Under Her Skin Read Online Free PDF Page B

shouldn’t have come to the hospital last night,” Nevala said. “It’s dangerous for someone like you.”
    “You can’t kill me. That’s insane.” A moment ago, all I had wanted was to get into my office. Now all I wanted was out.
    “Wait,” he said. “I can explain.”
    “No, you can’t. You’re a crazy man who assaulted me and then threatened me.” Reaching behind me with one hand, I felt around for the door.
    Nevala crossed his arms over his chest and glared at me. “I didn’t assault you.”
    The assertion brought me to an abrupt halt. “You dragged me into a dark room and kissed me.”
    “I was checking to see what you were.” His eyes flicked away from mine as he spoke.
    Liar.
    “Oh, really?” I squinted at him, hoping to see a telltale flush creep up his neck, but I couldn’t tell if he was blushing—neither the ambient light in my office nor his own dark complexion gave me much to go on.
    He sighed, and I flinched at the movement.
    “I’m sitting down,” he said, holding his hands up in surrender and taking his own step backwards until he could drop to the nearest chair. “I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you. Please, let me explain.” He focused those intense eyes on me, their hypnotic gold flecks holding me prisoner—almost as much as my own desire to learn what he thought I was.
    Because God knows, I have no idea.
    “And what you learned told you that you’re supposed to kill me?” I finally asked.
    “Supposed to,” he said. “But I won’t.”
    I had spent more time than I would ever admit to my adoptive parents searching for any indication of what I might be. I knew they would understand—but I think we were all afraid of what I might discover.
    Like I was afraid now.
    But Emma had known as soon as she’d seen me that I was a shapeshifter.
    Nevala seemed to know more about me than I knew about myself.
    Crap. I was going to have to hear the crazy man out.
    “Okay,” I said, pulling my hand away from the door and taking a half-step back into the room. “You have three minutes. Talk.”
    * * *
    He started over. “You shouldn’t have come to Kindred last night.”
    I took a deep breath. Might as well call his bluff. “Emma Camelli says Kindred Hospital is where all the shapeshifters go. Why would I care if they knew I went there?”
    “Because you’re not like other shapeshifters.”
    “How so?”
    His golden brown eyes started to glow. I realized I was leaning over my desk toward him, again almost hypnotized by those eyes. “You’re supposed to be extinct.” He paused for a long moment. “If the rest of the shapeshifters knew you were still alive, they would expect me to take you down.”
    My hands started to shake as the bitter taste of adrenaline flooded my mouth. “Still alive?” I asked. My voice stayed steady, but from the way Kade’s nostrils flared, I suspected he could smell the pre-shift chemicals surging through my body.
    He closed his eyes, gathering his thoughts. “How much do you actually know about your past?”
    A short bark of laughter escaped me. “Nothing. Not a damn thing.”
    “Then how did you end up at Kindred?”
    “I told you. I was on call the night Emma Pack killed her father. She and her mother insisted we take her to your hospital.” I gestured widely, taking in the whole building. “That’s it.”
    Kade’s whistle was low. “Holy shit. So you really just happened to end up there?”
    Tension coiled in my chest, getting ready to burst out in a full-blown snake-shift if I didn’t get information right now. “Will you please quit quizzing me and tell me what it is that you know?” I tried to push the questions down, but they popped out faster than he could possibly answer them. “Do you know who my parents are? Are they still alive? Why did they abandon me? Who am I?” The last question came out on something of a wail, and I slapped my own hand over my mouth to stop myself from continuing to speak—or possibly cry.
    Kade