Read Online Unafraid by Cat Miller - Free Book Online

furious but he had no right to be
angry. At this point they had nothing more than a few days in bed
and a little blood between them. She didn’t know his last name,
where he lived, or even his phone number for God’s sake. That was
exactly what she told him just before he literally tore off her
clothes and pinned her to the wall. It was not her dominant but
giving lover that had taken her body before. This was his
possessive alter ego that she had seen only a glimpse of during
their time together. He’d been demanding and unforgiving, but she
loved every minute of it. He had bitten her several times and taken
her body on every possible surface in her home.
    Tessa was actually glad Sebastian had come by
when he did. She assumed he had gotten the address from her
employee file because he had never been to her place before, but
Griffin didn’t know that and she didn’t feel the need to inform
him. It seemed that believing he had competition made Griffin
infinitely more eager to stake a serious claim. He stayed until
morning before work and ‘other various responsibilities’ he wasn’t
willing to explain took him away, but he promised to return that
evening. He returned and slept in her bed every night for a
week.
     
     
    FIVE
    Tessa stood in the kitchen of Griffin’s
downtown high-rise condo gawking at her surroundings. He’d just
given her a tour of his home and she was still trying to find her
voice. She knew Griffin came from money, even if he never willingly
admitted anything about his family, but she never imagined this.
Her entire studio would fit inside of his master bathroom. He must
have been horrified when she took him to her place. Tessa was
mortified.
    “It’s only a home, Tessa. I don’t know why
you look like you’re going to be sick.” Griffin stroked her back
and leaned over to inhale deeply at her neck. “Come sit with me
while we wait for dinner to be delivered.”
    Griffin tugged her into the massive living
room area and gracefully sat in a plush chair nearly the size of a
loveseat. He tugged her into his lap and continued stroking her
arms while she gazed out over his view of the park. Tessa couldn’t
help comparing it to her view of the brick building that sat
opposite her window at home. It was unreal. The more she took in
her surroundings the more embarrassed she became. Griffin must have
hated being in her dilapidated little hole in the wall. She could
feel the heat rising up her neck, revealing her shame.
    She didn’t belong there for many reasons, not
the least of which was she knew Griffin was keeping secrets. Tessa
wanted to believe Griffin was in love with her but he still didn’t
trust her. Understandably, he was limited with how much information
regarding his people he could tell her, but she felt there was more
to it than that.
    Griffin had left her apartment the morning
after Sebastian’s visit with a promise to return that evening after
work and a dinner meeting he couldn’t get out of attending. Every
night for a week he returned and spent the night in her bed.
Several times his phone would ring and he would ignore it or he
would excuse himself to go outside and take the call. There were a
few times that she would wake in the middle of the night to find
him gone from bed, whispering on his phone in the hallway, but she
pretended to be asleep when he returned.
    She knew it would be hard for them to be
together and she imagined Griffin would catch a lot of flak for
being with a human. Judging by his reaction to knowledge of
vampires the night they met, Tessa feared that it may even be
illegal for him to be with her. The problem was that he didn’t talk
to her about anything important. She was completely excluded from
his life and there were things she really needed to know. Taking a
fortifying breath, she decided there was no time like the present.
If he couldn’t open up to her, there could be no real
relationship.
    * * *
    “I know the human sci-fi perception of a
vampire