Read Online Tempt (Ava Delaney #3) by Claire Farrell - Free Book Online

know,” I snapped. He narrowed his eyes, and I again felt
that cold sensation on my skin. Just like the time the black sheep
of Daimhín’s coven, Jules, had tried to control me. With Jules, it
felt like raindrops. With Reuben, it felt like ice-cold waves of
water dashing against my skin. Shivering, I gulped hard until the
feeling seeped away, but I was left rattled by the feeling he would
be able to control me if he really tried.
    “ I’m doing the best I can,” I insisted.
    “ What’s the problem?” he asked.
    “ She knows I’m coming. She keeps running, and I can’t keep
up.”
    “ Well, no wonder. Look at you. You’re puny. Are you even using
up your quota?”
    Eddie
made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a snort. I sent
daggered glares at his back.
    “ I don’t drink blood,” I said. “What’s your quota
like?”
    The
vampire relaxed in his seat, his lips curving upward. That wasn’t
reassuring. I waited for his decrepit skin to tear apart at the
action. “I get to drain a virgin once a month.” He licked his fangs
slowly, as if he could still taste blood on them.
    I leaned
back in my chair. I really hadn’t expected that answer.
    He
cocked his head to the side. “I made my deals in another time. My
involvement with the Council has saved me from
renegotiation.”
    I wanted
to vomit. I was helping those people?
    “ Why the distaste?” he asked, a hidden warning in his voice.
“Once upon a time, you could be guaranteed that the young were
innocent and clean. Pure of blood. Now I have to look a lot harder.
Slightly more tedious, but worth it.”
    “ Can’t you just use donated blood?” I blurted. “A…
volunteer?”
    His eyes
widened with surprise. “Oh, I do. But nothing is worth that sweet
ecstasy at the moment the heart stops. Near the end, the heart is
so very desperate to survive, so willing to put up a fight. That
gloriously final, traumatic pump makes the search worth it. Trust
me, once you taste it, you don’t go back, little dark thing.” He
gave a little moan that made me think he wasn’t as controlled as
people seemed to think.
    I leaned
forward, my head thundering with anger. “I’m not dark.”
    “ So you say. I see differently. You may not be consuming your
natural diet, but you are using other… gifts. I can smell it on
you.”
    My
cheeks burned with shame. I kept thinking I was so much better than
them, but there was more to darkness than murder and
blood.
    He
sniffed the air like a hound, his fangs much more noticeable. “I
can smell so much more. What a waste.” He stared into my eyes, and
I felt a hand grip my soul. I touched his darkness, and it left a
distinctly sour taste in my mouth.
    I shook
myself, and pushed my chair away from the table, desperate to get
away from the vampire. Everything about him disturbed
me.
    Eddie
laid his hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “Reuben. To the point,
please.”
    Reuben
looked away for a few minutes. When he finally looked at me again,
the danger was gone from his eyes. “Yes, the point. We need speed
on this situation. You need to take down the beast before something
worse comes. There are mutterings of interference from others, and
the Council can’t afford to have this used as an excuse. Drink the
blood. Consume it with the kind of pleasure you were born to have.
It’s the only way you’ll stop her. Trust me, you’re not strong
enough without it.”
    “ I don’t believe you,” I lied. Shrugging off Eddie’s hand, I
stalked out of the room before I made a huge mistake. I had to stop
pissing off the wrong people every time they terrified
me.
    Downstairs, I sat behind the counter with my head between my
knees, breathing deeply. Counting couldn’t help the ache in my
chest. Too much pressure. Too many harsh truths
revealed.
    “ Here.” Eddie handed me an envelope full of cash. “Calm down,
Ava.” He pressed his palm against my forehead. I felt him summon
power, but I couldn’t gather myself enough to stop