Embrace The Night Read Online Free PDF

asked.
    Sage could have sworn she saw the white flash of a smile, but if she did, it was gone just as quickly. He moved to the side, still holding her assailant. She walked up to her attacker and, without hesitation, jammed her knee into his groin.
    “Don’t ever come near me again,” she said as he squealed and choked beneath Simon’s hand. An elegant hand, wide and dark with slender fingers that looked as if they couldn’t be strong enough to hold a man at bay. He wore a strap around his tanned wrist, flat and smooth.
    “You heard the lady,” Simon added, then as nonchalantly as if he’d shaken the man’s hand, he released him and turned to Sage. “What do you want me to do with him?”
    “What do you mean?” Despite the casualness of his demeanor, now that they were facing each other, she could see the danger in his eyes. Cold and merciless. Was he asking if she wanted him to
kill
him? Or what? She felt a little tremor deep inside her belly and bit her lip. Ow. It was sore and puffy from when the guy’d hit her.
    Simon shrugged, a subtle movement as if he were as spare with his gestures as he was with his words. “The cops? Jail?”
    Sage glanced at the sorry excuse for a man, who looked as if he were about to expire on the spot. He wasn’t going anywhere for a while. And she really didn’t want to draw attention to herself.
    As if reading her mind, Simon looked back down at the puddle of skin, bones, and sticky blood. There might have been a heartbeat in there, too, somewhere, and maybe a few working organs. But no brain to speak of.
    “If I see you near her again—or hear about any other incident, I’ll break both of your legs. Into four pieces each.” He said it as if he were ordering a dish of ice cream. With caramel sauce. “And then I’ll sic her on you to finish the job.”
    Sage felt the man shiver next to her leg and felt a grain of pity for him. Only a grain. Then it was gone. “Leave him here,” she said, answering his original question. “He won’t bother me again.”
    Simon gave a nod. He didn’t say anything, but she felt his eyes score over her as if to ensure that she was all right. As he did that, Sage realized that the bodice of her dress hung open, torn to her waist, barely clinging to her shoulders.
    “Here,” he said, slipping off the shirt he wore over his tee.
    She took it. The fabric was warm and well worn, and she slipped her arms through the sleeves, unable to ignore the scent that came with it. Nothing that she could identify, but it was subtle and masculine, and she liked it. She buttoned it and rolled up the sleeves even more than they’d already been rolled.
    “You broke his nose,” Simon commented, directing her toward the door.
    “Did I?” Sage was more than willing to leave, as she felt the adrenaline beginning to subside. Her knees buckled as she took a step, but she caught herself before Simon noticed, and she swallowed back the nausea that threatened to bubble up from her suddenly churning stomach. She was glad he hadn’t made any move to comfort her, to put his arms around her or to otherwise croon over her, pet her—do all the things people did when something awful happened.
    She wasn’t a child, needing to be held and petted, tears brushed away. She could handle this. The worst that had happened, thank God, was a few bruises and a torn dress. Jade hated that sundress anyway, so she’d be glad it was ruined. Even Flo wouldn’t be able to fix it.
    And besides, if Simon was going to touch her, she didn’t want it to be because he felt pity for her.
    Whoa.
    She almost stopped walking, the thought had been so…unexpected. So non sequitur So…odd.
    Her belly tingling, Sage resisted the strong urge to look up at him. “Thank you,” she said, realizing suddenly that she’d been remiss in expressing her gratitude. She might have broken the guy’s nose and fought back, but he’d been gaining the upper hand. If Simon hadn’t arrived…
    He shrugged