Read Online Dark Matter by Christie Rich - Free Book Online Page A

be
precise.
    He shook his head. “So am I, but I am
willing to court you. I am convinced I could win you. Just because
Zach was the first to find you, does not mean you are truly in love
with him.”
    “ I know how I
feel.”
    He cocked his head. “Do you really?”
His stare deepened, and I couldn’t look away from him even though I
tried.
    My eyelids felt heavy. A slow spreading
warmth saturated my chest before a sinking sensation anchored my
limbs. My resolve was fading fast into the slippery distance. “What
are you doing to me?” I whispered. I honestly wondered if this was
what it felt like to be wasted.
    He slid his arms around me, pulling me
closer. The heat of his breath caressed my skin, sending gooseflesh
rippling along the back of my neck. I knew I should be objecting to
this, but I couldn’t find the will. “Poor, Rayla, you really are an
innocent one.”
    “ Mmm-hmm,” I purred even
though I was hazily aware that he hadn’t actually asked me a
question.
    He chuckled, low and seductive. I
watched him come closer as if I was dreaming this whole thing. I
let my eyelids fall when the softness of his lips met mine. Taking
in the sensations slowly, I breathed him in.
    The warmth in my chest exploded through
me. He pulled me in tighter, groaning. Molding me to him, his hands
slid up and down my back. I never wanted him to let me go. His kiss
made me forget about everything and everyone. I was carried away to
a silent place where he and I were the only people that existed.
Too soon his lips left mine. He whispered, “I never thought to feel
this way again.” He swallowed hard. “You taste just like
her.”
    It took a while for the full effects of
his words to slam into me. “Wait? What? Who are you…” The fog in my
brain was swept away by the reality of what he had said. If he
couldn’t have my mother, he would settle for me? I pushed at his
chest and then his face to get him to move back. “You think I will
be your second choice?” He looked at me through dispassionate eyes.
I stood up and shuddered. “Just—eww. I don’t know what happened
between you and that other girl, but I am not her!” I felt betrayed
although I didn’t even like him. Squaring my shoulders, I hissed,
“Get away from me, Jett. I never want to see you again!”
    Finn came barreling onto the terrace,
his face ruddy. He took one look at me and rushed Jett, slamming
him in the chest. Jett staggered backward, but righted himself
easily. Cassie ran over to me. She didn’t say anything, but she
didn’t have to. Her features were clouded with worry.
    Jett smoothed his lapels then narrowed
his eyes at Finn. “This is how you treat your guests?”
    Finn gave him an equally turbulent
expression. “If you were any other person, I would have you removed
to the dungeons. We had an agreement.”
    Jett laughed. The dark sound
reverberated through me. I couldn’t keep myself from shaking. Even
my teeth were chattering. Cassie pulled me against her side,
wrapping a thick shawl around my shoulders.
    Jett glanced over at me. His eyes
belied his smooth exterior. He was seething inside. “She is mine! I
have every right to do whatever I like with her.”
    Finn stiffened. “Maybe in your own
lands, but not here. Rayla is under Ignisian
protection.”
    Jett smirked. “Is that so? You think I
haven’t seen how you look at her?”
    Cassie’s arm dropped to her side. I
gave her a questioning look, but she only stared at me with hurt in
her eyes. I shook my head, tears blurring my vision. I hated
hurting her, but how could I help how Finn felt about
me?
    Finn let out an ironic chuckle. “At
least I am attempting to fight for what I want. You, on the other
hand, let another man claim the woman you loved.”
    “ I didn’t have a choice,”
Jett bellowed.
    Finn stepped closer to Jett, angling
his body between us. “You could have challenged him. It was your
right.”
    “ I was not strong enough at
the time, and you know it.”
    I peeked