Heartbitten (A New Adult Vampire Romance Novel) Read Online Free PDF

her bedside table, and took a couple of aspirin for good measure. The dawn light streamed in through her window, making bright pinpoints out of the floating dust in the room. Liz's feet were cold on the hardwood floor, and she shivered before pulling on her socks and getting dressed. Today she would meet the director of the lab! Liz hoped that he would be excited about their research. She and Jenny would be able to tidy up everything and get the lab perfectly ready!
    Fully awake, she tiptoed into Jenny's room and set down the water and aspirin bottle next to her roommate’s bed. She'd be grateful when she woke up.
    Jenny stirred in her sleep, and Liz realized with a jolt that her roommate was not alone in her bed: alongside her, another person shifted under the covers. Embarrassed, Liz backed away, hoping not to wake either of them. She stepped on a pen cap—ouch!—and bit her lip to avoid squealing. Backing quickly out of the room, she shut the door behind her.
    "There goes that plan," Liz muttered, scooping up a protein bar and another water bottle and dumping them into her bag. She would just have to get the lab ready by herself. First, though, the library.
    At the library, Liz found that the librarian had already picked out the chemistry reference books she'd placed on hold and was waiting on the library assistants to unpack the morning shipment for the last book.
    "Fifteen, twenty minutes, dear," the librarian said, looking a bit frazzled. "Sorry, we're behind today due to the dedication ceremony." She motioned at the workers setting up chairs.
    "No problem."
    Liz wandered through the library. It was kind of nice to get a bit of a breather after such a stressful week. She'd arrived in London excited to explore the city, but she'd spent the first few days getting all of her graduate classes scheduled and registered, and then they'd had to clean the lab for the beginning of the semester. There had been no time for sightseeing. And she loved visiting libraries. Especially here, in London! There must be a thousand old libraries to explore...
    Liz walked up the stairs where there were a number of private collection rooms. Curious, she tried the door to one of them, but it was locked.
    "Rats," she said. Antique books were so fun to flip through. Especially the old science texts, with their hand drawn illustrations of plants and dissected animals.
    She noticed an open door at the end of the hallway, and she walked down to check it out. Poking her head inside, she was confronted with shelves upon shelves of old books. Though the room was not large, it was packed to the brim with...poetry, it looked like. Liz leaned over to see how far the shelves of books ran, and her heart jumped into her throat. She quickly ducked her head back out of sight.
    There was a man. He was lying down on a couch in the back. Liz was about to leave when she heard him whisper a few words, and she peered back around the shelf.
    He wasn't talking to her. No, he was—he was reading aloud. His lips moved only slightly, and Liz found herself leaning forward to hear what he was saying.
     
    The summer night waneth, the morning light slips,
    Faint and grey 'twixt the leaves of the aspen, betwixt the cloud-bars
    That are patiently waiting there for the dawn.
     
    Liz found herself holding her breath as she watched him. His body was splayed casually over the couch, and his profile was handsomely square. At least as far as Liz could see.
    Stop being a creep , Liz, she told herself. She really should just say hello and introduce herself. Maybe he was an English major at the university. No, he looked old enough to be in grad school, at least. An adjunct professor? His dark hair fell slightly over his cheeks—he needed a shave. But damn, he was handsome. Way too handsome. Out of my league.
    Before Liz could steel herself to say a word to him, she saw a tear run down his cheek. He was crying.
    Oh, god. She was spying on someone while they cried. How utterly lame