Read Online The Heartbeat Thief by AJ Krafton, Ash Krafton - Free Book Online Page B

her back on him, regretting the impulse that brought her here with him. What had she expected, based on her limited experience with him? “Stop saying these things. You make it sound so horrible.”
    “Isn’t it?” He did not disguise the smile that had crept into his voice.
    She shook her head, ruby curls tumbling over her shoulders. “I have to maintain hope that there will be a peaceful end waiting for me.”
    “Do you really believe that?”
    She hugged her waist and didn’t reply.
    Insistence would be a thin visage for the doubt she harbored, the fear that trailed in every step. Although she had no intentions of becoming poorhouse fodder, she knew that when the end came, her last breath would taste the same, whether she be lying in state or lying in the street.
    She reached up to cup her cheeks, rosy now, glowing and desirable now. But time would be her enemy, even as she counted each moment that passed. How could she be free to enjoy the present, to live in the moment, knowing with certainty that it will end?
    “Your pain—I can taste it.” He hummed, seeming to savor her inner turmoil. “Heavy with despair, like over-ripe fruit. Sticky, like wine.”
    His lips grazed the back of her neck and he palmed her arms in sweep from shoulder to wrist. Grasping her hands, he drew them down to cross her chest, wrapping her in a joined embrace. Burying his face inside her collar, he let his breath out, down against the side of her throat.
    She should have protested. This closeness was not appropriate—
    But she closed her eyes and melted against him. God help her. She couldn’t resist him. She’d never been this close to anyone, not even at a ball, but she couldn’t fight against him.
    She didn’t want to.
    His mouth, close to her ear. His throaty chuckle sent the blood crashing through her body.
    “Delicious as you may be, I have no desire to see you suffer.” He drew away from her and leaned back against the railing. “I will tell you a secret. I know a way to avoid death.”
    “Oh, is this where you tell me sage advice?” She nervously rearranged her curls, straightened her collar, glancing around at the now-empty balcony. No one had seen them embrace, had they? “Do not live recklessly, avoid too much wine, be careful when walking in the road.”
    “That, too.” He tapped his mouth with a finger. “But I was thinking more along the lines of magic.”
    Senza gaped at him before walking away. The stairs were nearly empty, now that the train was boarding. The remaining travelers milled about the platform. She paused at the rail, wrinkling her nose at the smells of smoke and engine oil permeating the air. This conversation was becoming more and more delusional. All this talk about life and death and now—magic?
    “Yes, magic.”
    His words echoed around her, a mist of sound. With an angry toss of her head, she spun around, her hand ready with a slap.
    Nowhere. He was gone. Vanished.
    But how?
    She lifted her skirts and hurried down the staircase, charging through the archway onto the loading platform. People came and went en masse , with their luggage and their children in tow. People from every possible walk of life. Everyone in the world, but him.
    From one end of the platform to the other, searching around the corners, spinning to look behind her. Gone. Breathless, she leaned against a pillar, her restless gaze still seeking him.
    Only his voice manifested. “Magic. I am entirely entwined within the hold of magic. Think, bien-aimé . You know it to be true.”
    The last several weeks flashed by. She relived each moment of their courtship—that’s what it was, wasn’t it? Every minute they’d stolen in the crowded ballrooms, every hush as they parted, every shared glance. He had courted her, turned her heart entirely to his, and stole her devotion.
    That in itself was magic, worked long before he pulled the illusion and masqueraded as her father. That he could turn her heart was magic. She never