Bound to Me Read Free Page A

the thick blankets that covered the bed. He pulled the second pillow from my fingers and tossed it over the side onto the floor. Holding me down by my wrists, he hovered over me while his eyes took in my tousled red hair spread about the bed, a stark contrast to my pale skin.
    “It’s too late. I look at you and I am already on fire,” he murmured as if mostly talking to himself as his eyes continued their perusal of my body. “You are beauty and passion combined in a tempting flame that will consume our entire race. Will you burn me too?”
    I tilted my head to the side, waiting until his eyes finally met mine again. “All little boys should know the danger of playing with fire.”
    “And yet I cannot help myself.” Valerio released my arms and sat back on his heels as he shrugged out of his jacket and tossed it to the floor in a rumpled heap. I didn’t touch him, but simply watched as he hastily unwound his neck cloth and tossed it aside with the same lack of care before moving onto the buttons of his shirt. I was beginning to doubt that we would make it to the gaming hells that night, but then again, we had missed many a night of planned activities in favor of more private entertainment.
    Running the tip of my tongue over my lips, I reached up and ran my hands over his smooth chest as he started to pull his shirt free of his trousers. After an evening of rubbing elbows with London’s elite and a little playful hunting, I was ready to get down to some more serious pursuits with my companion. Sitting up, I pressed a kiss against his flat, hard stomach, letting my tongue run along his bellybutton, sending a delicious shiver through his body as his hands descended to his pants. And then he paused. I could feel nearly every muscle in his body tense and harden, while the cold touch of his powers swept past me and through the house.
    “What’s wrong?” I asked. Everything inside of me demanded that I resume my quest to kiss every inch of his perfect chest, but something was wrong. If danger was near, I needed to be ready. I had to be Valerio’s comrade in arms, despite the fact that I lay in bed completely naked.
    Valerio looked down at me and smiled sweetly. He ran his hand over the back of my head, sweeping away some of my hair from my shoulders. “Nothing so serious, cara . We merely have an unexpected guest.”
    Despite his smile and easy words, the tension had yet to completely flow from his body. He was not happy, but Valerio was not one to show many emotions beyond amusement, lust, and the occasional boredom. Yet, after traveling with him for more than a century, I was beginning to pick up on the warning signs of some other, darker emotions that lurked beneath his carefully crafted veneer. Violence was a part of his nature, but it always came with a smile. The only thing I feared was that violence paired with an angry fire in his eyes.
    A gentle touch on my cheek jerked me from my dark thoughts, causing me to raise my lavender eyes to meet his all-too-knowing blue ones. “Let’s get a robe for you and then meet our guest. The sooner this meeting is over, the sooner we can return our attention to something more pleasant.”
    Turning my head, I kissed the palm of his hand, pushing a smile onto my lips. I had done my own scan and there was a nightwalker standing at the front door, waiting to be welcomed into the town house. We both climbed off the bed at the same time and Valerio waited as I crossed to my wardrobe. Quickly pulling on the silk robe that he had purchased for me in Paris, I headed down the stairs, following just a pace behind him.
    There hadn’t been a single knock at the door, but then there had been no need. It had been no hard task to sense the nightwalker when he drew near to the residence despite the constant miasma of magic that seemed to hang in the London air.
    “I really wasn’t expecting to be found so quickly,” Valerio said softly as we crossed the hallway.
    “I fear that is my