Raging Passions Read Online Free PDF Page A

obviously on the verge of being asked, but he said nothing, only questioned her with his expression.
    Because he said nothing, Rage did something she’d always wanted to do. She finger-combed his bangs away from his eyes. In the low light the hazel hues blended into a rich, glittering gold full of pain and gratitude.
    Feelings so long unexperienced she’d nearly forgotten them, Rage bent and placed a lingering kiss to Dean’s forehead. His eyes closed and a soft sigh escaped him. Reaching back, he cradled the backs of her upper arms so softly Rage almost didn’t feel it. When she drew back, his fingertips trailed down her arms until she’d withdrawn from him completely.
    For once he made no passive-aggressive wisecrack, and for the first time in her vampire life, Rage felt affection for someone. Their bond, forged by virtue of their shared master and common blood, deepened in their silent regard of each other.
    Morgana noticed and pretended not to. Only a phantom of a smile confessed her approval.
    Clearing her throat, Rage crossed her arms. Leaving Dean to Morgana’s care, Rage stood back and watched the Kinsman bandage him up. Seeing Caden again had done this to her. Changed her. Drained her of her fury. Why and how, she didn’t know.
    Morgana glanced up at her with sparkling eyes that were greener than a cat’s. Her easy smile held no judgment, no expectation. “Shade said you would come to kill the human. Did I waste my time with him?”
    For a long minute she’d said nothing. When she spoke, the emotion choked her. “Was he hurt bad ?”
    Morgana hesitated. “Not bad. I gave him a mild sedative. His body armor was in ruins though. Had he not been wearing it, he would have been shredded.”
    Taking a deep breath, Rage thought about Caden. He was as good as dead. Either by her hand or by Ripper’s, he would not leave the clan house alive. She knew she should be the one to do it. She could make it quick, just a snap of his neck and it would be over. As much as he’d hurt her, as often as she’d daydreamed about doing it, Rage didn’t think she could ever bring herself to torture him. Could she?
    How had he come to be here like this? The Caden she knew wouldn’t have believed in vampires, much less gone out hunting them. He’d been too busy sailing or skiing or carousing around to notice. The endless supply of family money paid for his high-tech toys and extreme vacations to godforsaken locations to mountain climb or dive with the sharks or whatever took his fancy from one reckless moment to the next.
    She’d thought him exciting and passionate back then. How she loved kissing him, as if feeding off his vitality. She should have known someone like him would never be able to settle down with the unsophisticated girl she used to be. Such domestic dreams she’d entertained. Home, family, and in Caden’s case, money. The money had been a nice perk of dating him, but she couldn’t have cared less if he’d been a poor beach bum. She just loved basking in his light, in his loving personality.
    God, how he’d fooled her.
    With Morgana distracted with Dean, Rage silently retreated. Clenching her hands, she passed through the garden that always gave her the creeps and back into the mansion that the Blood Runner Clan called home. Rage breezed past the guard posted at the cellar door with little more than a nod of acknowledgement. Walking on her toes, Rage kept her heels from making excessive noise as she descended the creaking wooden steps. The Offspring hated the cellar. Too many of them died while imprisoned down there. The stale air reeked of dust, despair and death.
    Rage found Caden in the second cell on the left. Using the keys left on the brass ball capping the handrail of the stairs she opened the cell door. Unable to speak, she stared at Caden as he sprawled on the thin mattress tossed on the stone floor. He’d been stripped of everything except his torn black fatigue pants. A thick leather dog collar