Seduced by Pain Read Online Free PDF Page A

this rate, I might as well turn my ass to him and rub against him until he took me from behind.
    Blood rushed to my face, and his lips curled up, as if he could read my mind.
    "Blake, I can't accept anymore gifts. I don't think this is a good idea."
    He leaned into me, and I braced myself for a kiss, wanting it and resisting it all at once, but he slid a finger down my cheek, onto my neck and then whispered in my ear, "I'm a patient man. I can wait." He walked away, leaving the gift on the porch.
    A fire had indeed blazed through my body, down the line he'd created with his finger, pooling into a desperate need at my center.
    Ocean reached down to pick up the gift and opened it. She whistled. "You're doomed, Rose. He's got your number."
    She handed me the box, and when I saw the contents, my breath left me in a whoosh.
    I could not let myself near this man. He was far too dangerous for my body. And heart.

S EVEN
     
Cupid is a Knavish Lad
     
B LAKE
     

     
     
    Cupid is a knavish lad,

    Thus to make poor females mad.
    —William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream
     
     
    IT HAD NEVER mattered to me before, whether in human form or demon, if a woman was drawn to me because of my seductive nature, or because they genuinely appreciated my inner qualities.
    With Rose, it mattered.
    I knew her lust was an artificial reaction to the chemicals I secreted as an incubus, and for the first time, that bothered me. But I couldn't turn off that part of myself, so I had to make her fall in love with the real me, without actually telling her who the real me was.
    This line of frustrating thought led to Jasmine sneaking up on me unaware while I soaked in the hot tub.
    She slipped into the steaming water, and I turned in time to catch a glimpse of long legs and a skimpy purple bikini that matched her short hair.
    My kind didn't have arbitrary rules about age. Puberty was puberty.
    But while human, I had to abide by the laws of humans, which meant she was off limits for another two years.
    And though that was all true, that wasn't the real reason I resisted the scent of her freshly scrubbed body as she moved closer to me.
    Rose stole my attention.
    She occupied prime real estate in my mind and heart, even in her continued rejection of my advances.
    I hoped the last gift would show her that I truly cared about her. I'd scanned through hundreds of pictures looking for the perfect one of Sandy that would fit the white gold, antique locket. The quote I'd written myself, as an effigy for her departed friend.
    Rest in the heart of those whose love you shared.
    I knew how hard it had been for her to say goodbye and clear her house out of Sandy's belongings. Having a keepsake would help ease the grief and facilitate healing, or so I'd hoped.
    Jasmine's hand slid around my waist, over the muscles of my abs. "You have an incredible body, Blake. I can't believe I never noticed before."
    My cock stiffened, and my body reached for her, desperate for the food only a willing woman could provide, but my heart forced me back. "I can't, Jasmine. You're too young."
    She flicked her hair. "A technicality." Biting her lower lip, she moved closer, pinning me to the side of the tub.
    I couldn't remember a time I'd ever turned away a willing meal. I caught her wrists in my hands and pushed her back, slipping to the side to avoid her body. "We can't."
    With a pout on her lips borne of teenage hormones, she stepped back. "Is there someone else?"
    I paused too long.
    "I knew it. You're still into Rose, aren't you?" She pushed her breasts up as she crossed her arms. "She doesn't even like you. God, she's such a bitch. She gets everything, even the things she doesn't want."
    Her anger reached deeper into pain and insecurity. I'd become an expert at reading humans, mostly so I could manipulate them. I'd never tried to use these abilities to help one out of selflessness. "I know it feels like that, and I can't imagine what it's been like for you to live in the