Descended (The Red Blindfold Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

didn’t know my name?
    When I stood up, a
slight chill of awareness rippled over my skin. I stood frozen in
place with my arms at my sides. If Drex was behind me -- and I knew
he was -- he’d seen me bend over. I’d almost gotten used to
wearing so little, but now I felt self-conscious and flustered. The
t-shirt covered only half my backside. The one bit of good luck was
that the panties weren’t sheer, though they sure didn’t cover
much.
    “Chimayo doesn’t
look so bad from a distance, does it?” he said, coming up beside
me.
    I turned my face so he
wouldn’t see me flushing. “The lights are beautiful.”
    “They’re even
better with nothing in front of them.”
    He pressed a button on
the wall and the glass slid open, letting in the warm evening air.
The breeze felt like velvet against my scraped and aching legs. Drawn
to the view, I walked toward the terrace, careful not to touch the
furniture with my dirty fingers.
    “What’s a house
like this doing out here?” I asked, stepping onto the patio.
    “It belongs to an old
friend of mine,” Drex said, following me outside. “There are
eighteen gun shops in Chimayo and he owns all but two of them. In
this part of the country, that’s a damn good living.”
    “You don’t mind
being so far away from the city?”
    “I like it. There’s
no phone, TV, or internet. It forces me to relax, which is hard to do
in this town.”
    No TV and no internet.
How was I going to find out who I was when I was cut off from the
world in the middle of the desert?
    “The security could
be better,” he continued. “This is a pretty lawless area, if you
haven’t noticed. That’s why I got out of my truck when I saw you.
I could tell you weren’t a local.”
    “It must have been
the tourist outfit,” I said.
    One corner of his mouth
turned up. “Yeah. Dead giveaway.”
    I felt his eyes on me,
examining my face and dirty bare skin. I shivered as if he’d
touched me with cold hands. Why hadn’t I asked him for something to
wear as soon as I walked in the door?
    “You must be hungry,”
he said. “When’s the last time you ate?”
    My stomach ached at the
thought of food. For three days I’d tried to master the art of
ignoring hunger pangs, but had failed every time. “This morning,”
I said.
    “How did you eat if
you had no money?”
    “Drex…” It was
the first time I’d said his name, and it felt sensual and forbidden
on my tongue.
    He gave me a warning
glare. “Spit it out,” he said. “As long as you’re here,
you’re going to be straight with me.”
    I was too proud to tell
him, but too exhausted to lie. “I stole a muffin from a convenience
store, all right?” I said with a sigh. “Is that straight enough
for you?”
    He stared at me before
giving me a smile that made his eyes crinkle. “Now that we’ve
established you’re not a hardened criminal, I feel safe letting you
stay the night.”
    A filched muffin was
just the start of the story, but there was a warm bed hanging in the
balance. “You won’t regret it,” I said.
    “I hope not,” he
said. “Ready to see your room?”
    My
room. I’d never heard two more wonderful words. “Yes,
thank you.”
    After the last hour in
Drex’s company – or was it custody? – I desperately needed time
alone. If I didn’t look at him for a little while, maybe I could
gather my wits again.
    “While you rest and
take a bath, I’ll make you a real meal. We’ll get you some
clothes tomorrow. Tonight, you can make do with some of mine.”
    I followed him down a
long hallway lined with windows on one side and abstract art on the
other. The house was so quiet after days on the road, I could hear a
hum in my ears.
    “Here we are,” he
said, stopping at an open door.
    When I stepped into the
guest room after him, all of the tears I’d suppressed swelled into
my throat. I forced them down and put on the widest smile I could.
    I’d gone from
shoplifting to splendor in twelve short hours. There was a