Ever Night Read Free Page B

her upon her return, she’d begun to sicken. And the more his tongue had twined with hers, the sicker she’d felt—until she’d finally had to pull away altogether. Miraculously, she’d felt better an instant later.
    Still. She’d assumed she had caught a virus. Until he tried to kiss her a few days later. That time, there’d been no warning. She’d jerked away, her body wanting no part of him, and vomited. A few days later,
she’d
tried to kiss
him,
hopeful, perhaps desperate to make things work. But once more, she’d vomited.
    There’d been no fooling herself after that.
    And there’d been no keeping him. He’d moved on, leaving her brokenhearted. For a few months, at least. Eventually, she’d gotten over him and tried to move on herself. That ache . . .
    Then a new guy had finally caught her eye. Nick. Handsome, sweet, with blond hair and brown eyes—she now avoided guys with dark hair and light eyes because they made the ache so much worse—and, best of all, six foot one and a Dimension Walker.
    Three minutes.
    Everyone used fake names online, but after trading war stories with Nick, she’d given him her phone number. Their first date had been amazing. They’d understood each other, talked, laughed,
connected.
He’d walked her to her door, and she’d hugged him, once again hopeful for the future.
    Until their second date. He’d walked her to her door, and that time, she’d tried to kiss him. Immediately, her stomach had threatened to rebel. She’d jerked away and barricaded herself inside. She’d avoided his calls ever since.
    The only time she left the house anymore was to train. Guns, knives, hand-to-hand combat, just as Vasili had instructed. She would never be so helpless again.
    Two minutes.
    A cold sweat beaded over her skin. Each minute seemed to tick by faster than the last.
    Would she even see Vasili this go-round? According to her sources, she would land in a different place every time she traveled.
    One minute.
    Rose stopped breathing, stood.
Steady.
She had a semiautomatic stashed in the waist of her pants, extra clips in her pockets, blades sheathed inside her boots, killer barrettes in her hair, and an innocent-looking pen strapped to her thigh. That pen was actually a syringe filled with enough sedative to knock out an elephant.
    Kill as many of those monsters as you can,
so many Walkers advised. She couldn’t, she wouldn’t, unless they threatened her. Vasili, though . . . she owed him.
    Twelve o’clock.
    Would she—
    In a single heartbeat, the world around her vanished, a new one taking its place. Indigo walls were replaced with the white fabric of a tent, and her bed and desk with furred rugs. This time, there wasn’t a table. Not even a single chair. The books and tub were gone, too. There was only open space and that fur. And rather than a crackling fire, torches hung along the walls.
    But she’d landed in Vasili’s tent. She knew it.
    â€œWell, well, well. The mouse took my advice and armed herself like a lion. I’m impressed.”
    Rose nearly swallowed her tongue as she spun. And there he was, golden lamplight caressing him. The dark prince of her nightmares. He hadn’t changed. Same inky hair, though the strands were now wet and slicked back, and same feral eyes. Same imposing height and muscled width. Same haunting beauty.
    Just as before, he clutched a glass of liquid amber and ice, sipping as he studied her. He wore a black shirt that hugged his massive biceps, and black pants that were ripped and stained with . . . blood?
    â€œForgive my appearance, darling.”
Oh, sweet heaven.
There was his seductive purr, all magic and moonlight, shivering over her. “I had to race to get here.”
    Her gaze snapped up, and his lips lifted in a slow, sensual smile, revealing those perfect teeth. Her heart finally kicked back into motion,