A Dance in Blood Velvet

A Dance in Blood Velvet Read Free Page A

Book: A Dance in Blood Velvet Read Free
Author: Freda Warrington
Ads: Link
you left. David didn’t tell me much at all, to be honest. One shouldn’t make assumptions, but it may be that your husband wants to initiate divorce proceedings...”
    She sat back on her heels, staring at the fire. “That’s in the past. I have no husband except Karl.”
    He continued gently, “Or it may be that David was simply worried and wanted to know you were safe.”
    Charlotte fell silent. He studied her neat profile, the enticing pink sheen of her mouth. Then she said, “He doesn’t need to know. As far as he’s concerned, I’m dead.”
    She rose fluidly to her feet, walked to the doors and went out onto the balcony.
    Milner drained his whisky glass and set it down. It wasn’t drink that made him light-headed. He was unreasonably glad that her “husband” wasn’t here. For no rational reason, he dreaded meeting Karl again. At least his absence gave Milner a chance to mend things with Charlotte.
    He followed her and stood in the doorway. “I’m sorry you’ve taken this so badly. You must be furious at me.”
    A gorgeous smell of pine filled the spring air. Light from inside outlined her form; the Alps and forest were iron-blue behind her. Charlotte was an indistinct yet perfect, elegant figure of the modern age. Thin straps on creamy shoulders, long pearls, her beaded dress sashed low across her hips, the casual drape of silk emphasising the allure of her breasts. Her long hair was gathered loosely at the nape of her neck.
    Milner loved long hair. He hated the fashion for cropping it short. And Charlotte’s hair was so beautiful, the glossy russet waves sprinkled with gold. Under a sequinned bandeau, her forehead was broad and pale, her eyes sea-grey.
    “Why should I be angry with you?” she said.
    “For deceiving you.”
    “You didn’t deceive me. You aren’t good enough at it. I like you, actually; I can see why David trusts you.”
    Her expression captivated him. She looked solemn, her deep-rose mouth turned down at the corners, her glorious eyes smouldering like those of an actress on film.
    “I wish I could have bluffed it out,” he said. “You don’t want to be found, do you?”
    “How perceptive,” she murmured. Milner smiled. He felt a growing rapport between them, warmth swelling into magnetism. “And I won’t be found. Come here.”
    She turned towards him, one hand on the balcony; open, receptive. So she had married one man, run off with another, and now while her lover was out she was trying to buy his silence with seduction! So what? She was lovely.
    He went to her, drawn by the curve of her arms. More amethyst than grey, her eyes were expanding to fill his vision. Glittering. Was she crying?
    “John,” she said.
    He put his arms around her. Christ, she was cold! “You don’t have to do this,” he said.
    “But I want to.”
    “Come inside. You’re freezing.”
    “Then warm me.” Suddenly her voice trembled. “Warm me.”
    He bent to kiss her but she drew back, avoiding his lips. She opened her mouth as if in pain, and he saw how long and sharp her canine teeth were, seeming to lengthen as he watched. Even then he was too slow to understand.
    “This is why he mustn’t find me,” she whispered. She dropped her face onto his shoulder and he felt her lips move against his neck. “This is why!” She was shuddering. The faintest groan came from her throat. “Ohh...”
    And she bit him. Not playfully, not even in anger, but with an awful, hungry determination. Her teeth broke through the skin, piercing flesh and muscle and blood vessels. The pain was vicious, frightening, nightmarishly weird. Her mouth was a steel trap on his throat... A sick feeling spread from his stomach to fill his whole body with pins and needles. He was floating and the sensation was unbearable. He was dying.
    Lights spun around him, dazzling and blinding. There was a deep, throaty roar all around him, the roar of the Devil as it came to claim his soul. The whole world slopped around him like

Similar Books

Freeze Frame

Heidi Ayarbe

Stonebird

Mike Revell

Tempt Me Twice 1

Kate Laurens

The Riddle

Alison Croggon