C C Wood [Bitten 02] Once Bitten, Twice Shy (epub) i

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.All the girls, with the exception of Donna and I, whistled and catcalled as he walked toward his fiancée.I could understand why.He moved with loose-hipped grace that was emphasized by his snug dark wash jeans and tight black t-shirt.As he leaned down to kiss her, the noise intensified.When he straightened to grin at the girls, I swear they all moaned and he just chuckled.“Okay, bitches, this is killing me.I need more booze,” Ricki said loudly.She pointed to Kerry and Shannon.“You two come help me make some more mojitos or margaritas or something.”Conner and Donna grinned at them as they left the room.I realized that I had somehow ended up over by my bag.I glanced around, wondering how in the hell I had moved without realizing it.A little voice whispered almost silently in my mind.I stopped what I was doing for a moment, trying to catch what the voice said, but couldn’t quite grasp it all.In horror, I watched as my hands began to move without my permission.My left hand opened my purse and my right reached inside.I tried to stop myself, to control the motions of my hands, but they seemed to have a mind of their own.Literally.I tried to say something, to scream for help, but no sound came out.Instead, I watched as my right hand emerged from the bag, wrapped around the grip of a snub-nosed revolver.I wasn’t even sure what kind of gun it was.Only that it was big and scary looking.I told my fingers to release the handle, but my feet carried me toward Conner and Donna.As I moved across the room, I realized that I was about to harm one of the people I cared for the most.I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.A vague memory of a female vampire with hazel eyes skirted the edge of my mind, but refused to come into focus.Donna and Conner were talking to Ricki, Kerry, and Shannon and they were laughing and smiling, completely oblivious to the danger I presented.I struggled to force enough air to scream past the tightness in my throat, but nothing happened.God, I was going to shoot my best friend and her fiancé in cold blood.Sweat broke out on my skin as I fought the hold of the vampire mind control.I was slowing down my movements, but still couldn’t gain complete control.I realized that there was nothing I could do, physically, to stop what I was about to do.Then, it hit me.I didn’t have to say anything aloud.While the mind control and brainwashing controlled my body, my mind was still clear.In my head, as loud as I could, I screamed, Conner!It worked.His head snapped up and twisted so he could see me.When he saw the gun I held in my hand and the sweat pouring from my forehead, he immediately understood what was happening.Help me! I begged silently.Moving so quickly that my eyes couldn’t track him, Conner crossed the room and grabbed my wrist.“I’m sorry,” he whispered.Then his free hand came up and he clocked me with his palm.At his open-handed slap, I went down hard.All I could think is that at least it hadn’t been his fist, because that fucking hurt, then all the lights went out.Chapter FiveSomething rough moved lightly across my cheek.I twitched, trying to dislodge it, but it continued on a path across my cheekbone, up my temple, and into my hair.I realized that someone’s hand was in my hair, gently massaging my scalp and running fingers through the strands.It felt incredibly nice.Without a thought, I turned my face into the caress, enjoying the sensation of being petted.Then my memory returned and my eyes popped open.I started to jack knife into a sitting position, but a firm hand on my breastbone held me flat.“Sh, little one.Don’t try to sit up just yet.Give yourself a moment.”My eyes rolled around until I could see Lex sitting next to my hip, wearing a dark red shirt and gray slacks.He looked edible.“Is Conner okay? Donna? I didn’t hurt them, did I?” I asked.“Oh God, what about the other girls? Did they see?”Lex shook his head.“They weren’t in the room when Conner took you down.”I tried to sit up again.Lex continued to stroke my hair.“Calm down, Ivie.It’s fine.You did not have a chance to harm them.” He turned my head slightly so that the left side of my face was in the light.“I’m more concerned about you.Conner said he hit you a little harder than he normally would have.He wanted to be sure you were unconscious.”I blinked and took stock of my body.Other than a slight headache and the pain in my cheek, I felt fine.“I think I’m good,” I murmured.I gingerly pushed myself into sitting position and looked around.I didn’t recognize my surroundings.Touching my cheek and feeling the tightness and swelling under my skin, I winced.“Where am I?” I asked.Lex pushed my hand away and touched his lips to the place where Conner’s slap had connected.I froze and stared at him as he straightened and stood from the lounger I had been lying on.I completely lost track of my question because I was so consumed with the hot imprint of his mouth on my cheek.“You’re at my home,” he answered shortly.“Huh?” I asked.Then I blinked and remembered that I had asked him where I was.I watched as he walked to a small bar area in the corner of the room and poured me a glass of water from a bottle.“Why am I here?”“For your safety,” was his only answer.I stared at him for a moment before I responded.I didn’t like the way he was avoiding my gaze or the way that he wasn’t giving me any more information than necessary.I didn’t like it at all.“What do you mean, for my safety?” I asked.He came back to the chaise lounge and handed me the water.“Drink that.”I took the glass, but just held it and stared at him.“Drink,” he said again, his voice dropping.God, he was so damned bossy.I wished that I didn’t find that attractive.I took a couple of small sips.“Are you going to answer my question?”“After your actions at Conner’s home, it has become clear that our enemies intend to use whatever means necessary to obtain what they want, even if the means are dishonorable.”“Okay, what exactly happened?” He looked at me incredulously, and I clarified.“I mean, I know what I did.I didn’t want to do it, but couldn’t stop myself.I’ve only felt that way one other time in my life and that was when I was kidnapped a few months ago.Obviously, a vampire brainwashed me, or hypnotized me or something.”Lex nodded.“Yes.We are unsure who the culprit was, but it seems that someone among our kind decided to make a preemptive strike and remove Conner from the equation permanently.”Now I was even more confused than before.“What do you mean, remove Conner from the equation permanently? What equation? Why would anyone want to hurt Donna or Conner?”Sighing heavily, he came and sat down next to me again, much too closely.I moved back slightly so there was a small amount of space between us.I wasn’t ready for him to touch me again just yet.Along with my memory of the night before, I also remembered that he had disappeared for two months.“There are things happening among vampire kind right now.Things I can’t share with you just yet.I will, and soon, but now is not the time.All I can tell you right now, is that Conner and his position on the Council are very important to the machinations of those we are opposing.”I wanted to roll my eyes at his evasions, but managed to refrain.His secrecy seemed a little over the top.It wasn’t like the Antichrist had been born or we were on our way to becoming a nuclear wasteland.Vampires were squabbling, probably over something not so important to humans.I mean, it wasn’t like they ran the world.“What are you thinking about?” he asked.I schooled my features, realizing that my thoughts would probably piss him off.I wanted to lie, but his reaction to my previous lies made me hesitant to do so again.Instead, I went with a partial truth.“Just wondering what this is all about.” My words were innocuous and neutral and completely true [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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