Mine Read Online Free PDF Page A

through the crowded 24

     

    dance floor and outside. Once they cleared the gaggle of clubbers on the sidewalk, he angled to the left, tugging her into the shadows at the corner of the building. She immediately resisted, but her efforts were futile. Clamping his hand over her mouth, he wrapped an arm around her waist, jerking her off her feet. In the blink of a Mortal eye, he dragged her around the back of the building and into the dingy alley.
    He swept a quick glance from one end of the alley to the other. One last check. All clear.
    Spinning her in his arm, he kept his hand fastened over her mouth. Her wet fearful eyes beseeched him. She whimpered against his palm.
    Pitiful .
    He shot an idle glance at his wristwatch while she strained, shoving at his chest. Almost time.
    He released her waist and sank his fingers into her hair, fisting them. Yanking her head back, he lowered his lips to her taut skin. She sobbed as he ran the tip of his tongue along the bulging vein. Her pulse rushed beneath his tongue, and his eyes burned as they changed. His fangs shot longer, the skin on his face stretched tight. Power surged inside him. The animalistic insatiable need to feed was almost undeniable. But he fought it.
    He. Would. Not. Drink.
    Thirty seconds. He lifted his head, leering down into wide, horrified eyes. Her jaw worked beneath his palm. Shrieks of terror filled her throat, trapped. She writhed against him, arms flailing. Fingers curled as she clawed at his chest.
    Tiny bursts of pain erupted all along his shin. Ten seconds. He opened his mouth…wide…fangs stretched, saliva pooled in his mouth. His nostrils flared. Four. Three. He swallowed the saliva.
    There would be no healing for her. And no 25
     

     
    pleasure in his embrace. This was not a Kiss.
    His fangs sank into her throat, a hot knife through butter. Blood seeped onto his tongue, and his gut clenched tight at the alluring flavor. It would be so easy to drain her.
    No, no. She was meant for something else. He could stop off for a bite later. Now he had to focus. Her body stilled against him, her struggles faltered. Turning his head ever so slightly, fangs still buried deep in her vein, he sliced through the delicate tissue, severing the vein. Withdrawing his fangs took a monumental effort. Lifting his head, he grinned down into her dulling eyes, his lips damp as blood gushed from the puncture.
    Without a word of warning, he snapped her neck, then he dropped her onto the filthy pavement. Like a used candy wrapper. Drawing a tissue from his pocket, he blotted at his mouth, and he shoved the tissue back into his pocket. He checked his watch one last time. Eleven o’clock on the dot. Perfect.
    Bending down, he positioned her head, just so…so that one side of her neck, milky white beside delicious crimson, gleamed up at him.
    Swabbing a finger in the blood pooling beneath her, he stroked the number across her flesh.
    Straightening, he licked the blood from his finger with relish. Yeah, he’d have to stop off for something on his way home…a redhead would taste good right about now.
    Humming the opening bars to H.I.M.’s “Bleed Well,” he thrust his hands deep into his pockets and strolled away.
    ****
     
    Cole’s phone vibrated in his pocket as he eased his car from the garage. Glancing sideways at Styx, he dug the phone free. Flipping it to his ear, he offered a terse, “Gunnarrson…” 26
     

    He listened for a few moments in silence, and snarled a nasty expletive. He flicked the phone closed, tossed it on the dash, and smashed his palm against the steering wheel.
    “Another one?”
    Cole nodded, his eyes killing the gravel lane ahead of them.
    “Where?”
    “Eleven hundred Lusitania Road.” As soon as they cleared the security gates, Cole hit the accelerator, pushing Styx back in his seat.
    “Change of plans.”
    Having set a new land speed record, Cole down shifted the Corvette and entered the parking lot connected to Fangs . A steady crowd