Evading (Regent Vampire Lords Book 4) Read Online Free PDF Page A

him. This time for good. Because next time she walked through that door, he wasn’t letting her leave. Ever.

4
    Giselle

    S itting in the kitchen , alone in the dark, Giselle took a long drink of her vodka and pondered the events of the last several months.
    Of the interminable war with Xavier.
    Of her torture at his minions’ hands.
    Of the unusual fact all three Regent Vampire Lords had met and bonded with their Moiras within the last six months.
    But mostly, she thought about one Detective Mike Thatcher.
    She knew the moment their eyes met almost a year ago now that he was hers. He was her Fated. The only male meant for her.
    But she hadn’t been looking for her mate. She didn’t want to be tied to any male. Ever . She’d been perfectly content alone.
    Until he showed up.
    And changed everything.
    He’d fucking changed everything .
    And try as she might to fight it— them —she was failing. Horribly.
    She’d never seen a male—human or vampire—as beautiful as Mike. He was built and bulky for a human. Sensual need always swirled in his stormy blue, hooded eyes, which were framed by thick, dark lashes and brows. The scruff he wore well gave him a rough-hewn sort of vibe that fit him perfectly.
    But his mouth—that’s what really got her. His lips cut through bullshit and his tongue was razor sharp. His barbs and verbal sparring went straight to her sex, making her hot and needy.
    He was her match. Her equal.
    Not one person she’d ever run across had gotten to her like the detective. Every single time she saw him, he’d pluck another thorn from her prickly persona, leaving the tiniest of holes that she couldn’t cover quick enough before he wormed his way underneath. That left her vulnerable. Shaken to her fucking core. And pissed off as hell. She needed those damn thorns. They were the only things protecting her fragile insides. Her skin was a rose bed of them…and the bed was thinning quickly.
    Not knowing how to deal, she did something she was not proud of. Going against the grain that made her who she was.
    She ran .
    From him.
    From herself.
    From them .
    In the beginning, it was self-preservation. The detective detested her kind and in some twisted way she understood. Xavier had taken away the female he thought he was supposed to spend his life with. But he wasn’t meant to spend it with Jamie. He was meant to spend it with her ; he just didn’t know it. And he certainly would never accept it. Didn’t that just figure. He hated her guts because of something that was completely out of her control.
    Same story. New century. Different male.
    Try as she might, though, she couldn’t seem to escape him. They’d been incessantly thrown together now for months on end and it was a daily struggle to keep her feelings hidden. They both pushed each other’s buttons. Danced around their feelings. It felt an awful lot like a game of cat and mouse. While Giselle was always the stealthy feline, in this particular game she was most definitely the timid prey. Goading him was all fun and games until she realized he actually wanted her back.
    But now…now she ran because…well, she was scared. Terrified, really. Humans and vampires were no different when it came to the ugly truth. They would say they want to know you, the real you, but once you let them inside, they’d want to turn away because viewing genuine ugliness through a clear lens is like getting a sneak peek into hell. It’s impossible to comprehend the depths of deviance and depravity others are capable of, and seeing it up close and personal means you can’t deny it’s real anymore.
    And when you loved someone, you opened that fucking door and let all your insides pour out. The good, the bad, and the ugly .
    So this…
    “I love you, Giselle.”
    …this was almost too much to handle.
    He’d want to see her ugly and she couldn’t let him.
    So where did that leave them?
    She really didn’t know.
    It had been more than twenty-four hours since