Immortal Craving (Dark Dynasties) Read Free

reproach. Whatever was wrong here, freaking out on their part was not going to help it. When she turned her head to look at her friend, however, she could see something was very wrong. Shelbyhad gone sheet-white, her dark eyes huge as she stared at the man’s face.
    “
Shelby
,” she said more sharply, hoping to draw her attention away. The look on her friend’s face wasn’t one she’d ever seen before… or ever wanted to see again.
    “His…
eyes
…,” Shelby whispered.
    Bay turned her head sharply to look at him, and when his eyes locked with hers, she finally understood.
    The guy who’d just wrecked her shampoo display wasn’t human. Not even close.
    His eyes were a bright, burning gold, more akin to molten metal than the more muted shades she’d seen among the werewolves who stayed with Lily’s dynasty. They were intense, mesmerizing. He stared at her for an instant that felt much longer than it truly was, and in her head she heard his voice as clearly as if he’d been speaking in her ear. It was far too intimate, and still it made her shiver.
    Be still. I would speak with you.
    His gaze returned to Shelby, who was fumbling now with the phone. Bay heard Shelby’s terrified, sobbing breaths even out instantly, heard the phone being clicked off, and then the gentle creak of the stool behind the counter as the girl settled herself on it. She said nothing.
    “So you’re a vampire,” Bay said quietly, adrenaline still pumping hard and fast through her veins. Only Grimm’s reassuring presence kept her from running out the door, the urge to flee an instinct that her rational mind knew would make no difference. If he wanted to catch her, he would. She should have known what he was as soon as he’d gotten up—no human could move so fast.
    “I don’t know how you’re out in the middle of the afternoon, but whatever you came in here for, I can’t help you.”
    Bay was glad her voice sounded so steady, considering her legs felt like Jell-O.
    The man said nothing, his expression guarded. And despite herself, despite knowing she was in the presence of a creature who had just thralled her employee into a happy stupor, a creature who was out during the day when there was no earthly way he should be, Bay felt the vampire’s physical appeal slam into her like a fist.
    They’re all beautiful. You’re used to it
, she told herself, furious at the way her heartbeat quickened. And a treacherous little voice in the back of her mind responded,
They may all be beautiful… but not like this.
    Those remarkable eyes, deep set and almond shaped, watched her steadily from beneath a pair of dark, slashing brows. His nose was strong, his lips tantalizingly full, and his square jaw was covered in a light growth of stubble. The vampire’s hair, wavy and black as sin, was cut short enough not to fall into his eyes but long enough to tousle, and Bay had to tear her eyes away when her fingers curled reflexively into her palm, itching to run her fingers through it, over every inch of this stranger’s tanned and gold-dusted skin.
    It was Grimm’s soft growl that finally sliced through her haze. She blinked rapidly and shook her head, making sure not to meet the vampire’s eyes again. Lily had been very clear about how to protect herself from the less well-behaved members of the species, and Bay was glad for it. Poor Shelby was going to be in her own little world until this guy left, and then, Bay knew, the girl wouldn’t remember any of this. A heavy thrall could really do a number on a person.
    She didn’t want her own brain messed with to boot.
    Finally, he spoke.
    “You’re close friends with the ruler of the Lilim, aren’t you?” he asked. “Lily MacGillivray. And you’re Bailey Harper. This is the information I was given.”
    “Given by who?” Bay asked, fighting back the fresh sliver of fear working its way down her spine. He’d said he had no intention of hurting them, but still… vampires didn’t come