Bethany's Rite Read Online Free PDF Page B

café opened a crack. The cook stuck his
prominent nose out and shouted that the police were on their way, adding
invectives after nearly every syllable.
    Enath’s head swung toward the sudden noise. Wyc didn’t wait
for another chance. With a lightning-fast spin, he executed a perfect
roundhouse kick and planted the heel of his boot in the Sleht’s face, sending
him crashing into a pile of empty boxes. The café’s door snapped shut, and Wyc
stepped forward to slam Enath’s face into the asphalt. He wanted to finish the
son of a bitch off, but if he killed him, the Predator would return to his
natural form and tonight’s local news would look like an episode from the X-Files .
    “Today’s your lucky day, you bastard,” he whispered as he
straightened over Enath’s unconscious form.
    Time to get Bethany the hell out of here. He turned around
just in time to catch sight of her tight little ass disappearing around the
corner.
    Damn it, why couldn’t the woman stay put like she was told?
Didn’t she know she could get herself killed by not doing what he told her? He
wouldn’t let that happen. Not to her. Not again.
* * * * *
    Bethany’s hands shook as she dug her apartment keys from the
pocket of her jeans. She couldn’t believe that Wyc had kicked that guy in the
face. He had been rude, threatening and possibly insane, but that was no reason
to beat someone to a bloody pulp. She shivered, remembering the animal ferocity
of Wyc’s attack. Enath hadn’t stood a chance.
    The key scraped along the outside of the lock several times
before she managed to ram it home. The lock clicked open and she breathed a
sigh of relief.
    A solid heat pressed against her back as a large hand
appeared in front of her face, pushing the door open. She drew a deep breath to
scream, but an arm of iron snaked around her waist, and the hand that had been
on the door clamped around her mouth. She twisted and fought, her heels finding
their targets in shins and insteps.
    “Jesus, Bethany,” Wyc hissed in her ear, “would you get out
of the hall?” He pushed her into her apartment and slammed the door shut behind
them. For a long moment, Wyc said nothing, simply raked a harsh glare over her
from the top of her head to her feet.
    Against her will, she felt her body responding to his openly
sexual scrutiny once he passed her chin. With her heart still racing from the
encounter in the alley, his thorough perusal only increased her irritation. She
had never noticed before how irritation caused her nipples to harden and her
pussy to cream. She clenched her sex, repressed a shudder of pleasure and then
fisted her hands in anger. Why the hell couldn’t she control her reaction to
this man?
    When his gaze returned to settle on her face, his dark eyes
burned into her as he shoved his fingers roughly through his hair. “I told you
to stay put.”
    “What?”
    “You ran off. You could have been hurt. Killed. You have no
idea what you’re up against.”
    “You’re insane. Get out of my apartment.” She started to
step around him and reach for the door, but he grabbed her shoulders and backed
her against it instead.
    “How the hell am I supposed to keep you safe when I can’t
trust you to obey me?”
    “Keep me safe? I was perfectly fine until you showed up. Now
I’m getting dragged through restaurants and threatened with harvesting. What
the hell does that mean? I’m not a crop in a field.”
    Her voice had risen steadily with each statement. Taking a
deep breath, she forced herself to calm down. When he opened his mouth to
respond, she shook her head sharply, cutting him off. “No. Don’t explain. I
don’t want to know. I don’t care. I only want you out of my house. Out of my
life.”
    The harsh flash of anger in his eyes faded slightly. He
moved nearer. “This isn’t the way I wanted to explain things to you—”
    “No. Stop talking. I don’t want to hear what you have to
say. I just want you to go away.” Her words ended on