Good As Dead (Dying To Meet You Book 1) Read Free Page B

shook her body subsided. A nagging sliver of guilt had started to worm its way inside him. He needed to go easy on her. She’d had a rough day. Chances were that things were shortly going to get a lot worse before they got better however, so the little chit needed to toughen up. To be fair to the girl, she didn’t waste too much time on tears. A few minutes later, there were a few more sniffs and snuffles, but then she stiffened in his arms.
    He released his tight hold on her and laid her out flat on the bed. Keeping his voice devoid of any sympathy or pity, he looked down at her and said, “All cried out?”
    There was a long pause before she finally answered. “I guess that depends on what you’re going to do to me. What do you want?” Her voice was a whisper of a sound. His eardrums were thankful.
    “To get you out of my life as quickly as possible but as that seems unlikely, I’ll settle for your co-operation as I try to get you out of the Grand Canyon sized hole you seem to have found yourself in. How can one little slip of a girl be wanted dead by so many people?” He gave her an enquiring look but it seemed the art of conversation was lost, at least for this evening in any case. Raising an eyebrow at her lack of communication, he then shook his head. “You’re going to have to talk to me sooner or later, darling. If you don’t, we’re really going to be up against the odds.” Lying down beside her, he rested his head on the chintz-patterned quilt as he studied her expression.
    “I want to go to sleep,” she whimpered, backing away from him.
    “You need to relax before you stand a chance of accomplishing that feat.”
    “Exactly,” she bit back, “so get the hell out of here.”
    He snorted. This might have been the first time ever a female had ejected him from a bedroom. He found it wasn’t a particularly pleasing experience.
    “Roll over.”
    “I’m not having sex with you.”
    “I think I’d know if you were.”
    There was an outraged pause. “You’re not funny. I mean it. Other women may fall at your feet but I don’t find you remotely attractive, so don’t bother with the bedroom technique . You’ll be wasting your time. If that’s what you want from me, you might as well kill me now.”
    A ghost of a smile played across his lips. “So melodramatic, princess, relax…everyone else may want to kill you, but I have the unfortunate task of trying to keep you alive. So let me make this clear. I do not want to have sex with you. I have no designs on your body. I do not need another unwanted houseguest in my life. If you play nicely, I’ll play nicely. Do we understand each other?”
    There was anger in her eyes, but she managed to acknowledge his question with a stiff nod of her head.
    “Now roll over.”
    “I thought you just said…”
    “And I meant it. My body heat will help warm you up and if we spoon, my heart rate will help slow yours down.”
    “Well, that’s one I haven’t heard before, vampire.”
    He stiffened and his mouth opened in shock. “How on earth do you…?”
    “I know a vampire when I see one and you tick all the boxes. Attractive...mesmerising…bossy...arrogant...annoying…”
    Forcefully rolling her over, he brought the flat of his hand up to her chin and snapped her jaw shut. “Shut up and go to sleep.”
    If necessary, they could discuss the finer points of the paranormal world tomorrow.
    Feeling her mouth try to pry itself open to offer up yet another reprisal, he decided she’d be better off unconscious. Having had quite enough exertion for this evening, he didn’t want her awake for the bite he needed to render. He didn’t care what she thought she knew, he knew a bite from him was going to be memorable, too memorable so if he were able to commit the sensations to dreamland, so much the better. He pushed into her mind to complete the deed.
    “I know you’re trying to make me sleep. I’ll fight your control every step of the way, vamp.” Her