Rare Vintage Read Online Free PDF Page A

door to the hall and leaned
against it. Her pulse beat hard in her neck as reaction set in. Marc didn’t
know what to make of her, but the visible pounding of her blood against her
pale skin had him licking his lips, eager for a taste.
    He moved close, blinded for a moment by the hunger that grew
inside him until it was nearly uncontrollable. Kelly’s eyes widened in fear as
he advanced on her. His fangs elongated as bloodlust and instinct overrode his
saner side.
    Marc wasn’t sure what he’d have done if Dmitri hadn’t chosen
that moment to clear his throat. Marc looked up to find Dmitri watching him
with narrowed eyes from the other end of the long hall.
    A tense minute passed as Dmitri held his gaze, one raised
eyebrow speaking volumes. At length, Marc pulled back. This was wrong. He saw
that now. In a crisis of passion he’d let his impulses overcome his better
sense, but oh, it had been sublime while it had lasted.
    Marc drew back, away from Kelly. She trembled in reaction,
fear lighting her beautiful eyes. Fear he had put there. Marc felt lower than
pond scum.
    “ Je suis désolé, ma petite. I’m
sorry.” With those last whispered words, he backed away putting even more
distance between himself and temptation. It was sunrise. He could feel the sun
weakening him already. Lesser bloodletters would soon be down for the day, and
the threat to Kelly would ease.
    Nodding to Dmitri, Marc left her, realizing with a sinking
heart that the only threat to her in this house was himself.

Chapter Five
    The next evening, Dmitri cornered Marc in the library. Marc
wasn’t used to answering to anyone in his own territory—except perhaps his
closest and oldest friends—and Dmitri fit that description on both counts.
Still, it rankled to have his shortcomings pointed out by another, and Marc
suspected Dmitri had sought him out for that reason.
    “I’m leaving tomorrow,” Dmitri said, taking a seat in one of
the leather wing chairs that sat before a wide fireplace.
    “So soon?” Marc closed the book he’d been perusing and set
it back on the shelf before taking the seat opposite Dmitri before the fire. “I
thought you’d be here for a few more weeks at least.”
    “So did I, but I just received word that the new owner has
taken possession of the house above ground. I want to figure out just who she
is and why she was interested in buying the place in the first place. It’s no
show place, that’s for certain.” Dmitri regarded Marc steadily. “But the
question is, do you need me to stay?”
    “If you’re referring to what you interrupted last night, I
assure you that I can handle the situation.”
    “It didn’t look like it to me, if you’ll pardon my saying
so.”
    Marc bristled. “I don’t care what it looked like. Kelly is
in no danger from me. You should go home and look to your own house. And let me
know if I can be of any assistance. You know I’m always here to help if you
need it.”
    “That’s much appreciated, Marc. And the same goes. Atticus
mentioned something about an upstart named Gibson who might issue a challenge?”
    The statement was phrased as a question, and Marc was glad
to let the subject of Kelly and his lack of control the night before drop, to
indulge in talk of the minor vampire who plagued him. Normally, Marc wouldn’t
have aired the dirty laundry of his territory, but this was Dmitri after all.
They’d been friends long enough. They could discuss anything. Well, almost.
    “Leonard Gibson is a foul creature, and I regret the day I
gave him leave to live in my territory. I should have known he’d be trouble
from the moment he came crawling in, seeking my blessing to build a lair
nearby.”
    “Then why did you let him?” Dmitri’s tone wasn’t judgmental,
but Marc had been asking himself the same question for a long time and he
didn’t like the answer.
    “I guess I’d become too complacent. The sad truth is, I
didn’t care one way or the other at the time. I realize I