Ivory (Manhatten ten) Read Online Free PDF

was always a chance…
    Channeling my anger and fear, I let the emotions pool in my hands. I drew out the ice spear in one moment, as fast, as aggressive as I ever had on the hunt.
    With a soul-deep scream, using every muscle I had, I hurled the spear at a wall. A spectacular crash sounded as the ice dusted against concrete. The shards’ vibrations tickled my toes.  
    I felt slightly better, but every use of my power was a delicate dance. Using a little took the edge off but tempted me to use more.  
    Instead of giving in, I climbed on top of the waist-high safety barrier and perched for some moments, looking over the city as I searched for inner balance. Up so high, the sounds faded. When I closed my eyes the only noise was the wind whipping between skyscrapers. The air tasted of gasoline and donut shops and of the millions of people that swarmed the city. I wouldn’t mind being in New York if I could take to the streets and experience it, but when I did open my eyes, the crowds below were pointing and the cameras trained my way.
    I fled before they could summon a news copter.
    Inside was stuffy in comparison, but I felt a bit more in control when I punched the button for the sixteenth floor.
    The door pinged open and the calm shattered.
    Panther sprawled on the living room sofa with the remote. Food smells wafted from the kitchen, and the TV blared its recently live coverage of me on the edge of the building.
    “Find your center?” Panther rolled onto his belly, fixing me with a stare.
    “I thought my privacy would be respected.” My hard-earned peace was already frayed. I shouldn’t have left my room, but I’d have gone crazy if I was trapped inside.
    “It is.” He rolled all the way up, flexing his muscles like a cat. “I brought you lunch as an apology for Cyclone.”
    “I don’t accept secondhand apologies.” Cyclone owed me one himself.
    “Then I’m sorry for getting you tangled in this.” He clicked the TV off. “Would you like to have lunch with me?”
    It was harder to throw him out when he was playing polite, and whatever he’d popped in the oven smelled delicious. “Very well.”
    “You won’t be disappointed.”  
    As he moved about the kitchen, I perched on one of the barstools. Who would have guessed Panther could cook? Watching him move was another type of buffet. His deadly grace captivated my gaze. My tribesmen could be physically imposing, but Panther was a mountain of honed and toned muscle. He was like no man I’d ever met.
    Donning a pair of oven mitts that barely squeezed over his hands, Panther removed a tray of french fries from the oven. “Rosemary.” He shook them into the waiting bowl. “And for any other woman, I’d work my grill mojo, but for you…” He uncovered a tray I hadn’t seen. “Steak tartare.”
    A raw egg yolk garnished each circle of chopped pink meat. My mouth watered. There were so few socially acceptable ways to eat uncooked beef…it was a risk for Panther, serving such a thing to someone he didn’t know.
    But maybe he knew me better than I wanted.
    “Pegged you for a carnivore.” His panther-eyes glowed yellow. “Plus some grease for the beast.” He popped a fry into his mouth.
    I might’ve feigned distaste, but the meal looked too delicious. Instead, I took the offered plate. “Thank you.”
    Panther took the next barstool and we both dug in. Fresh herbs seasoned the meat and I closed my eyes to savor the taste, but Panther didn’t mean to let me enjoy myself in silence.
    “What’s with all the self-denial? You need to let loose.”
    “Excuse me?” He didn’t know me that well.
    He swirled a fry in ketchup and fixed me with a warm smile. The expression was much too intimate. “Unwind. You should let the badass warrior woman out more often. She’s hot.”
    “I like control.” Though at the moment, I was trying my best not to bend my fork in half. “Letting loose is the last thing I need to do. Not that it’s your