Seduction’s Canvas (Crimson Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page A

was the vulnerable feeling of not being able to care for her properly due to the cost of her care. Well, never again. He’d vowed then and there to do whatever it took to care for her. And sure, he got a little reckless with his money making methods, but desperation will do that to you, and yeah, it cost him, but now it was worked out. He pushed the memory aside. Yeah, it had worked out just fine and to him it was well worth every drop of blood he’d lost.
    He glanced over at his apartment door once more and swiped at his brow. This time the thoughts that came along with the image of his new neighbor were ones that he couldn’t push aside. They rushed at him, memories flooding back faster than he could sandbag them and take cover.
    There he was, the skinny eleven-year-old kid with the oversized curly fro. The kid that was supposed to be hiding out in the janitor’s closet, doing his homework while he waited for his mom to finish emptying the trash and cleaning the rich executives’ toilets. But no, that day she was taking too long and he wanted to get out and get home. His favorite show would be on TV and he didn’t want to miss it. So he thought he would help her out and empty a few cans for her, let her clock out early — and that was when he saw
her
.
    She was young, but not that young. Maybe two years younger than he was. And she was just so beautiful, sleeping on the large leather couch. Like something from the fairy tales they had studied in his class. His breath caught, got stuck in his throat, and that was something he’d never experienced. It made him excited and bubbly and free, like when he was still into Santa and the Tooth Fairy. He stared at her, blinking fast, his breath now shallow. She was still in her school uniform though it was getting on late in the evening and despite himself, his eyes traveled down her sleeping form and he couldn’t help but marvel over how clean the uniform was. Her black shoes so shiny, knee socks so white. He felt guilty so he looked away from her body and up to her face and then, just like that, he suddenly felt worse. Her pretty bowed lips, long wisps of eyelashes fanned out across her perfectly smooth cheeks. In that moment, she seemed to be all he ever wanted and all he’d never have laid right out before him. And even at his young age he knew it. She was unobtainable.
    He didn’t mean to touch her, but for the life of him he couldn’t help it. In one moment, she was so peaceful and then, suddenly like a sin, a frown marred her beautiful face and she began to moan, thrashing around. She seemed to be in such distress. Something twisted in his heart and all he wanted to do was ease her pain and take the misery away. “Shhh. It’s alright. I’ve got you. You’re safe.”
    His fingers grazed her cool cheek and her eyes popped open. Sparkling liquid dark pools of forever connected with his eyes, blank at first, but then she smiled. And in that moment for the life of him, he couldn’t breathe. It was as if the world went from black and white to full Technicolor for the first time. All he could do was stupidly smile back.
    But it all went dark once again as thunder came crashing down in the form of Howard Leighton. “Don’t you touch her! She’s not for you!”
    Mark tried to jump back, but he was too late. Leighton had already lashed out and smacked him across the head. The blow sent him crashing into the desk behind him. He heard her scream and saw both his mother and hers come running from opposite directions, followed by another boy, this one around his age.
    “Daddy, stop. He didn’t do anything!” the dream girl yelled.
    “It’s fine, Dad. Stop,” the boy said, agreeing with his sister and tugging on his father, struggling to pull him back to keep him from striking Mark once again.
    It was then that Mark heard his mother begging as he felt the blood seeping from his eyebrow and the anger begin to swell low in his belly and up to his chest. He didn’t like