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Chapter Nine
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Dark of Night Chapter Ten
The harrowing sound of metal on metal jolts me from my sleep. I sit up with a start, comforted instantly by Lucas’s embrace.“I was wondering if you’d startle again,” he says, cradling me against his chest. “What is it about the automatic blinds that does that to you?”I inhale, hearing the echoing of the see-through door opening. My heart speeds up, knowing what’s coming next. I hate leaving this room almost as much as I hate being in it.“It’s something from my childhood,” I blurt. “Something associated with a bad memory.”He runs his fingers through my hair. “Repressing these memories is doing you no favor, Callie.”He’s right, but dammit, I’ve worked hard to store these memories away and never let them rise to the surface again.“Your father and brother were cruel to you because you were different, but there’s more to it than that, isn’t there?”“A lot more.”Lucas lays us back down, bringing me onto his chest. He turned on the heated blanket before he got into bed, and the warmth
Dark of Night Chapter Eleven
I come to a dead stop. “What do you mean, my brother?”“Scott Martin is your brother, right?”“Yeah, he is.”“He’s on the city council and pulled a favor or something and got a friend from the Health Department to come to the bar. Thank fucking God I was here late last night and was waiting out the sun in the back. It’s like a bloody raid, and we’ve been tagged with a shit ton of health code violations that don’t exist. They say we have rats. Rats! There aren’t even any rats in the fucking basement! I’d smell them if there were.”I close my eyes, heart racing as anger surges through me. “He’s going after Lucas to try and get to me.”“No shit, you witch-bitch.”“That’s not helping,” I snap. “Are they still there?”“Yes, in the kitchen throwing stuff around as they look for messes that aren’t fucking there,” she yells so the Health Department workers hear her. “And I’m starting to get real hungry.”“Don’t even draw your fangs,” I warn. “That’s what Scott wants. He’s not there, is he?”“
Dark of Night Chapter Twelve
“Hey,” I say, fully knowing the look of terror on my face is giving everything away. Ella stares at me, jaw still hanging open. Fuck. “So, I, ummm.” I look back at the cat—at my brother—and then back at Ella. I let out a nervous laugh. Should I try and grab Ella’s wrist, hoping to feel her heart beating before she can scream? I’m so shaken I don’t know if I’ll be able to get into her mind anyway.“And for my next act,” I start, and rush forward, grabbing Scott-Cat by the scruff. He yowls and tries to get out of my arms, scratching me in the process.“Keep that up and I’ll head straight to the vet for a neuter,” I say through gritted teeth. He goes limp in my arms but continues to growl. “Nice seeing you again,” I say to Ella and dash past her, down the hall and into the elevator. The doors close right as she screams.“See?” I say, looking down at Scott. “This is what happens when you cross me.” I’m trying to sound tough, but I know the shock in my eyes is anything but menacing. I have
Dark of Night Chapter Thirteen
I wave my hand over the door to magically unlock it. I’m balancing the box against my hip, regretting turning Scott into anything weighing over ten pounds. Before I even reach for the door knob, the front door opens.“Callie,” Lucas says, throwing the door back. Sunlight burns his skin, but he doesn’t so much as flinch. Binx darts in first, and I hurry along behind him, shutting the door with my foot. Part of Lucas’s face is charred, but that’s not the most jarring thing about him. His eyes are wide and full of worry. It’s the closest I’ve seen him to looking scared, but it’s not for himself. He’s terrified of losing me. “You should have called me right away.”I set Scott-cat down, and Lucas pulls me into an embrace.“I didn’t want to wake you,” I confess, looking up at him. His skin is healing already. “I knew you hadn’t gotten much sleep lately.”“That doesn’t matter.” He cups my face in his large hands, tipping my chin up to him. “You matter.”He called Eliza right as I was leaving
Dark of Night Chapter Fourteen
Lucas turns his head to mine, eyes wide. “The man who sold you like livestock and left you to be tortured? Let him come in.”“The ‘no murder’ plan needs to stand.”“Death will be welcome after I’m done with him.” Lucas’s fangs come down, and he reaches for the door.“Wait,” I say and grab Lucas’s wrist. He stops, moving away from the door and turning toward me. “He won’t be able to get through the warding. It protects the house against the unwanted, and he’s definitely unwanted.”“Will it burn him like it burned the vampires?” Lucas asks hopefully.“No, I set it up so it won’t harm humans, you know, in case little miss annoying Girl Scout and her mother comes skipping down the sidewalk.”“That’s probably for the best.”“Right?” My heart hammers faster and faster, and my stomach churns. Kristy puts her hand on my shoulder.“You okay?”I suck in a breath and nod. “Getting there.”“I’ll make him leave,” Lucas says and goes out the door before I have a chance to stop him.“And I’ll lock y
Dark of Night Chapter Fifteen
“Are you all right, my love?” Lucas pulls his shirt over his head, muscles flexing.“It’s been a long day.”“That’s an understatement.” Lucas tosses his shirt on a chair by my closet. He starts undoing his belt next, and I watch, transfixed, as he strips himself bare. No one should be that pretty, though I’m sure his body used to be bruised and scarred in his human life.“I still can’t get over the fact you were a gladiator,” I blurt.“With everything that happened today, that’s what you’re thinking of?” Chuckling, he gets into bed next to me. I’ve stripped down to a t-shirt and panties, yet suddenly I’m feeling very overdressed now that I’m next to Lucas’s glorious naked body.“It’s just…a gladiator.” I shake my head. “Is it weird to say that turns me on?”“When it comes to what turns you on, there are very few things I’m going to say are weird.”“And you said vampires aren’t all about sex.” I raise my eyebrows and laugh.“We’re not all about sex. We both know I’m good in bed and rar
Dark of Night Chapter Sixteen
My breath leaves me, and suddenly I realize the forest is quiet. No leaves are gently swaying in the breeze. No crickets are chirping. There is nothing.“Who are you?” I ask, holding up my hand. Blue energy swirls around my fingers, but it’s so bright it blinds me. I bring my hand down, blinking as if someone just took a flash photo right in front of my face.The blue-eyed man is gone, but an orange-and-red glow comes from deep within the forest. Suddenly, the breeze is back, and it brings with it the scent of a bonfire. Only, no one is out in the woods sitting around a fire for fun.The faint smell of brimstone doesn't hit me right away, but I can feel it deep in my bones. What I’m smelling is hellfire, and for some reason, I know I’m the one about to get burned. I close my eyes again.“Wake up, Callie,” I say to myself.I’m still in the forest.“Wake up!”Dammit, I’m still here.“Now. Get up before you burn!”The wind picks up and embers blow into the air. “Not again,” I whisper to
Dark of Night Chapter Seventeen
“We are going to have a boring, uneventful afternoon followed by a riveting time signing papers with the bank, and then finally a hot date back in Chicago.” I look up at Lucas, smiling. “Or I’ll be damned.”“You might be damned.”“Don’t jinx us.”He laughs. “Wouldn’t agreeing with you be jinxing it?”“I guess if you’re following the same logic to why people say ‘break a leg’ instead of ‘good luck’ to performers, right?”“I suppose. Though I don’t believe in jinxes. Curses, obviously. But hoping for something good to happen to you isn’t going to make the universe bend its will.”“If only I was as optimistic as you.”We’re lying on the couch together and for the last half hour or so, Lucas has been fascinated by the way my hair glistens in the sunlight.“You’re much more optimistic than I am. I’m the realist in this relationship.” Smiling, he kisses me. “You need me.”“In more ways than one.” I wiggle my eyebrows and scoot closer to him. “I should get started on my boring afternoon, tho
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