Read Online Black Dalliances (A Blushing Death Novel) by Suzanne M. Sabol - Free Book Online Page A

suffer,” the creature whispered to her.
    Reaching out to Saeran, Milagra stretched her arms across the fire. She sobbed, desperate to be away from Likho and back in the safety of the Sidhe. She didn’t care if the fire burned her skin and blistered her arms. Adrenaline pumped and panic coursed through her veins like acid. Her lips trembled as tears streamed hot down her face. Stretching for her adoptive father, for salvation, the fire consumed her flesh but Milagra didn’t care. She just wanted to go home.
    “Milagra?” Saeran whispered across the flames, making them dance with his magic. He reached for her but the distance between them stretched not only across the flames but until she could barely see him on the other side. Somehow an immeasurable distance separated them and the grip on her tightened.
    She stretched as far as her limbs would extend, knowing it would never be enough.
    Saeran reached for her but the distance expanded again until his yellow eyes were only a soft flicker in the dark. Before she could answer, Saeran, the fire, and the frozen wasteland were all gone.
    The grip on her upper arms tightened and the sinister, full-throated laughter felt heavy in the staunch, humid air that now surrounded her.
    Saeran was gone.
    Milagra was alone, shrouded in a weighty darkness, and in the hands of a monster.

Chapter 6
    Columbus Ohio, Present Day
    My heart pounded in my throat and ears.
    Why am I so nervous?
    I’d been alone with Patrick a thousand times and most of them were very pleasurable experiences. This time was different though. The thought of being alone with him made my pulse race as trepidation tickled up my spine. My face flushed as I stalked across the grand foyer of his mansion determined to ignore my fear. I’d never let fear stand in my way before so I wouldn’t now even if my hands were shaking. The house was eerily quiet but it was still early yet, too early for most of the colony to be awake. I’d picked this time in particular, knowing we would be alone and unwilling to demonstrate just how hurt I was in front of any of the colony.
    By Alex’s account, Patrick had been waking earlier and earlier since I’d left. The sun was three hours from setting but I knew he was awake. His power resonated in my bones, the emotions he tried to hide, the ones I couldn’t quite make out—I felt them there in the pit of my stomach, jumbled in a distant, disquieted mess.
    The door to his office was cracked, and a soft, yellow light streamed into the dark foyer in a sliver of life through the dead house. I took a deep, silent, steadying breath before I knocked. I’d thought our empathic bond and our general awareness of each other would make it virtually impossible for one of us to sneak up on the other. By the expression of surprised horror shining through those dark eyes, I knew I was wrong. His sharp features betrayed his usual stoicism for a split second before he regained the neutral calm I knew so well. We’d gotten too good at keeping each other out.
    Shuffling a few papers and grabbing a pen, he collected himself. Turning his dark eyes on me again, his expression was cool and distant as if I meant nothing to him.
    A twinge of regret squeezed my chest as I met empty eyes.
    “Hi,” I said, plastering a smile on my face.
    “Hello,” he replied, clipped . . . cold.
    Okay, so this is going well. At least he’s speaking to me.
    “Do you have a minute?” I asked. We were both being too polite, too cautious. But that wasn’t quite right, either. I was being polite. He was tolerating my presence.
    His chest filled with air he wasn’t required to breathe and took a long steadying breath, demonstrating to me just how uncomfortable he actually was. His shoulders tensed and the skin at the corner of his eyes crinkled as his gaze narrowed on me and his full lips disappeared in a thin grim line.
    “What is it . . . sweetheart ?”
    That one word was filled with anger and pain. As condescending as