The Third Fate Read Online Free PDF Page A

closer. He tasted, probing until her lips parted slowly, softly, while fingers trailed to the pulse throbbing beneath the creamy flesh of her neck, touching reverently, feather light. A timid sigh escaped her, and Cael raised his head to gaze upon her, fascinated. Eyes of softest green held him captive, his fangs lengthening as he readied to dip his head. A strange sensation washed through him, prompting a careful tracing of her face, memorizing curve of cheek, slope of forehead, arch of eyebrow before lowering his mouth to her neck. Her small cry of pained surprise elicited his soothing embrace, the cry morphing to one of sensual pleasure as he drew from her vein.
    In overwhelming onslaught her thoughts came rushing into his consciousness, the unexpected shock momentarily incapacitating him.
    This canna be happening! This is the psychic connection of bonded mates. Vampire mates.
    The stream of her past and present played in his mind’s eye, filling him with her collective experience. An experience he now knew to be a mere twenty-seven years. Paige. Paige Kinnell. Smart, funny, shy, self-conscious. Sexy. Beautiful.
    And now his.
    The words burned in his thoughts, drowning all else with their absolute truth. Easing from her, Cael closed the puncture wounds and kissed his way to her mouth slow and sweet. He caressed her warm flesh with long fingers, drawing lazy circles in random swirls, wanting so much more before dawn forced him to abandon her.
    “ If only you could be more than a dream,” she murmured, sparking an eerie sensation in Cael’s gut.
    The lass thought she was dreaming.
    Shadows of her memories sifted through his thoughts, the psychic link he now shared with her growing with each drink of her blood he stole. But her origins remained hazy, cloudy, unreadable. Curiosity piqued, Cael probed her mind more deeply. She was not blocking him, of that he was certain. Still, something prevented him from seeing clearly into her past. Whatever was happening, he knew he could not fight. He was bound to her, would not give her up. Paige Kinnell was not a mere mortal; Cael was convinced. But that fact was hidden even from her. He had to discover what was going on before revealing the truth to her of his nature – and the nature of her very self.
    At the first hint of gold streaking the eastern sky he reluctantly abandoned her side, weaving an enchantment that ensured his presence – and the nature of what he was – would remain in her dreams. Deception was not an art he practiced, and he had no desire to start now; however, her waking to find windows blanketed and an ancient vampire in her home was not how he wanted to make his introduction, nor the way to impart his tentative discovery about her. With hunger sated, he would find a way to infix himself into her life, slowly awakening her to the realm of the undead in preparation for her changing.
    Cael also masked her strange scent with his own. No vampire would dare touch her with the sign of his protection. Too many questions swam in his mind to leave her exposed. Finishing his cloaking verse he reached down, stroking her blond hair before departing.
    Loss of the comforting presence wakened Paige, an inexplicable sense of grief overcoming her. Turning, she half expected to find herself staring into the blue eyes of her dreamworld love, but of course, she was alone.
    You were dreaming again, Paige.
    It did not feel like a dream. Her eyes flashed open, recollection of the vivid dreams warming her. Alarm sounded within her and she shot from the bed, unable to discern reality from dream at the moment. Her neck throbbed deliciously as did the place between her thighs, and her breasts were full and heavy with arousal. Memories of dreams skirted the edges of her mind, clouded pictures playing tricks on her senses. Strong hands touching her, sensual lips sucking at her flesh, these imaginings too real in the light of morning.
    Standing before the bathroom mirror, the shower