Chase the Dark Read Online Free PDF Page A

from side to side as it squirmed in a distinctly guilty way. Ash frowned. “Go get it.”
    Piper blinked. Were they communicating like people? For real?
    With an unhappy grumble, Zwi slid off his shoulder and disappeared into the dark room. Piper stared, not quite able to believe it. Seconds later, Zwi landed on his shoulder, the ring box in her mouth. She gave Piper a resentful look as Ash held out his hand. The dragonet grudgingly dropped it.
    Ash just looked at the ring box. Looked at it long enough that panic sparked. She jumped forward and snatched it out of his palm.
    His shoulders stiffened. Piper’s heartbeat stuttered. It suddenly seemed much darker in the narrow hallway. She inched back a step, fighting to project nonchalant confidence. Predators attacked the weak. He tracked her unsubtle retreat without expression but there was a taste of aggression in the air—a taste of power and blood.
    With a sudden huff, he rolled his shoulders and shifted his weight, nearly unbalancing Zwi. As the cloak of impending violence slid away, Piper exhaled sharply. Furtively monitoring his body language, she stuck the ring box back in her shirt. She really needed jeans with functioning pockets.
    He raised his eyebrows at her storage choice. She shot him a mutinous look. The silence stretched.
    Fingers whispered down her sides. Hands caught her hips and pulled them backward. Lyre rubbed against her, purring in her ear. Piper threw herself forward with such force that she almost crashed into Ash. Whirling around, she let her fist fly. It smacked solidly into Lyre’s palm and he grinned. Damn supernaturally fast daemons.
    “Feisty tonight, my love,” he approved, stroking his fingers across the back of her hand. He too wore nothing but sleep pants and was as yummy as Ash—even more so because he didn’t make the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.
    Lyre’s gaze flicked to Ash. “Is this what it looks like? A moonlit tryst?” He pouted. “Why wasn’t I invited?”
    Recovering her wits, Piper tried to pull her fist out of his grip. “Let go,” she demanded. “What are you doing up? Go back to bed.”
    “Only if you come with me,” he breathed, shifting closer. Piper stepped back, her breath catching as Lyre’s eyes went dark. Warmth spilled through her in a rising blush as his gaze slowly slid down her and back up again, lingering in obvious places before coming to rest on her mouth. He slid closer still and Piper stepped back only to thump into Ash, still standing in the doorway to his room. She lurched forward but Lyre had closed the gap. She stood between them with nowhere to go, caught in the heat of their bodies, her heart pounding.
    Oh no. This was not going to happen.
    Baring her teeth, she balled up her other hand and drove her fist into Lyre’s stomach. He gasped and took a step back. With no room to get in a good swing, the punch hadn’t had much force but it was enough. Ripping her other hand free, she fell into a fighting stance and drew her other fist back.
    A hand closed on her wrist, firm but gentle. Another touched her shoulder and the next thing she knew, Ash had turned her and pushed her out from between them. She sprang away and whipped around again, ready to attack, but it was Ash in front of her, not Lyre. He stood sideways between them, an impenetrable barrier.
    “Lyre,” he said quietly. “Apologize. You frightened her.”
    “I’m not scared of him,” she snapped, not relaxing her stance.
    Lyre’s eyes were gold again, the dark heat gone. He frowned and raked a hand through his white-blond hair. “Damn it, Piper. You know I wouldn’t do anything. You’re the damned Head Consul’s daughter, for Taroth’s sake.”
    She gave him a killing look and he huffed in frustration. “Look, I’m sorry, okay? You were never this touchy before.”
    She folded her arms over her chest and looked away from his questioning gaze. “Things are different now, okay? I don’t want you touching