Bite of Envy (Just One Bite #4) Read Online Free PDF

people would respect her privacy this way- they'd assume
she was sleeping and leave her alone.
    Taking a deep breath, she opened her office window and
jumped effortlessly to the ground below without even the crackle of leaves
beneath her feet. Hmm, if nothing else,
being this quiet will really come in handy on the job , she told herself as
she headed for her car. The last thing you wanted to have happen as a cop was
to give away your position by making too much noise when you were pursuing
someone you think may be dangerous, and as a narcotics detective that meant
almost everyone she pursued.
    Lizbeth was driving so quickly that she half-feared she'd
get pulled over on the short commute from her office to her home, and flinched
away from the thought of what she might do to the cop who stopped her.
Thankfully she made it home in record time with no incidents along the way. She
pulled into the driveway, setting the parking brake almost before she'd come to
a complete stop. Turning off the ignition with one hand and yanking out the
keys, she opened her car door with the other. Slamming the door shut behind
her, she ran into the house and slammed the front door as well as she bee-lined
for the kitchen and the stash of blood baggies she knew would be waiting.
    Skidding into the kitchen, she stopped almost instantly,
narrowly avoiding Adrian as he stepped out in front of her with a glass full to
the brim with warm, fresh blood. She couldn't look at him as she snatched it
from his grasp like a ravenous animal and gulped it down. Lizbeth refused to
acknowledge the fact that he had a second glass waiting, and there was still
fresh blood on his wrists. Somehow he'd known she was coming and she was in
desperate need. Guilt overwhelmed her and she nearly choked on the tears
forming a lump in her throat as she took the second glass more gently from him
and handed him back the empty one.
    She sank to the kitchen floor, clutching the glass in her
trembling hands and sobbed like a frightened child. He was so kind to her, and
she'd been nothing but nasty to him and everyone else this last week. She
allowed her fear to blind her to the way she treated the people she loved, and
she was ashamed. The blood sat on her tongue, heavy and metallic, and she
sipped it out of need and not desire now. She'd be damned if she'd let it go to
waste when he'd slit his wrists to give her what she'd needed.
    Adrian slid down to the floor next to her and laid a gentle
hand on her knee. "It'll be okay, Lizzie," he said kindly, giving her
knee a slight squeeze before letting go and giving her a bit more space.
"Whatever is wrong, we'll all work together to fix it. But first you need
to stop running from us, stop pushing us away, and start confiding in us. If we
don't know what the problem is, none of us can fix it- and that includes
you."
    Lizbeth opened her mouth to speak but found no words. All
that escaped her was another sob, and with that, she set the glass to the side
and threw herself into his arms. She felt the push of comforting energy flowing
into her and her eyes, which had been closed against the flood of tears, flew
open once more. RaeLynn was at her side, touching her leg and giving her a very
adult look of concern as she forced more soothing emotions into her. Diandra
stood with Eamon, and Lizbeth dreaded looking at either of them, fearing she'd
see disgust or recrimination there. Instead she found only love and concern,
and that finally tore down the wall she'd built around her emotions. She curled
up in the fetal position on the cold kitchen floor and cried as though her
heart had broken.
*****
    When the tears had final subsided, her second glass was
empty, and her face was dry, Lizbeth got shakily to her feet, avoiding eye
contact with everyone in the room. She was embarrassed by everything- her
attitude here lately, losing control like this, forgetting her need for blood.
She was flushed with shame thanks to the heavy intake of blood Adrian had