Otherworld Nights Read Online Free PDF

head. Then I leaned over.
    His eyes opened. Deep brown eyes, the color of rich earth. He snarled a yawn.
    “ ’Bout time, Cass,” Aaron said. “Couple of punks been circling to see if I’m still conscious. Another few minutes and I’d have had to teach them to let sleeping vamps lie.”
    “Shall I go away, then? Let you have your fun?”
    “Nah. They come back? We can both have fun.” He heaved his legs over the side of the garden wall and sat up, shaking off sleep. Then, catching a glimpse of my face, his grin dropped into a frown. “You didn’t do it, did you?”
    “I couldn’t find anyone.”
    “Couldn’t find—?” He pushed to his feet, towering over me. “Goddamn it, what are you playing at? First you let it go until the last minute, then you ‘can’t find anyone’?”
    I checked my watch. “It’s not the last minute. I still have ten left. I trust that if I explode at midnight, you’ll be kind enough to sweep up the bits. I would like to be scattered over the Atlantic, but if you’re pressed for time, the Charleston River will do.”
    He glowered at me. “A hundred and twenty years together, and you never got within a week of your rebirth day without making your kill.”
    “Hungary. 1867.”
    “Sixty-eight. And I don’t see any bars this time. So what’s your excuse?”
    “Among others, I was busy researching that council matter Paige brought to my attention. I admit I let things creep up on me this year, and a century ago that would never have happened, but while we were apart I changed—”
    “Bullshit. You never change. Except to get more impervious, more pigheaded, and more cranky.”
    I started down the path. He muttered a few more descriptors behind me.
    “You’d better be going off to find someone,” he called after me.
    “No, I’m heading home to bed. I’m tired.”
    “Tired?” He strode up beside me. “You don’t get tired. You’re—”
    He stopped, mouth closing so fast his teeth clicked.
    “The word is ‘dying,’ ” I said. “And while that is true, and it is equally true that my recent inability to sleep is a symptom of that, tonight I am, indeed, tired.”
    “Because you’re late for your kill. You can’t pull this shit, Cassandra, not in your condition.”
    I gave an unladylike snort and kept walking.
    His fingers closed around my arm. “Let’s go find those punks. Have some fun.” A broad, boyish grin. “I think one has a gun. Been a long time since I got shot.”
    “Another day.”
    “A hunt, then.”
    “I’m not hungry.”
    “Well, I am. Yeah, I know you wanted to do this alone. That’s why I agreed to wait in the park. But you couldn’t find someone suitable, so let me help. I know what you look for. We’ll hunt together. I’ll get a snack; you’ll get another year. Fair enough?”
    He tried to grin, but I could see a hint of panic behind his eyes. I felt an answering prickle of worry, but told myself I was being ridiculous. I’d simply had too much on my mind lately. I’d snap out of this embarrassing lethargy and make this kill. Soon.
    “It’s not the end of the world—or
my
world—if I don’t take alife tonight, Aaron. You’ve been late yourself, when you couldn’t find someone suitable. I haven’t—and perhaps I’d simply like to know what that’s like.” I touched his arm. “At my age, new experiences are few and far between. I take them where I can.”
    He hesitated, then nodded, and accompanied me from the park.
    Aaron followed me home. That wasn’t nearly as exciting a prospect as it sounds. These days we were only friends. His choice.
    When I first met Aaron, less than a year after his rebirth, he’d accused me of helping him in his new life because he looked like something to “decorate my bed with.” True enough. Even as a human, I had never been able to muster more than a passing interest in men of my own social class. Too well mannered, too gently spoken, too
soft
. My tastes had run to stable boys and,