Hot Summer Bites: A Castle of Dark Dreams Novella (A Penguin Special from Berkley Sensation) Read Online Free PDF

thing going on, and it was sort of creeping her out. Stone floor, stone walls, a variety of torture instruments, and a big black-caped guy standing in the middle of it all were enough to put a chill in the air. She shivered. Kudos to whoever was in charge of sets here.
    “And what did Holgarth send me tonight?” His soft laughter sounded more sinister than amused. “I assume you’re a choice morsel, but it’s hard to tell with all the brown wrapping paper. Come to me so I can strip away all those layers and sample your life’s essence.”
    “Choice morsel? You’ve gotta be kidding.” She clenched both hands around the sword as she prepared to attempt to lift it, oh say, maybe five inches off the floor. “And let’s do away with euphemisms. You want to suck my blood, vampire.” Wait, he didn’t sound like Eric, but his voice
was
familiar, even muffled by the cape.
    His laughter was more sincere this time. “Lots of attitude. I like it. Any ideas about how you’ll reach my neck with that sword? I won’t have any trouble reaching yours.” He stepped closer.
    “Taurin?” She knew it was his voice, and yet it wasn’t. His voice seemed deeper, with a disturbing note of compulsion in it. Compulsion? Okay, time for some brain defogging.
    “Not at this moment in this place.” He moved even closer, invading her space, blocking out the light, and filling her total field of vision with intimidating male.
    She resisted the urge to back up and tried to immerse herself in the fantasy. “Come any closer, and I’ll . . . cut you off at the ankles.” Kristin sensed his smile behind his improvised mask.
    “Can’t lift that sword any higher, huh?”
    “Stupid sword.”
    “I guess I could bend down, but I have a better idea.” Taking that last step, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. “Let’s explore coexistence strategies.”
    Kristin noticed something right away. He had to let go of his cape in order to hold her. The cape gaped open. There was lots of bare vampire pressed against her.
    She mentally stroked her chin. Ah, so the rumors of sex in the citadel were true. “Sex and the Citadel,” a great title for her article.
    Time for her to put her investigative skills to use. She wiggled her body against his to get a feel for the situation. Mmm, hard muscle beneath smooth skin. Too bad she couldn’t ditch her dumb costume. It always paid to get close to your subject, the closer the better.
    His body heat warmed her. Everywhere. Sweat pooled between her breasts and trickled a sensual path south where the action was sizzling. Her Center for Sexual Excitement had realized the potential for imminent erotic diversion and kicked into high gear. All that tactile stimulation along with the heavy feeling building low in her belly made her drop her useless sword so she could reach for her robe.
    As he released her, she glanced at his face. And froze.
    Whoever did the makeup here was a pro. Sure the dungeon was dark, but she was close enough to spot a phony vampire face. Taurin’s face looked as real as her own. Well, maybe not quite as
human
as her own. He was vampire. His eyes were larger and sort of elongated. And they were the blackest eyes she’d ever seen. But it was his mouth that riveted her. His lips were fuller, more sensual,
tempting
.
    He smiled, a wicked lifting of his lips that exposed gleaming fangs. Kristin shuddered. At least she knew why his mouth looked so sexy. He was covering up some serious dental hardware.
    She was conflicted. On one hand, even in vampire form he was so hot she expected the air around him to ignite. On the other hand, those were some heavy-duty canines. And she’d been right, they were white and shiny—evidence that he did a lot of polishing.
    “Come to me, Kristin.” His low, husky murmur promised she wouldn’t be sorry.
    Kristin took a deep breath. Reality-check time. This was just a fantasy. His fangs were fake. Taurin wasn’t a vampire; he was just a