Blood Mate Read Online Free PDF

receded, and August knew he was
going to the study to work, shutting her out once again.
    “I-is there
someone else?”
    The door shut
without the courtesy of a reply, and Nicolette dissolved into tears,
great heaving sobs that mirrored August’s nightly pain after
feeding.
    He should have
taken her already, but once he crossed that line, it was crossed. He
could never enthrall her and return her to her life with the world
never the wiser. He’d wanted to give her another chance to come
willingly. Things would go so much easier for her if she would open
up to him.
    He’d avoided
approaching her again outright, knowing she’d feel hounded.
Instead, he’d taken a walk past the flower shop she worked at. He’d
put on a mask of surprise when he saw her through the window, smiled,
and waved, but she’d turned away and gone to the back room.
    She was never
coming to him on her own.
    He hadn’t
anticipated the depth of her love for her husband or how faithful she
would be despite his neglect. She saw August as a threat to her
marriage, and even after the sad state of that relationship, she
still guarded it like a seedling that might sprout into something
breathtaking.
    He could have put
another command into Dominic’s mind. He could have made her husband
a legitimate physical threat. Then August could be the man who
rescued and protected her from the brutish bastard. She’d run to
him for safety. But he would never risk her. Not ever. If her
husband’s indifference didn’t make the necessary impact to bring
her to August, he had to take her.
    He watched through
the window as she sat at the counter and ate the dinner she’d so
painstakingly put together. She poured a glass of wine from a bottle
she’d bought to make dinner special. At the wine shop, there had
been so much hope in her eyes as she’d retrieved the money from her
purse. Every time he saw that naked hope, it crushed him. He hated
himself for this, and yet, nothing he could do to her could ever
equal what he must do each night. She was a justifiable casualty in
his war against the curse.
    In a normal human
relationship there were good times and bad times. Often one partner
stayed long past the point they should have left because they kept
remembering and hoping for the good times to return, and sometimes
they did—if briefly.
    But the vampiric
mind control didn’t allow for glimpses of hope. From the moment
August had gotten inside Dominic’s head, Nicolette was an annoying
gnat to him. Inconsequential. It had led to a lingering sadness which
would turn to full blown depression if he didn’t either release the
husband or take the wife.
    He listened in the
shadows as she scraped her plate and the garbage disposal whirred,
then she emptied the garbage and stepped outside.
    The pungent cloth
was over her nose and mouth before she saw him. That was for the
best.
    “Shhhh, shhh,
shhh,” he soothed as she struggled in his arms. She went limp and
there was no more time for guilt.
     
    ***
     
    Nicole felt fuzzy
and unreal when she came to. It took a moment to figure out what had
happened. It had been her day off. She’d spent hours on dinner.
She’d bought Dominic’s favorite wine. She’d worn his favorite
dress, and of course the bracelet. She always wore the bracelet. The
whole day’s work had been pointless. But none of that mattered
right now. What mattered was figuring out where she was and how to
get away.
    She’d stepped
out to take the trash to the side of the house. Whoever it was had
been watching her, and deep down, she knew who it was. On some deeper
level, unknown and hidden from her, she’d expected this. It was why
her fear stood muted against the backdrop of inevitability.
    A piece of cloth
covered her eyes, but her hands and feet were free. She was fully
clothed. All good things. The smell of a man’s cologne hung on the
air. She reached up to remove the blindfold, but was stopped
by his voice.
    “I
wouldn’t do that if I were you.