Beloved Forever Read Free Page B

redoubled her efforts to escape his hold.
    “Look into my eyes, Emily.”
    She shook her head, forcing her gaze to remain on Troy ’s dead body. She knew she mustn’t look into his eyes. Every instinct in her protested doing so.
    “I’ve waited a long time for you,” he whispered, pressing his mouth against her ear, perilously close to her carotid artery. “An eternity, Emily.”
    Her eyes widened when the deformed ticket taker shuffled into the room through a door off to the side. His eyes were sad when he met hers.
    “Tried to warn me,” she whispered.
    The deformed man squealed with pain, and a new sore appeared on his face, weeping clear fluid.
    “Yes. He was foolish to risk more of my punishment, having experienced so much in the past.” The man lifted her hand to lick the thin trail of blood from her finger.
    Emily reflexively watched the action, grimacing. She made the mistake of looking into his eyes and instantly felt as if she was gazing into the spinning barrel again. Only this time, there was no green to counteract the red. Only the bright crimson of fresh blood, coupled with the dark reddish-brown of dried blood. It was as if his eyes had sucked her into a whirlpool. Her body struggled to move closer to him, and her mind had no control over her actions.
    She whimpered when he broke eye contact and lowered his head to her neck. She wanted to push him away, but her arms remained limp at her side. Only her head moved, tilting backward to allow him better access. A protest formed in the back of her throat when his teeth pricked her neck, but she couldn’t voice it. The wounds throbbed with heat, but not pain. Instead, a surge of ecstasy swept over her. Soft sucking sounds broke the silence, and she mentally cringed to know he was drinking her blood, even as her body clamored for more of the sensual sensations his bite evoked.
    Her head spun incessantly, and she felt like she had fallen into a never-ending hole. Her eyes closed, and their conversation seemed to come from a long distance.
    “Prepare for travel. We’ll be leaving in a matter of minutes.”
    “What of the funhouse, Master Vallsade?”
    “Leave it.”
    “But—”
    “It served its purpose. I’ve found what I sought.”
    He caressed her face, and his fingers transmitted slivers of ice through her skin wherever he touched.
    “The change has begun. She’ll be ready for travel as soon as she dies.”
    Emily struggled to keep her eyes open. Someone shoved something against her mouth, and thick liquid trickled inside. She tried to spit out the coppery solution, but her mouth refused to obey her brain’s command. The viscous substance slid down her throat with no impediment. Even her gag reflex didn’t respond.
    “We will be at our destination in a matter of hours. She’ll have time to recover from this experience then. An eternity, in fact.”
    His hard laugh accompanied her into a state deeper than unconsciousness.

Chapter Two
     
    Within minutes, she had drifted out of the deep coma-like state. Emily’s senses remained keen, even though she couldn’t open her eyes. She was conscious of a long period of pain. Like acid pumping through her veins, it coursed through every inch of her body, soaking her skin with perspiration, and feeling as though a fire burned inside her. She moaned, but no sound emerged. She still seemed to be caught in that frozen state Vallsade’s will had imposed upon her.
    At some point, he carried her outside. A cool breeze whipped across her hot skin, but she couldn’t draw in a deep breath to cleanse her insides. Nor could she open her eyes. She could smell the mingled scent of sandalwood and blood emanating from him, and feel a solid mass beneath her when he laid her down, but didn’t identify it as the backseat of a car until she heard the engine turn over.
    Sometime during the ride, the swaying and gentle rocking of the vehicle lulled her back into deep unconsciousness. She fell into a dream, tossing and