Dark Needs at Night's Edge Read Online Free PDF Page B
Author: Kresley Cole
his loose pants. How long was it? She waved her hand to tug the shirt farther up his torso. The scar continued. Nibbling her lip, she painstakingly manipulated the buttons until she could unfasten them all and spread the sides wide.
The scar nearly reached up to his heart. It appeared as if a razor-sharp blade had entered at his stomach and slashed upward.
When she could drag her gaze from the mark, she surveyed his bared chest. It was broad and generously packed with muscle. With his hands behind his back, those rippling muscles seemed to flex even at rest. His entire torso looked hard as rock, with not a spare ounce on him.
She wondered what his skin would feel like. She would never knowâ¦.
His pants waist sat so low that she could see the line of crisp, black hair descending from his navel. That dusky trail taunted her to ease his pants lower, but she resistedâbarely.
The men Néomi had been attracted to in the past had been older and handsome in a soft, cultured way. In contrast, this male was all hardness and sharp edges.
So why did she find his battle-scarred body so attractive?
â Oh, wake up, Conrad, â she said with difficulty. Speaking was an arduous undertaking for herâshe often felt like she was trying to shove elephant-sized sounds through a pinhole. To her, the words came out echoing and extended. âJustâ¦wake up.â She wanted to jump on the bed or scream in his ear. If sheâd had a bucket of waterâ
Conradâs eyes shot wide open.
He comes to. The light is murder on his sensitive eyes. Pain shoots through him. He grits his teeth against waves of it.
Get free. He fights his bonds. Limbs feel leaden. Drugged. Rage stabs him, the need to kill strangles him like clenched hands around his own throat.
How long have I been out? He remembers where he is. The manorâas forbidding as heâd sensed it would be. When heâd been in the car, the sight of it had made him sweat and thrash.
The feeling of being watched is multiplied here, the tingle on the back of his neck unrelenting.
He tenses. Heâd seen⦠had he seen a spill of shining black hair as some female twirled round? Canât determine whatâs real and whatâs illusion . Before she vanished, heâd thought heâd glimpsed blue eyes going wide with surprise. Heâd smelled roses and had seen a bared shoulderâslim and impossibly pale. Yet no one else had reacted to her.
Which means she canât be real.
Anything he sees that others donât is suspect. Sheâs likely a figment in his mind from anotherâs memory. Someone that heâs drunk had known her as a wife, a mistressâ¦or one of their own victims.
He strains harder against the chains. Nothing. Metal like this shouldnât be able to hold him. Unless⦠Mystickally reinforced .
Damn his brothers to hell! Why in the fuck would they bring him here? This place feels wrong, menacing. He doesnât know how or why. Doesnât care. Just know I have to get free.
Suddenly the smell of roses surrounds him. Iâm not alone in this room. Though he sees nothing, thereâs another presence here. Is it the female from before? Was there a female before? He begins to sweat.
Something is inches from him, creeping closerâ¦he could swear he feels warm breaths against his ear. He writhes, baring his fangs in warning. The need to kill seethes inside him.
Closerâ¦closerâ¦
From directly beside his ear he scarcely hears a voice. He canât make out the faltering words.
But he senses expectancy âa yearning that hits him in roiling waves. His head feels like itâs about to explode. Heâs supposed to do something. âWhat? What? â He doesnât knowâ¦doesnât know what heâs supposed to doâ¦
He hates this need he senses.
âSeeeeee meeeeee?â the faint voice says. He jerks his head back and forth. Sees nothing.
He lunges upright,
The scar nearly reached up to his heart. It appeared as if a razor-sharp blade had entered at his stomach and slashed upward.
When she could drag her gaze from the mark, she surveyed his bared chest. It was broad and generously packed with muscle. With his hands behind his back, those rippling muscles seemed to flex even at rest. His entire torso looked hard as rock, with not a spare ounce on him.
She wondered what his skin would feel like. She would never knowâ¦.
His pants waist sat so low that she could see the line of crisp, black hair descending from his navel. That dusky trail taunted her to ease his pants lower, but she resistedâbarely.
The men Néomi had been attracted to in the past had been older and handsome in a soft, cultured way. In contrast, this male was all hardness and sharp edges.
So why did she find his battle-scarred body so attractive?
â Oh, wake up, Conrad, â she said with difficulty. Speaking was an arduous undertaking for herâshe often felt like she was trying to shove elephant-sized sounds through a pinhole. To her, the words came out echoing and extended. âJustâ¦wake up.â She wanted to jump on the bed or scream in his ear. If sheâd had a bucket of waterâ
Conradâs eyes shot wide open.
He comes to. The light is murder on his sensitive eyes. Pain shoots through him. He grits his teeth against waves of it.
Get free. He fights his bonds. Limbs feel leaden. Drugged. Rage stabs him, the need to kill strangles him like clenched hands around his own throat.
How long have I been out? He remembers where he is. The manorâas forbidding as heâd sensed it would be. When heâd been in the car, the sight of it had made him sweat and thrash.
The feeling of being watched is multiplied here, the tingle on the back of his neck unrelenting.
He tenses. Heâd seen⦠had he seen a spill of shining black hair as some female twirled round? Canât determine whatâs real and whatâs illusion . Before she vanished, heâd thought heâd glimpsed blue eyes going wide with surprise. Heâd smelled roses and had seen a bared shoulderâslim and impossibly pale. Yet no one else had reacted to her.
Which means she canât be real.
Anything he sees that others donât is suspect. Sheâs likely a figment in his mind from anotherâs memory. Someone that heâs drunk had known her as a wife, a mistressâ¦or one of their own victims.
He strains harder against the chains. Nothing. Metal like this shouldnât be able to hold him. Unless⦠Mystickally reinforced .
Damn his brothers to hell! Why in the fuck would they bring him here? This place feels wrong, menacing. He doesnât know how or why. Doesnât care. Just know I have to get free.
Suddenly the smell of roses surrounds him. Iâm not alone in this room. Though he sees nothing, thereâs another presence here. Is it the female from before? Was there a female before? He begins to sweat.
Something is inches from him, creeping closerâ¦he could swear he feels warm breaths against his ear. He writhes, baring his fangs in warning. The need to kill seethes inside him.
Closerâ¦closerâ¦
From directly beside his ear he scarcely hears a voice. He canât make out the faltering words.
But he senses expectancy âa yearning that hits him in roiling waves. His head feels like itâs about to explode. Heâs supposed to do something. âWhat? What? â He doesnât knowâ¦doesnât know what heâs supposed to doâ¦
He hates this need he senses.
âSeeeeee meeeeee?â the faint voice says. He jerks his head back and forth. Sees nothing.
He lunges upright,