Soul Seducer Read Online Free PDF Page A

hair and haunted brown eyes. Two of her three children were with her. They both had Maria’s dark coloring. The oldest had her fragile frame, while the younger child was tall and stocky like their father.
    Audra smiled at the girls. “Brooke, Stacy, how are you?”
    “Fine,” they said in unison.
    Audra turned her attention back to their mother. “Is everything okay? I haven’t heard from you since that night we were supposed to meet.” Her gaze darted to the children. “Did…anyone…do anything to make you...uh...change your mind?”
    “I realized I was making a mistake.” Maria replaced the candle she held with shaking hands. “Scott is a good man. He’s out of jail now, and he’s trying really hard.”
    The bastard had threatened her, no doubt about it. Audra searched her face for bruises but saw none. Perhaps he’d delivered blows in places that were hidden by her clothing. In the past, he hadn’t cared to hide the abuse, but maybe he’d guessed Maria came to Audra and decided he should be more cautious. Or, and she fervently hoped this was true, maybe his stint in jail had frightened him and he wouldn’t beat her anymore.
    Yeah, right. He was probably as harmless as a rabid pit bull.
    Audra brushed back an errant strand of hair and moved so she could keep an eye on the table where Sadie munched on her cone. She said to Maria, “So, you’re okay? You sure?”
    “Scott’s my husband. He loves me.”
    Yeah, and love hurts like a son of a bitch. “I hope he’s really changed.” Audra glanced at the girls once more. “You know, someone could end up getting badly hurt.”
    Maria’s face colored and, as if remembering Audra’s injuries for the first time, she said, “Are you okay? I heard what happened. I was going to come see you but…”
    Audra waited, but Maria didn’t come up with a reason why she hadn’t visited.
    “I’m fine,” Audra said after an awkward silence. “Much better. I’ll be back at work tomorrow.”
    “That’s good. Scott was in jail, you know,” Maria said almost defiantly.
    “Yes, I know.” In Audra’s peripheral vision, she saw Sadie climb from her seat, tugging her book bag off the back of the chair “I have to go. Take care of yourself. Call me if you need anything.”
    “I will,” Maria promised.
    Audra headed back to Sadie, her mind going over the conversation with Maria. Why had she felt the need to mention Scott’s whereabouts on the night of the attack? And why had she seemed so wary, so defensive?
    ~*~
    Dimitri leaned against a porch column at the house across the street from Audra’s. The front door opened, and she appeared. His throat closed. A trickle of warmth moved through the cold recesses of his insides. The glow from the porch light crawled over her olive skin, giving it a golden hue. Her thick mane of dark hair lifted in the breeze. She rounded the side of the house and took hold of the trash dumpster, dragging it to the curb. Even such a menial, normally unprovocative task, was a pleasure to watch when it was performed by Audra.
    Her limp was more evident when no one was around. She’d become adept at hiding her imperfections, her weaknesses. The gesture tugged at him, evoking an emotion he didn’t want to experience.
    He shook his head. What was wrong with him? No use asking, really. There was no answer. He’d questioned himself multiple times about the unnatural fascination this woman held for him...had held for nearly thirty years, since the night her mother died. Back then, his interest had been admiration at such intelligence and bravery in one so young. As she’d grown into womanhood, his feelings had become something different. Something as uncomfortable as it was futile.
    Reapers have no business mingling in the human world . Stay away, serve your sentence, get through the remaining fifty years so you’ll finally have peace. He damn sure never had peace in life. But then, that was his own doing.
    Pushing away from the post, he