Charley Davidson 01Bis For I Have Sinned Read Online Free PDF Page A

death.
    Also, I saw how she hoped with all her heart that Reyes loved her. Just a little. Just enough to keep her going day in and day out.
    Suddenly I was in a place I’d never imagined existed, seeing colors we don’t have on Earth, so vivid they’re blinding. I was feeling warmth that had nothing to do with the weather, a warmth so fine and pure it saturated every molecule of my being. And there, in a place outside of time, I watched my sinfully powerful desire grow up. I watched Melody Jo Anne Montgomery grow up, all the while waiting for the day I’d get to meet her.
    What a marvelous day that will be.

Copyright © 2011 Darynda Jones

 
     
    DARYNDA JONES
    THE GRAVE SERIES
    First Grave on the Right
    Second Grave on the Left
    Third Grave Dead Ahead

 
    Read on for a preview of
     
     
    DARYNDA JONES

    First Grave on the Right

Chapter One
    Better to see dead than be dead.
    — CHARLOTTE JEAN DAVIDSON , GRIM REAPER
    I’d been having the same dream for the past month—the one where a dark stranger materialized out of smoke and shadows to play doctor with me. I was starting to wonder if repetitive exposure to nightly hallucinations resulting in earth-shattering climaxes could have any long-term side effects. Death via extreme pleasure was a serious concern. The prospect led to the following dilemma: Do I seek help or buy drinks all around?
    This night was no exception. I was having a killer dream that featured a set of capable hands, a hot mouth, and a creative employment of lederhosen when two external forces tried to lure me out of it. I did my darnedest to resist, but they were fairly persistent external forces. First, a frosty chill crept up my ankle, the icy caress jolting me out of my red-hot dream. I shivered and kicked out, unwilling to acknowledge the summons, then tucked my leg into the thick folds of my Bugs Bunny comforter.
    Second, a soft but persistent melody played in the periphery of my consciousness like a familiar song I couldn’t quite place. After a moment, I realized it was the cricketlike chime of my new phone.
    With a heavy sigh, I pried open my eyes just enough to focus on the numbers glowing atop my nightstand. It was 4:34 A.M. What kind of sadist called another human being at 4:34 in the morning?
    A throat cleared at the foot of my bed. I turned my attention to the dead guy standing there, then lowered my lids and asked in a gravelly voice, “Can you get that?”
    He hesitated. “Um, the phone?”
    “Mmm.”
    “Well, I’m kind of—”
    “Never mind.” I reached for the phone and grimaced as a jolt of pain ripped through me, reminding me I’d been beaten senseless the night before.
    Dead Guy cleared his throat again.
    “Hello,” I croaked.
    It was my uncle Bob. He bombarded me with words, of all things, apparently clueless to the fact that predawn hours rendered me incapable of coherent thought. I concentrated super duper hard on concentrating and made out three salient phrases: busy night, two homicides, ass down here. I even managed a reply, something resembling, “What twirly nugget are you from?”
    He sighed, clearly annoyed, then hung up.
    I hung up back, pressing a button on my new phone that either disconnected the call or speed-dialed the Chinese takeout around the corner. Then I tried to sit up. Similar to the coherent-thought problem, this was easier said than done. While I normally weighed around 125 … ish, for some unexplainable reason, between the hours of partially awake and fully awake, I weighed a solid 470.
    After a brief, beached whale–like struggle, I gave up. The quart of Chunky Monkey I ate after getting my ass kicked had probably been a bad idea.
    In too much pain to stretch, I let a lengthy yawn overtake me instead, winced at the soreness shooting through my jaw, then looked back at Dead Guy. He was blurry. Not because he was dead, but because it was 4:34 A.M. And I’d recently had my ass kicked.
    “Hi,” he said nervously. He had a wrinkled suit,