Arctic Fire 2 Read Free Page B

her away.
    Clenching his hands, he fought against the impulse to toss her over his shoulder and drag her all the way to Antarctica if that was what it took to keep her safe. She’d be pissed; he’d be miserable in the cold snow and ice, but it wouldn’t matter if it kept her alive and away from anyone who could associate her with the newest vampire prophecy.
    He could still clearly hear Seanix’s words to Quinn in his head… “The prophecy is spreading through the vampire community like wildfire. Whoever finds you is going to have a lot of power to force those to do their will.” The memory of those words caused a chill to press against his neck.
    Then Seanix had actually revealed the prophecy, and Julian had known it could only be about Quinn . “A vampire, not born of vampire blood, will burn like the sun the life from anyone she touches. If used correctly, she will become our greatest ally, our savior.”
    Our greatest ally and savior. The younger, disorganized and scattered vamps would latch onto those words. The nonexistent promise within the vague prophecy would have the vampires still floundering, since most of the Elders were killed while scrambling to find her. They were trying to seize hold of something stable, and they would see Quinn as their chance to reclaim their old life. He’d tear the throat out of anyone who so much as left a scratch on her, never mind trying to take her and bend her to their will.
    “If you’re going to kill everyone who doesn’t like you, a lot of bodies are going to add up,” Chris said to him.
    Chris wiped the back of his arm across his forehead as he stood up from where he’d been tossing broken barstool bits into a trash can. His shaggy, sandy-blond hair clung to the sheen of sweat beading across his brow. Amusement filled his sapphire eyes when he smiled at Julian.
    “They started it,” Julian replied.
    “I’m sure they had a good reason,” Melissa said as she dumped a heart into the trash bag Quinn held open for her.
    “Funny,” he muttered.
    The grin Melissa flashed him caused her onyx eyes to sparkle. She’d pulled her short black hair into a small ponytail that fell against her neck and emphasized her olive complexion and the refined features of her Egyptian heritage. Behind her, her sort of boyfriend, Zach, lifted another heart from the floor using only his thumb and index finger. Zach’s upper lip curled in revulsion, he held the heart away from him like it was a tiger ready to bite. He already didn’t exactly like Zach, but seeing this squeamish side of him caused Julian to shake his head.
    “You can do better,” he said to Melissa.
    She glanced over at Zach and bit on her bottom lip to keep from laughing. “He’s not used to your tendency of leaving insides on the outside. Besides, we’re not really together.” Julian gave her a questioning look; she lifted a delicate shoulder. “Some things just don’t work out.”
    “I’ll kill him for you.”
    “They didn’t work out on my part. The chemistry wasn’t there, you know?”
    “I do.”
    His gaze slid to Quinn. There had been many women in his past, and he could say the exact same thing about most of them, but he could never say it about her. She challenged him, stood up to him, and he desired her in a way he’d never desired another; loved her in a way he’d never known possible until her. He’d loved in the past, deeply, but never with every bit of himself like he did with her.
    “I’ll still kill him if you’d like,” he offered, only half-kidding.
    “Thanks for the offer, but no. Sometimes things are just…” She frowned as her words trailed off. “Just not what you were expecting.”
    “I understand.”
    “You would understand, perhaps better than anyone.” Her gaze flickered to Chris before she turned away and lifted another broken stool leg from the floor.
    Julian studied her for a minute, but he had a feeling that was all she was going to say on the subject right now.