Read Online Beyond the Veil by Pippa DaCosta - Free Book Online Page A

the slow beat of the music calming. Or was it standing so close to him that banished my worries? Either way, I let him hold me close as we swayed gently.
      “ Are you alright? ” His deep voice rumbled through me as the music played around us. There were others dancing, but I barely noticed them. I listened to his heartbeat, losing myself in its rhythm.
      “ I ’ m okay, ” I whispered, and I really was. Akil had that effect on me. “ I had that serpent demon where I wanted him, y ’ know. I was just about to finish him off when you showed up. ”
      I felt Akil chuckle. The delicious ripple of laughter ignited desire at the very heart of me. “ I very much doubt that, ” he said. “ The detective was a Dahaka servant. ” The exotic pronunciation rolled off Akil ’ s tongue, revealing an ancient accent he usually kept hidden. “ A particularly aggressive example. He would have relished devouring you, likely feet first. ”
    I stopped swaying in time with Akil and looked up. He smiled, but I got the impression he wasn ’ t joking. With a trembling sigh, I rested my head against his shoulder. “ I wanted to leave all of this behind. ”
    His fingers gently stroked my back. “ You can ’ t. ”
    “ I know, but I could have pretended. ”
    “ Your five year folly almost got you killed. ” His arm snaked around me.
    I closed my eyes, my grip on him tightening. I ’ d wanted to be free so badly that I might have gladly died for it. The demons and their ways weren ’ t me. I belonged in the nine-to-five working day with the Starbucks coffees and kicking back on the couch, Doritos in one hand, TV remote in the other. I enjoyed the mundane. At least that ’ s what I told myself. It wasn ’ t exactly true. I could never run from the half of me that danced in the dark.
    “ Let ’ s go. ” He looked into my tired eyes. “ Wait here. I ’ ll make my excuses, and we ’ ll go back to my apartment. ”
    With a nod of agreement, I reluctantly let go of him and cast him a little curl of a smile before he turned and let the crowd swallow him up. He ’ d promised a night to remember, and the thought of being alone with him with no interruptions — exploring, tasting, teasing — warmed me in the most intimate of places.
    A shoulder nudged mine, forcing me to stumble back, just as an arm hooked around me, reeling me into a crushing embrace. I opened my mouth, about to launch a verbal assault on my unwanted dance partner, when I felt the brutal nudge of a gun poke up under my ribs.
    “ Scream and I ’ ll pull the trigger. ” Stefan drilled his gaze into mine.
    We were moving, swaying to the music like those around us, his grip so tight against me that I had no chance but to step with him. “ You won ’ t leave here alive, ” I hissed.
    “ No? ” His azure eyes scanned the crowd around us. “ I don ’ t think you know me very well. ”
    I squirmed in his grip. The pressure of the gun began to bruise me. “ I ’ d have thought you ’ d have had enough of your games by now. ”
    He met my gaze as though something I said surprised him. “ You ’ re in danger. ”
    “ No shit. ”
    “ You have to come with me. Now. ”
    “ I ’ m not going anywhere with you. ” I squirmed again. His grip tightened further, wrenching a gasp from my lips.
      He suddenly bowed his head, his hair tickling against my cheek and whispered, “ You must have realized by now that I don ’ t want to hurt you. ”
      Anger flash-burned through me. “ Then you ’ re failing miserably because you have hurt me. You took away the only thing I ’ ve ever really owned. You stole my life. ” As he faced me, I saw his eyes narrow, as though I ’ d hurt him with my words, but for the life of me I couldn ’ t imagine why. “ Who are you? ”
      “ Please, come with me now. There are others here. You aren ’ t safe. ”
      I followed his gaze among the sea of party guests and saw the demons approaching, parting the