Read Online The Lost Soul (666 Park Avenue 3) by Gabriella Pierce - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Gabriella Pierce
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palpable.
He’s grown up,
she decided finally.
Once he broke with his mother, he could start to become his own man
. And there was no denying that that new man was plenty attractive in his own right, albeit in a very different way from his former, lighthearted self.
‘More witches would help,’ Jane continued thoughtfully. ‘Everyone keeps talking about how there aren’t so many of them anymore, but obviously there are some, and plenty more than I’ve met.’ Her mind’s eye filled briefly with a button nose, spiky brown hair, and wide brown eyes, but that was a no-go. Dee’s Wiccan group had all gone underground since Annette’s party, and anyway Jane was pretty sure that her friend Brooke hadn’t even known she was a witch before Jane’s power had touched her own.
We need experienced witches, not a pack of untrained recruits
.
‘I did meet a couple of them in my travels,’ Malcolm mused, ‘but none who I think would come all the way to New York just for the privilege of pissing off my mother. Most of them didn’t have enough power to be much help, anyway, and the ones who do are the least likely to get involved.’
‘André and Katrin are here, and they’re already involved,’ Jane reminded him nervously.
‘You and André,’ he said quietly. ‘I wondered when you first mentioned him, if . . . while I was gone . . .’ He lifted his hands, then let them fall helplessly in his lap.
Jane swallowed hard. ‘We had a . . . relationship,’ she confirmed, although she wasn’t entirely sure that
relationship
was the correct word. They’d had a healthy amount of sex and an unhealthy amount of mutual deception. The fact that it ultimately added up to a sort of comfortable affection was serendipity – certainly it wasn’t any kind of clever planning on Jane’s part. ‘It’s over now; it ended when my disguise did.’
‘They’re power for hire – both of them,’ Malcolm warned her, his voice thick with emotion. ‘If my mother’s bought them, they’re hers. And even if their contract with her is up, they’ll kill you the second it suits them, no matter what
relationship
you thought you had. The best thing you can do is just stay the hell away from hi – them.’
Way too late for that,
Jane thought ruefully. ‘Look,’ she began in what she hoped was a soothing tone, ‘I get that this must be upsetting for you. Especially knowing that they want us to kill your sister—’
Malcolm brushed that aside with an angry wave. ‘Jane, I know damn well that Annie might not live through this mess – that none of us may live through it. I think I understand that better than you do, and it’s sure as hell not why I’m angry.’ He drew a shuddering breath deep into his broad rib cage, and let it out smoothly. ‘The thought of that absolute creep so much as touching you . . .’
‘You’re
jealous
?’ Jane blurted out.
Malcolm slid forward to kneel on the floor in front of her, his chair rebounding gently in response to his sudden absence. ‘Yes,’ he told her, so fervently that the force of the words made her shiver. ‘I’m jealous that he kissed you, touched you, saw you sleeping. I’m jealous that he got to stand beside you and breathe the same air as you. I am in love with you, Jane, whether I have any right to be or not, and I will forever be jealous of anyone lucky enough to be in your life when I had to stay away.’
For a moment the world was perfectly still, and it was filled entirely by Malcolm. The warm lamplight glinted off a million curves of dark-gold hair, and his face seemed to almost radiate it. There was no thought, no weighing of the pros and cons, no decision to make: there was nothing for her to do but kiss him, and so she did. Everything between them had changed, and so in a way it felt like a first kiss, but of course it wasn’t that, really, and his lips fit to hers with the ease of long practice.
He hesitated for a moment after the kiss could have been complete,
He’s grown up,
she decided finally.
Once he broke with his mother, he could start to become his own man
. And there was no denying that that new man was plenty attractive in his own right, albeit in a very different way from his former, lighthearted self.
‘More witches would help,’ Jane continued thoughtfully. ‘Everyone keeps talking about how there aren’t so many of them anymore, but obviously there are some, and plenty more than I’ve met.’ Her mind’s eye filled briefly with a button nose, spiky brown hair, and wide brown eyes, but that was a no-go. Dee’s Wiccan group had all gone underground since Annette’s party, and anyway Jane was pretty sure that her friend Brooke hadn’t even known she was a witch before Jane’s power had touched her own.
We need experienced witches, not a pack of untrained recruits
.
‘I did meet a couple of them in my travels,’ Malcolm mused, ‘but none who I think would come all the way to New York just for the privilege of pissing off my mother. Most of them didn’t have enough power to be much help, anyway, and the ones who do are the least likely to get involved.’
‘André and Katrin are here, and they’re already involved,’ Jane reminded him nervously.
‘You and André,’ he said quietly. ‘I wondered when you first mentioned him, if . . . while I was gone . . .’ He lifted his hands, then let them fall helplessly in his lap.
Jane swallowed hard. ‘We had a . . . relationship,’ she confirmed, although she wasn’t entirely sure that
relationship
was the correct word. They’d had a healthy amount of sex and an unhealthy amount of mutual deception. The fact that it ultimately added up to a sort of comfortable affection was serendipity – certainly it wasn’t any kind of clever planning on Jane’s part. ‘It’s over now; it ended when my disguise did.’
‘They’re power for hire – both of them,’ Malcolm warned her, his voice thick with emotion. ‘If my mother’s bought them, they’re hers. And even if their contract with her is up, they’ll kill you the second it suits them, no matter what
relationship
you thought you had. The best thing you can do is just stay the hell away from hi – them.’
Way too late for that,
Jane thought ruefully. ‘Look,’ she began in what she hoped was a soothing tone, ‘I get that this must be upsetting for you. Especially knowing that they want us to kill your sister—’
Malcolm brushed that aside with an angry wave. ‘Jane, I know damn well that Annie might not live through this mess – that none of us may live through it. I think I understand that better than you do, and it’s sure as hell not why I’m angry.’ He drew a shuddering breath deep into his broad rib cage, and let it out smoothly. ‘The thought of that absolute creep so much as touching you . . .’
‘You’re
jealous
?’ Jane blurted out.
Malcolm slid forward to kneel on the floor in front of her, his chair rebounding gently in response to his sudden absence. ‘Yes,’ he told her, so fervently that the force of the words made her shiver. ‘I’m jealous that he kissed you, touched you, saw you sleeping. I’m jealous that he got to stand beside you and breathe the same air as you. I am in love with you, Jane, whether I have any right to be or not, and I will forever be jealous of anyone lucky enough to be in your life when I had to stay away.’
For a moment the world was perfectly still, and it was filled entirely by Malcolm. The warm lamplight glinted off a million curves of dark-gold hair, and his face seemed to almost radiate it. There was no thought, no weighing of the pros and cons, no decision to make: there was nothing for her to do but kiss him, and so she did. Everything between them had changed, and so in a way it felt like a first kiss, but of course it wasn’t that, really, and his lips fit to hers with the ease of long practice.
He hesitated for a moment after the kiss could have been complete,
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