Read Online Embrace the Darkness (Darkness Series) by Lilly Gayle - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Lilly Gayle
Ads: Link
and eased her onto one end of the sectional sofa. Then he sat beside her. She fell limply against the cushions and closed her eyes.
“I’m sorry I invaded your thoughts yesterday, but I had to know what you knew about the murders,” he said.
She kept her eyes squeezed shut, refusing to open them. Maybe this was a nightmare. If she didn’t acknowledge him, the dream would change. Or she’d wake up.
“Imagine my surprise when I discovered your prior exposure to vampires,” he said with a touch of irony.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Liar !
Weird thoughts had flash through her mind yesterday, fuzzy distorted images from crazy-ass dreams that seemed to overlay actual memories. Looking at crime scene photos and reading autopsy reports of punctured arteries and trocars draining blood had triggered long-forgotten memories—memories best left in the past.
“The images I saw in your head were distorted and random,” Gerard said, reading her damn mind again. Or maybe not. She didn’t feel disoriented like she had before. “But what’s actual memory and what’s nightmare, Amber?”
She raised her lids, challenging him with her eyes. “Why not jump inside my head again and find out?”
“Because I don’t like to do it. C’est mal poli. It’s rude.”
“Then don’t do it. Ever again. Not to me. Understand?”
“ Oui . I understand.”
Man, that accent got to her. It made her toes curl. So did his smile. And she hated it. She didn’t want to relax her guard or cozy up to Gerard Delaroche. She should treat him like a murder suspect. Or a witness. She shouldn’t get all friendly with him. But the man had such an easy going nature when he put his mind to it—and he was damn easy on the eyes too. What gal wouldn’t be drawn in?
“I’m probably bat-shit crazy to think vampires are real.”
“Do you want to see my fangs again?” he asked with a smile—a smile that looked perfectly normal—and human.
Before she could respond, a chill shivered over her skin and the hair on the nape of her neck stood on end.
Gerard rose to his feet, sniffing the air like a predatory animal.
“Stay here,” he said. Then he vanished.
Chapter 5
Like hell. Amber ran to the kitchen and retrieved her Glock. Comforted by its weight, she returned to the living room. Gerard was gone. He’d disappeared into thin air.
She closed her eyes, forcing herself to replay that split second in her mind. There was still no memory of seeing him move, but there was a near simultaneous memory of sound—the sound of her front door slamming shut.
Her shoulders sagged on a sigh. Gerard hadn’t actually vanished. He’d just moved faster than her mortal eyes could see. If he’d disappeared, he wouldn’t have needed to use the front door.
Relief flooded her veins. The realization wasn’t profound, but it kept her functional. As long as she could function, she could make rational sense of what she’d just witnessed.
Yeah. Right.
She took a deep breath and stepped toward the foyer holding her weapon angled across her chest, the barrel pointed toward the ceiling. The fine hairs on the nape of her neck stood on end.
Seconds before Gerard did his disappearing act, she’d had the sensation of being watched. It was the same sensation she experienced in Germany moments before her friend and fellow soldier, Andrew, was attacked.
Most of that night was a blacked-out blur, but she remembered being thrown against a headstone. Unable to move or scream, paralyzed with fear, she’d watched in horror as a vam—as something or someone ripped open Andrew’s throat and drained him of blood. Then, the creature had turned toward her. And—Nicolas saved her. Just as Gerard—
Was saving her now?
Hardly. Most likely, a more primal instinct compelled him to dash out the door sniffing the air like a wolf on the scent of a frightened rabbit.
Taking a deep breath, she steeled her nerves. Fear would never hold her immobile again.
“I’m sorry I invaded your thoughts yesterday, but I had to know what you knew about the murders,” he said.
She kept her eyes squeezed shut, refusing to open them. Maybe this was a nightmare. If she didn’t acknowledge him, the dream would change. Or she’d wake up.
“Imagine my surprise when I discovered your prior exposure to vampires,” he said with a touch of irony.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Liar !
Weird thoughts had flash through her mind yesterday, fuzzy distorted images from crazy-ass dreams that seemed to overlay actual memories. Looking at crime scene photos and reading autopsy reports of punctured arteries and trocars draining blood had triggered long-forgotten memories—memories best left in the past.
“The images I saw in your head were distorted and random,” Gerard said, reading her damn mind again. Or maybe not. She didn’t feel disoriented like she had before. “But what’s actual memory and what’s nightmare, Amber?”
She raised her lids, challenging him with her eyes. “Why not jump inside my head again and find out?”
“Because I don’t like to do it. C’est mal poli. It’s rude.”
“Then don’t do it. Ever again. Not to me. Understand?”
“ Oui . I understand.”
Man, that accent got to her. It made her toes curl. So did his smile. And she hated it. She didn’t want to relax her guard or cozy up to Gerard Delaroche. She should treat him like a murder suspect. Or a witness. She shouldn’t get all friendly with him. But the man had such an easy going nature when he put his mind to it—and he was damn easy on the eyes too. What gal wouldn’t be drawn in?
“I’m probably bat-shit crazy to think vampires are real.”
“Do you want to see my fangs again?” he asked with a smile—a smile that looked perfectly normal—and human.
Before she could respond, a chill shivered over her skin and the hair on the nape of her neck stood on end.
Gerard rose to his feet, sniffing the air like a predatory animal.
“Stay here,” he said. Then he vanished.
Chapter 5
Like hell. Amber ran to the kitchen and retrieved her Glock. Comforted by its weight, she returned to the living room. Gerard was gone. He’d disappeared into thin air.
She closed her eyes, forcing herself to replay that split second in her mind. There was still no memory of seeing him move, but there was a near simultaneous memory of sound—the sound of her front door slamming shut.
Her shoulders sagged on a sigh. Gerard hadn’t actually vanished. He’d just moved faster than her mortal eyes could see. If he’d disappeared, he wouldn’t have needed to use the front door.
Relief flooded her veins. The realization wasn’t profound, but it kept her functional. As long as she could function, she could make rational sense of what she’d just witnessed.
Yeah. Right.
She took a deep breath and stepped toward the foyer holding her weapon angled across her chest, the barrel pointed toward the ceiling. The fine hairs on the nape of her neck stood on end.
Seconds before Gerard did his disappearing act, she’d had the sensation of being watched. It was the same sensation she experienced in Germany moments before her friend and fellow soldier, Andrew, was attacked.
Most of that night was a blacked-out blur, but she remembered being thrown against a headstone. Unable to move or scream, paralyzed with fear, she’d watched in horror as a vam—as something or someone ripped open Andrew’s throat and drained him of blood. Then, the creature had turned toward her. And—Nicolas saved her. Just as Gerard—
Was saving her now?
Hardly. Most likely, a more primal instinct compelled him to dash out the door sniffing the air like a wolf on the scent of a frightened rabbit.
Taking a deep breath, she steeled her nerves. Fear would never hold her immobile again.
Similar Books
