Hunger Aroused Read Online Free PDF Page A

She was sure of it.
    Whirling on her feet, she pushed past him to run into the bathroom. Skidding to a halt in front of the vanity mirror, she opened wide. Jasmine angled her head to stare at two small new deformations within her mouth. He couldn’t be right. This didn’t make sense!
    â€œSoon, they’ll elongate and sharpen,” Corin said softly from behind her. She lifted her head to capture his reflection in the mirror. “Once they do, piercing the skin will be easier.”
    â€œBut—”
    â€œThe part about drinking blood is true, but I assure you it’s a very sensual experience. One that brings pleasure to both the giver and the receiver. We wouldn’t have survived all this time if it were any other way.”
    She used her fingertip to graze the porcelain end of one, and then whispered, “You’re not lying to me.”
    â€œNo. I’m not.”
    â€œAnd you’re going to kill me?” Her voice withered.
    â€œIt’s what I’ve been sent by the vampire council to do.”
    Limp legs refused to hold her upright, and Jasmine half-stumbled, half-collapsed onto the closed toilet seat. A bagel consumed first thing in the morning, along with a cup of coffee, tumbled within her stomach, choosing now to consider making a reappearance. She bent over, forcing her face between her knees, and tried to steady her collapsing mind.
    Okay. Breathe. Think through this.
    Except nothing about her day made any sense, so why should this? She left the familiar humdrum of her job because she felt like death warmed over. She, who had more leave time accrued than anyone else, dared to leave early. When she’d gotten home, she thought she was on the verge of dying. Hovering right outside of Death’s grip until a stranger entered her home and gave her a screaming orgasm as a cure. Now the same man, her knight in shining armor, told her she was well on her way to becoming a vampire. Oh yeah. To top all that off, he would be killing her in three days.
    There were no friends to mourn her loss after he killed her, other than a few co-workers from the clinic. No family except a few estranged cousins from her father’s side. When she lost her parents over a decade ago, she’d thought then that she was heartbreakingly alone in the world. Right now, the truth of that statement struck her.
    Apples and cinnamon invaded her nose, and she looked up in time to see Corin lower himself to her seated height. “Whoever did this to you has a responsibility to keep. He’s also broken one of our laws. I can’t find him without you.”
    â€œWhat kind of responsibility?” She felt bone-weary. Ready to lie down and just sleep the next hundred years away. She was shaking all over, the threat of an imminent death taking her by more surprise than she thought possible. While she didn’t fear dying, knowing it was so close at hand made her stomach roll.
    â€œYou shouldn’t go through the transition alone.” A pained look crossed his features, but vanished just as quickly.
    â€œIs it so bad?”
    â€œThe time before you’ve matured is very uncomfortable. You experienced some of its effects earlier.”
    â€œThe endorphins, right?”
    â€œYeah. I can smell the change on you now because they’re wearing off. Do you feel it?”
    Jasmine tensed, her mind whirling, because she did not want to feel it. She did not want a repeat of earlier when her body was not her own. When she would have gladly ripped the skin from her flesh if only to ease some of the ache.
    But dear God, there it was. The slow build in the center of her belly. The pace of her breathing increased. “What do I do?”
    â€œThere’s nothing to do. Wait for it to arrive, and then pass.”
    â€œYou said it’ll get worse.”
    He nodded somberly. “It will.”
    No—she couldn’t handle worse. She couldn’t stand this at all. What had