Taste of Torment Read Online Free PDF Page B

– no one could take her and hide her from me again, and God have mercy on anyone who even considered it, because I sure wouldn’t. As a matter of fact, neither would Sam, just like she hadn’t had mercy on my ex-partner. Magda had also been responsible for Turning both me and Evan against our will. Some women might buy you a shirt or cologne. Sam would kill your ex for you.
    Cristiano, who had been sticking a little too close to Sam for my liking, also noticed that she was stroking the knot and he frowned. “What’s that?”
    She only spared the asshole the briefest glance. “It’s a Binding knot.”
    Ava came from behind Cristiano and bumped him aside so she could get a good look at the brail-like mark. “Aw, that’s so nice.” She looked at me, her eyes alight with interest. “Do you have one as well?”
    I held up my hand to show her, and she smiled widely. Cristiano, however, grunted with boredom. If it hadn’t been for the fact that he’d saved Sam’s life, I’d be beating him with his own spine right now. Not simply because he seemed to be constantly at her side, but because he looked at her with a longing that made my blood boil. It was a longing that was both emotional and sexual. Oh he was doing his best to conceal it – so much so that Sam hadn’t noticed. But I’d noticed, and I wanted nothing more than to watch the bastard die…slowly and painfully, if possible.
    “The design of your knot matches Sam’s,” Ava realised.
    “Every Bound couple has their own unique design. Sam’s will only match mine, and vice versa.”
    “Aw, how romantic and sweet is that? I want one. But how did it work? I thought vampire skin heals too quickly for us to get tattoos.”
    “It just appeared there when we exchanged vows,” Sam told her, smiling. Her aquamarine eyes met mine, and I knew she was recalling that moment, just as I was. Turning back to Ava, Sam said, “I actually have another tattoo as well. The vampire who gave it to me has the gift of making his pictures come to life.” Sam lifted the sleeve of her long-sleeved t-shirt to reveal the black snake twined around her upper arm. When the tattoo wiggled slightly, Ava gasped. “Yeah, Dexter can move around in his tattoo form. He wasn’t a fan of Jared at first because the breed is very protective, but he likes him now.”
    He liked me? Ha. “He tolerates me, but that’s pretty much it,” I grumbled. He’d stopped hissing at me whenever I touched Sam, which was progress. But he always seemed to wear this cautioning ‘I’m watching you’ look. It was weird and damn annoying.
    Ava clapped her hands a little. “I want one of those as well. Do you think I could get one?”
    Standing behind Ava, Salem sighed down at her. “Shouldn’t you be at the rear?” His tone was vibrating with impatience.
    Ava twisted to look at him. Her little face was scrunched up in confusion as she cocked her head. “Why?” The question was asked with an almost childlike innocence.
    A muscle in Salem’s jaw ticked. “ Because something strange is obviously going on and it could be dangerous. It would be better for you to hang back where it’s safer.”
    To my surprise, Ava laughed. Even more surprising, so did Sam.
    “You don’t need to worry about Ava, Salem.” Sam smiled at him. “Don’t let that tiny figure and innocent face fool you. She can take care of herself. Not all Sventé vampires have defensive gifts, remember?”
    Smiling sweetly, Ava patted his chest. “But it’s really nice of you to care.” He frowned at the hand patting him, but Ava didn’t seem to notice. Twirling back around, she gently nudged Sam. “Isn’t he the sweetest thing?”
    Sweet? I was pretty sure I’d never heard anyone describe Salem as ‘sweet’ before.
    Damien leaned toward Salem, grinning. “Pretty protective of the little one, aren’t you?”
    Salem scowled at him. “Shut up.”
    Actually, it was kind of odd for Salem to give a shit about the safety of anyone