After Dark Read Online Free PDF Page B

Harpies were as violent by nature as their inhuman counterparts the demons. Why couldn’t she have looked like a demon, though? Why did she have to be so lovely? “I saved you, gave you my blood. I even explained why you could not leave, just as you asked. I did not have to do any of those things.”
    “Do I really need to repeat your crimes?”
    “No.” They were not crimes! But perhaps it was best to change the subject. “Allow me to feed you,” he said. He walked to the plate holding the hamburger and picked it up. The scent of spiced meat wafted to his nose, and his mouth curled in distaste.
    Though he didn’t want to, though his stomach rolled, he took a bite. He wanted to gag, but managed to swallow. Normally he only ate fruits, nuts and vegetables. “This,” he said with much disgust, “is mine.” Careful not to touch her, he placed the food in her hands. “You are not to eat it.”
    By staking the verbal claim, the meal did indeed become his. He watched understanding light her eyes.
    “Oh, cool.” She didn’t hesitate to rip into the burger, every crumb gone in seconds. Next he sipped the chocolate shake. The sugar was almost obscene in his mouth, and he did gag. “Mine,” he repeated faintly, giving it to her, as well. “But next time, please request a healthier meal.”
    She flipped him off as she gulped back the ice cream. “More.”
    He bypassed the French fries. No way was he going to defile his body with one of those greasy abominations. He found an apple, a pear, but had to request a stalk of broccoli himself. After claiming them, he took a bite of each and handed them over. Much better.
    Bianka devoured them. Well, except for the broccoli. That, she threw at him. “I’m a carnivore, moron.”
    She hardly had to remind him when the unpleasant taste of the burger lingered on his tongue. Still, he chose to overlook her mockery. “All of the food produced in this home is mine. Mine and mine alone. You are to leave it alone.”
    “That’d be great if I were actually staying,” she muttered while stuffing the fries in her mouth.
    He sighed. She would accept her fate soon enough. She would have to.
    The more she ate, the more radiant her skin became. Magnificent, he thought, reaching out before he could stop himself.
    She grabbed his fingers and twisted just before contact. “Nope. I don’t like you, so you don’t get to handle the goods.”
    He experienced a sharp pain, but merely blinked over at her. “My apologies,” he said stiffly. Thank the Most High she’d stopped him. No telling what he would have done to her had he actually touched her. Behaved like a slobbering human? He shuddered.
    She shrugged and released him. “Now for my second order. Let me go home.” As she spoke, she assumed a battle stance. Legs braced apart, hands fisted at her sides.
    He mirrored her movements, refusing to admit, even to himself, that her bravery heated his traitorous blood another degree. “You cannot hurt me, Harpy. Fighting me would be pointless.”
    Slowly her lips curled into a devilish grin. “Who said I was going to try and hurt you?”
    Before Lysander could blink, she closed the distance between them and pressed against him, arms winding around his neck and tugging his head down. Their lips met and her tongue thrust into his mouth. Automatically, he stiffened. He had seen humans kiss more times than he could count, but he’d never longed to try the act for himself.
    Like sex and trickery, it seemed messy—in every way imaginable—and unnecessary. But as her tongue rolled against his, as her hands caressed a path down his spine, his body warmed—far more than it had when he’d simply thought of being here with her—and the tingle he’d noticed earlier bloomed once more. Only this time, that tingle grew and spread. Like the shaft between his legs. Rising...thickening...
    He’d wanted to taste her and now he was. She was delicious, like the apple she’d just eaten, only sweeter,