The Strip Read Online Free PDF

and fell to his knees, a mass of raw, tortured nerves. Almost at once, the pain in his body and wrists began to recede, fading away into nothing within seconds. But Malcolm did not rise. He remained where he was, doubled over on the plush rug over the stone floor, his eyes shut tight, his breathing harsh in the fire-crackled silence. Behind his closed lids, an image of the blue-eyed angel floated enticingly. He didn't want to lose it.
    Charlie.
    He whispered the name into his mind. She was an impossibility. A Dormant....
    And a female born werewolf.
    There was no mistaking the scent. Such a thing should not exist. It never had. It had long been deemed impossible. Werewolves had always had to turn to humans for their mates.
    But Charlie was not human. And she was very real. She was nothing short of a miracle. The fact that she had not yet been claimed by an alpha was astounding in and of itself.
    Malcolm took a deep breath. And then another. The need uncoiling within him was unyielding. He was an alpha without a mate and had been for far too long. Catching sight of another Dormant at this juncture was like waving a canteen of water before a man in the desert.
    But Cole's conscience weighed heavily on his heart. In his race to fill the emptiness that yawned inside of him, he had done things he was not proud of. Two years ago, he had kidnapped another alpha’s marked mate and tried to take her for his own. She’d forgiven him when he did not deserve that forgiveness.
    It gave him pause. Now that the chance seemed to have arisen again, what exactly was he willing to do?
    If he had not been cursed to flash to that murder on the Las Vegas strip at just that time, and if he had not stumbled out into the waiting city at that exact moment, he never would have scented her. He never would have laid eyes on the Dormant who was also a werewolf.
    What would he do to claim the woman that fate had thrown so perfectly into his sites? Was he willing to go down that sinister path again?
    For Charlie.... Yes. Yes, he was.
    With that thought, his resolve hardened into a steely determination. He sat back slowly and opened his eyes. The emerald glow died down into a stark jade green in his handsome face. His expression settled into one of dark purpose as he fluidly rose from the floor and then strode to the door.
    Jake opened it for him before he reached it.
    "Jake, charter a flight to Las Vegas," Cole ordered, his British accent lacing his low, smooth tone. He moved out into the hall and the blonde werewolf followed beside him. "We leave within the hour."
    * * * *
    "Guys...." Charlie’s voice trailed off as she thought of her friends and all of the trouble she'd caused for them over the years. Roman was right. They were good. But he was also right about her penchant for attracting stalkers. And that wasn't easy on the band. It seemed like they always had to be on guard. "I'm sorry," she told them. And then she shrugged. "I just don't understand. If we're so good, then why are we accepting this strange deal from this man we've never met? Why not wait for something better to come along?"
    "This is the something better, Charlie." Kevin gestured to the city around them. He wasn't as tall as Roman, but his blue-gray eyes always looked as if they had storm clouds building in them and his strong, stocky build and buzz-cut blonde hair made him appear meaner than he actually was. "And stop apologizing." He smiled at her, shaking his head admonishingly.
    "Really, Charlie. It's already earned you a nick name." Mary Jane shoved at her lightly with her elbow. "Besides, this isn't so strange. So, he wants us to play for him exclusively for six months. So what? It's like asking an author for exclusive rights to review a manuscript. He doesn't want someone else to come in and offer us a record deal before he does."
    Charlie, whose real name was Claire St.James, thought about that as she and the others brought their equipment in from the truck and set it up in