Read Timeless (Pandora Book 1) for Free Online Page B

you for checking. I mean, I know it’s your job and all, but I still appreciate it. I just wanted you to know that.”
    “Charlotte?”
    “Yes?”
    “I apologize for yelling at you.” Vane circled the island and moved closer, bringing with him the intoxicating scent of a burning campfire. “That was very rude of me.”
    Keeping her back turned, Charli busied herself by transferring the rolls to a cooling rack. “It’s okay. I guess you were right. I do tend to babble when I’m nervous, and the past couple of hours have been filled with a lot of nerve-racking stuff.”
    “Stuff” didn’t feel like a strong enough word to describe the inexplicable and slightly terrifying things she’d seen during the night. It was, however, a good word that wouldn’t make her sound crazy, paranoid, or worse—weak.
    His heavy boots scuffed against the tiles when he took another step closer, crowding her into the corner of the L-shaped counter. “Are you nervous now?”
    “Are you trying to say I’m babbling?”
    “Now who’s being evasive?” Curling his fingers around her elbow, Vane tugged gently until she finally turned to face him. “Do I make you nervous, Charlotte?”
    Surprised to find him standing so close, and a little dazed by the heat pouring from his bronzed skin, Charli blurted the first thing that came to mind. “Yes.”
    “I’m sorry.” The cocky smile that stretched his thin lips said otherwise. “I don’t mean to make you nervous.”
    “You scare the hell out of me,” she said, continuing her streak of blunt honesty.
    The smirk melted from his visage, and he took a step back, giving her room to breathe again. “I understand. You don’t have to be scared, though. I won’t hurt you, and I won’t let anyone else harm you, either.”
    Charli nodded. “I know.”
    She probably shouldn’t, but she trusted this stranger. At the very least, she trusted him to keep her safe. The feeling had settled over her the moment they’d met, and since then, she hadn’t been able to shake it.
    “Vane, please tell me the truth.” She’d grown up with stories of vampires, ghosts, zombies, and voodoo. Nothing could be stranger than that, and not much would surprise her. “Look, I’m not stupid, okay? I know you’re not really on a top secret mission to save some shop-owner nobody like me. Please, just tell me what’s happening.”
    Sliding his fingers through is mane of golden hair, Vane fisted the locks at the crown of his head. “You’re right.” He paused, clearly trying to decide how much he should tell her. “I’m not on a secret mission, but I am here to protect you.”
    That much, she believed. Bending her elbows, she held her hands out in front of her, palms up. “Protect me from what?”
    “From the man at the church. Don, you called him?”
    Charli bobbed her head, grateful to be getting some answers. “Who is he? What does he want with me?”
    Vane didn’t answer her right away. With his hands clenched at his sides, he paced to the table and back twice before he stopped and leaned against the counter. “Do you trust me?”
    “Yes.”
    Vane nodded as if he’d expected the answer. “You knew you could trust me when we met. Am I right? You could feel it.” He took her hands, holding the knuckles against his palms as he stroked her wrists with his thumbs. “You can still feel it.”
    “I…yes.” The intensity of his gaze startled her, and Charli averted her eyes, looking down at their joined hands instead. “How do you know that?”
    “Tell me, what am I feeling right now?”
    “How would I know that?” More to the point, she didn’t see how this pertained to Don or what had happened at the cathedral. Charli continued staring at their hands, watching the way his thumb drew little circles over the jumping vein at her wrist. “You’re not making any sense.”
    “Look at me, Charlotte.” Releasing her left hand, Vane moved to hold her chin between his thumb and the knuckle of his