Blood Mate Read Online Free PDF Page B

The sight you’d be greeted with
is not what you’re used to.”
    “August?”
    She
flinched when he took her hand, partly because of his touch, and
partly because he was wearing gloves.
    “I’m just
helping you to sit up. I’m not going to do anything to you that you
don’t agree to.”
    As if she would
agree to anything at all after he’d kidnapped her. But she allowed
him to pull her into a seated position. Sitting was better than lying
down right now. It was less vulnerable, if only by a small degree.
    “Here, drink
this.” He pressed a glass into her hand.
    “W-what is it?”
    “It’s water.
It’ll help the fogginess.”
    “Can I please
take the blindfold off? Please, August.”
    “No, you may
not. I’m not ready for you to see yet.”
    “See what?”
    “Drink.”
    “I’m fine. I
don’t need any… ”
    His mouth was next
to her ear now. “If you don’t drink, I will pour it down your
throat. I would not give you anything that would harm you.”
    He’d only
stalked her and kidnapped her. So of course whatever was in the glass
was harmless water. Fuck him. She didn’t owe him trust or
acquiescence or anything else.
    She hauled back
and threw the glass, surprised when she didn’t hear it smash.
Instead, she heard August place something on a table. It sounded like
a glass. Had he… what? Caught it? Maybe it was his own
glass. Maybe hers had hit a pillow or something, preventing it from
breaking the silence.
    “I understand
you’re frightened, but please don’t throw my glassware. It’s
quite old and priceless.”
    The stupid part of
it all was that she’d found him attractive. And she’d hit her
limit with Dominic. Her husband was making her miserable, and nothing
she tried to reach out to him worked.
    “The last thing
I would ever want is for anything to harm you. I’m sorry for how
you’ve suffered the past few months, but it’s what had to be
done.”
    “What do you
mean? Did you say something to my husband? Did you tell him we were
having an affair?” They were the only plausible words that could
have passed between the two men to turn Dominic away from her with
such finality. But wouldn’t he have confronted her? Asked her? How
could he believe such a lie from a stranger?
    “No. I didn’t
tell him anything like that. Come with me, and I’ll explain and
show you everything.”
    The panic rose as
he helped her stand. “Where are you taking me?”
    “Downstairs.”
    “Where are we?”
    “My home.”
    He wasn’t
annoyed by the questions. If anything, he was trying to be less
threatening. But if that was what he wanted, a blindfold couldn’t
accomplish those goals. It made the dread inside rise to strangle
her.
    She tried to pull
out of his grasp, but his hold was too tight. She used her free hand
to try to remove the blindfold, but he was too quick. And then he was
holding both of her wrists in his impossibly vise-like grip.
    A small whimper
escaped her throat. “Please, you’re hurting me.”
    His grip loosened.
“I apologize. I forget my strength at times.”
    There was nothing
for her to do but allow him to lead her through his endless house.
    Finally they
stopped, and a door creaked open.
    “Step down,”
he said. “These are the stairs.”
    He had her wrists,
holding her steady, but she wanted to be able to hold onto something,
even if it was him. Without anything or anyone to grasp onto, she
felt more helpless as she stepped blindly down each step into
darkness. The air grew colder around her and damp with the faint
scent of mildew. The wood beneath her feet creaked ominously as she
descended.
    When they reached
the bottom, she heard crying.
    “Please, let us
out.” A man’s voice.
    “We won’t tell
anyone about this.” A woman.
    The idea that he
was keeping others against their will hadn’t crossed Nicole’s
mind. Both men and women. He’s going to kill all of us. Once
the thought had wriggled in, she could barely stop herself from
hyperventilating, but