Read Online NOCTE (Nocte Trilogy #1) by Courtney Cole - Free Book Online Page A

A jaded,
ugly, bitter person.  
    “My mom died a few weeks ago,” I tell him
and the words scrape my heart.   “It’s still hard to talk about.”
    He pauses and nods, as though everything
makes sense now, as though he’s sorry because
everyone always is.   “Ah. I
see.   I’m sorry.   I didn’t mean to open a wound.”
    I shake my head and look away because my
eyes are watering and it’s embarrassing. Because God.   Am I ever going to be able to think
about it without crying?
    “It’s ok.   You didn’t know,” I answer.   “And you’re right.   I’m probably jaded.   Being surrounded by death all the time…
well, I guess it’s made me ugly.”
    Dare studies me, hard, his eyes
glittering in the light of the driftwood fire which reflects purple flames into
his black bottomless depths.     
    “You’re not ugly,” he tells me, his voice
oh-so-beautiful.   “Not by a long,
long shot.”
    His words make me lose my train of
thought.   Because of the way he’s
looking at me right now… like I’m
beautiful, like he knows me , when
I’m really just Calla and he doesn’t.
      “I’m sorry I’m so emotional tonight,” I
tell him.   “I’m not usually like
this.   It’s just… there’s a lot going on.”
    “I see that,” he answers quietly.   “Is there anything I can do?”
    You
can call me Calla-Lily again. Because it seems
intimate and familiar, and it makes me feel good.   But I shake my head.   “I
wish.   But no.”
    He smiles.   “Ok. Can I walk you back up to the house
at least?”
    My heart leaps for a second, but the idea
of facing Finn right now isn’t one I enjoy.   So I shake my head.  
    “I’m not really ready to go back yet,” I
tell him regretfully.   Because it’s the truth.  
    He shrugs. “Okay.   I’ll wait.”
    My heart thunders in my ears as I pretend
that I’m not thrilled with that.   We
sit in the sand, so close that I can feel the warmth emanating from his body,
so close that whenever he moves, his shoulder brushes mine.   I shouldn’t get so much pleasure from
that, from the accidental touches, from his warmth.
    But I do.
    We sit in such a way for an hour.  
    In silence.  
    Staring at the ocean and the sky and the
stars.
    No one has ever felt comfortable like
this to me before, with silence that isn’t awkward.   No one but Finn.   Until now.  
    “Did you know that the Italian serial
killer Leonarda Cianciulli was famous for turning her victims into tea cakes and
serving them to guests?” I ask absently, still staring out at the water.  
    Dare doesn’t miss a beat.   “No.   Because that’s an odd thing to know.”
    I feel the laughter bubbling up in me,
threatening to erupt.  
    “I agree.   It is.”   It’s something my brother shared with me
yesterday.  
    Dare smiles.   “I’ll be sure to work that in at the
next party I attend.”
    I can’t help but smile now. “I’m sure
it’ll go over well.”
    He chuckles. “Well, it’s a conversation
starter, for sure.”
      I don’t move because I sort of want to
stay here forever, even though the dampness of the sand has leached into my
jeans and now my butt is wet.  
      But even though I don’t want this to end,
the darkness is so black now that it swallows us up.   It’s getting late.  
    I sigh.  
    “I’ve got to go back.”  
    “Okay,” Dare answers, his voice low in
the night, and if I didn’t know better, I’d think I detected regret in it.   Maybe
he wants to stay here longer, too.
      He helps me to my feet, and then keeps
his hand on my elbow as we walk over the driftwood and through the tidal pools
and up the trail.   It’s that thing
that real men do, the guiding a woman across the room thing.   It’s gentlemanly and chivalrous and my
ovaries might explode from it because it’s intimate and familiar and sexy.    
    When we get to the house, he removes his
hand and I immediately feel the absence of his warmth.  
    He looks down at