Possession Read Online Free PDF Page A

your tongue.”
    She gulped, then edged forward to hesitantly
tap his arm with the stick. Julian looked at the staff, then at
her, arching his brow. He extended one arm with a lightning-fast
movement, knocking her down with the end of his staff.
    “Take this seriously, will you?” he
asked.
    Catherine got up, rubbing her arm, and
sulking.
    “Aww, does poor little Cate have a bruise?”
he taunted.
    “Don’t call me that,” she muttered.
    “You say something, Catie ?”
    “No, sir.” She kept her eyes on the floor as
he circled her like the predator he was.
    “I think you did, little Cate… You gonna hit
me, or stare at your bloody toes all day?”
    Don’t let him get to you; don’t let him get
to you…
    It was one thing to learn how to throw a
punch, another to actually use a weapon on another being. Her
parents had always taught her to resolve conflicts with words, and
if she had to, run.
    Julian started poking her with the Bo as he
walked around her, just enough to be annoying. “Hit me, hit me, hit
me, hit me…”
    “No,” she ground out.
    “ No? You don’t get to say ‘no’ to
anythin’, sweetheart. Well, I’m sure you’ll say it plenty to Lorcan
when he rips into your sweet cunny, but--”
    That’s it!
    Catherine pivoted and brought the staff up
between his legs as hard as she could, her eyes wide as saucers a
second later. Julian groaned in pain and doubled over, but didn’t
fall. He limped around the room while she kept a wide berth between
them. She was deathly afraid of what he’d do once he could
straighten up.
    “Good hit,” Julian wheezed.
    “I…”
    “One, I told you to hit me, and two, always
fight dirty if it lets you live another day. Some punk on the
street isn’t going to stick to official boxing rules, and neither
will a demon. Continue, Miss Mitchell.”
    “Are you…?”
    She waved her hand in the direction of his
body, not believing he wanted to go again so soon. Wasn’t he still
in pain?
    Julian nodded encouragingly. “Three, learn to
fight through the pain. It’s hardly the worst hit I’ve ever gotten.
Come on, now. We’ll do somethin’ easy. I swing this way, you block
it.”
    She could do that, like playing patty-cake
with the sticks. He pivoted the staff slowly at different angles,
so she could meet them.
    Soon, Catherine got into the rhythm of it and
didn’t realize the speed was steadily increasing. The game stopped
when she managed to get through his defenses and bop him on the
nose.
    “Oh! Sorry!”
    He sniffed, but kept going. “Don’ worry ‘bout
it. No blood, no foul. It proves you’re getting better at reading,”
he said with a grin.
    Catherine smiled back
    ***
    Wow, she actually is a pretty little
thing, the vampire noted. We might make a good companion out
of her, yet.
    ***
    A chocolate truffle was on her pillow that
night when she turned in for bed, accompanied by a note.
    Have to respect a woman that goes for the
family jewels.
Julian
    Catherine giggled and popped the truffle in
her mouth. Mmm, bittersweet…
    It seemed like forever since she’d had any
chocolate.
    ***
    Waking up to find it was her time of the
month was inconvenient, but luckily, she had supplies in one of her
boxes.
    Catherine went about her day as normal,
though it might have seemed at lunch that the demons noticed her
more than usual.
    I’m sure I imagined it, she thought,
walking to class.
    As she rounded the corner, someone pushed her
into the wall from behind. A female someone, judging by the breasts
pressing into her back.
    “Nothing personal, mon amie ,
but I’ve been on bagged blood for a month, and you smell so
good. ”
    The redhead French vampire, then.
Colette.
    She pushed Catherine’s head to the side and
licked the skin over the jugular.
    “If you are quiet, I’ll even make it good for
you, hmm?” she whispered, then plunged her fangs into Catherine’s
neck.
    At least it isn’t Lorcan, she thought,
already feeling woozy. She made her peace with death