Read Online Unseen (The Heights, Vol. 1) by Lauren Stewart - Free Book Online

important.”
    There was a rumble like thunder, except it
came from him. “King Rhyse, Prime of North America.”
    “Is that short for something?”
    “Yes, it is short for, ‘Those who call me
anything other than my title or my name will die before they speak
the last syllable.’”
    “I’ll just call you Rhyse, then.” They both
needed a chance to calm down—him more than her—so she went to the
kitchen. “Do you guys drink water and if so, do you want some?”
    “Unless you have something a bit warmer and
with more red blood cells.”
    “Sorry. Fresh out.”
    “What I need is coursing through your veins
right now.” He lowered his voice when she came back to the doorway.
“Do you enjoy my company so much that you will keep me chained to
your bed forever? You will not kill me—that I know.”
    “You sound confident.”
    “Always. You do not have the stomach for
killing.”
    “I’ve swept away hundreds of vamps, watched
weres dissolve into the concrete.” Seen tons of things she never
wanted to see. “You don’t intimidate me.” Big lie, but it sounded
good.
    “It is one thing to see death and another to
create it. Have you ever killed anyone before?”
    “Maybe,” she said flippantly.
    “That means no.”
    “No means no, and I said maybe.” But she’d meant no.
    “You either have or you have not. It is
something you would remember.”
    “Do you remember? The first person you ever
killed?”
    “Of course. One always remembers their
first.” He studied her. “You wish to know.”
    “Maybe.” Yes, because it might help her kill
someone who was already dead. And no, for the same reason.
    “Until the Treaty went into effect, I never
thought to leave them alive. None of us did. It was a terrible time
for all of us. The human victims and the supernaturals who preyed
on them.”
    “I have a pretty hard time feeling sorry for
predators.”
    “As do I,” he said quietly.
    What did that mean? He didn’t explain, she
didn’t ask, and the silence was awkward.
    “I don’t need to kill you. You’re getting
better.”
    “Far too slowly. If I had nourishment, we
could both move on from this unfortunate situation sooner.”
    She set the glass of water on the nightstand
just in time for a huge yawn-and-stretch to happen.
    “You are fatigued.”
    “That’s what happens when you can’t use your
bed because a vamp’s in it.”
    “Lie down.” His eyes were heated, staring at
the slash of skin between her jeans and her t-shirt.
    “Yeah, right,” she said, pulling her shirt
down. “Let me guess, I can lie down right on top of you and fall
asleep with my neck near your mouth.”
    “It would be satisfactory were you simply to
lie down on top of me, provided you remove your clothing. And
mine.” If it had been anyone else she could’ve thought of a good
comeback, something to put him in his place. But unfortunately, her
mind went haywire when he said stuff like that and the only thing
she could think of saying was, ‘Gladly.’ Stupid vampire
pheromones.
    “It only excites me to see you blush,
Addison. The blood coming to your face and chest, your increased
heat and speed of your breath.”
    Damn it. She couldn’t take much
more—except the breathing part. She wanted more of that.
    “You are a terrible host. With what would you
have me amuse myself? You do not feed me, you tell me to leave, and
you have not once joined me in bed.”
    She bit back what she really wanted to say
and went into the living room. As much as she wanted a nap, it
didn’t seem smart with a hungry vampire in the next room. So she
huddled on the couch with a wooden stake, a cross, and some holy
water. And then, like an idiot, she fell asleep.

Ten
    It was already late afternoon when Addison
jolted awake, confused and groggy. She wasn’t dead. Great. She
wasn’t a vampire. Also great.
    “Addison!”
    She still had that pesky houseguest issue.
Not at all great.
    “Addison,” he called again. “I…need