, she bent down and pressed a kiss between
Gawain’s eyes.
    “Shame on you, Winnie. You know you aren’t
supposed to growl at our guests, even if they are annoying.” She let out a
laugh as he licked her face in response to her gentle reprimand.
    “I’d say your little buddies there didn’t
like the suit.”
    Evie’s head turned and she found herself
staring up into Dare’s dark-gray eyes. “The suit?”
    “Him.” Dare gestured toward the car speeding
down the road, heading away from them, but Evie was distracted by the sight of
his muscular body as he moved. His shirt was thrown over one shoulder, giving
her a view of his perfect body as he used it to swipe at the sweat on his brow.
Good god, the man was built. He had a light dusting of dark hair on his chest that
somehow made him even more appealing, and a tribal tattoo covering his left
shoulder. When he raised his arm, his thick muscles flexed, highlighting a
wicked looking barbed wire tattoo wrapped around his right bicep. She wanted to
reach out and touch it. Hell, she wanted to reach out and pet his slick, golden
skin like he was one of her animals.  
    It just wasn’t fair for a man to be so damn
good looking after a run. Breakers seemed to have more than their share of hard-bodied
males, but Evie had never really gone for the strong, macho guys. Someone like
Andrew had always been more her type, but Dare just looked so...delicious.
      Evie
found herself comparing him to the man who had just left. While Andrew was a
classically handsome man, he had nothing compared to the raw sex appeal of
Dare. Andrew had a trim build, with hair almost the same shade of blond as her
own. Dare’s hair was black as midnight and he had a body of