Inescapable (Eternelles: The Beginning, Book 1) Read Free

had to adapt, and the haute society scene became her new territory.
    Now for a few hours of peace as I slug through this dreadful dinner until we can get to the auction. She’d spotted a relic that might give a clue toward ancient gypsy clans in Central Europe. Sera came from one such family, but which one? That was what she had been trying to find for the past century.
    “Tell me who the bastard is so I can sock him one,” a smooth, masculine voice said close to her. “Or maybe, I should just thank him.”
    She turned, and her breath hitched in her throat. The man who stood before her was male beauty personified. His tall, well-built body carried the custom-tailored tuxedo with inherent grace that rode side by side with ruthless power. And his face... The features on his lean face were sharp, but only so that they wouldn’t look too chiseled. The deep-blue eyes danced with merriment and mischief, and the hint of stubble on his cheeks carried the same golden glint of his short blond hair.
    He could’ve been an angel, were it not for the sardonic lift of his sensual, well-shaped mouth.
    Quel culot! He was having fun at her expense.
    And why the hell had he not heeded the call of her magic? Did recklessness fuel his blood? Or was it something deeper, something…not entirely human?
    “I beg your pardon?” she asked in a cool voice.
    He grinned. “Surely a man wouldn’t be stupid enough to leave a beautiful woman like you alone.”
    Adri was tempted to roll her eyes. How many times had she heard the ‘beautiful woman’ pick-up line? She should just ignore him and move away. Too bad she couldn’t influence a single person on his own; she’d send this man, no matter how handsome he looked, packing within seconds. Now, she’d be forced to tolerate his lousy come-ons until she could work her way into a group of men with him at her heels, and compound the lot of them to leave her the hell alone.
    She took a step toward the center of the room, and he gave a small bark of laughter. Could he be for real? She whirled toward him, at the same time she felt someone approach.
    “I see you’ve already met,” Susan trilled. “Des here has a weak spot for beautiful women.”
    “And since you’re here now, I am finally in perfect company.”
    Susan giggled like a schoolgirl, which made Adri want to retch. What a smooth criminal.
    “Dah-ling, you flatter me,” Susan said. “Adri, I suppose you have already met but allow me to make the formal introductions. This handsome rogue here is Desmond Roxburgh.”
    “Des, please,” he said.
    Adri wanted to kick him in the shin at the silky way he wove his spell on Susan. Wait a second—wove a spell? Was he really a sup, then?
    “Des, this young lady here is Adrasteia Dionysios, the famous relic hunter.”
    Des Roxburgh put out his right hand. “You go by Adri, if I’m not mistaken.”
    She’d look like an impolite bitch if she refused his handshake. No matter how loud something inside of her screamed in warning to not let him get too close to her. Why, she wanted to know? Because he was dangerous? In that case, with the merest contact against his skin, she would be able to figure out what he was.
    So she resolutely took the outstretched hand, and quelled the shock that coursed through her system when they touched. His eyes darkened, she couldn’t help but notice, and in that split second before he released her, she glimpsed prairie fields and rock walls, desert sand and calm lakes, beautiful gardens redolent with sunshine and the fragrance of flowers.
    All of them places she had been in throughout her existence. How could he have the same memories? Or else, how could he evoke such remembrances in her? These were all moments when she had felt at peace with herself and with the universe.
    And if she probed deeper, she would also remember that one time when her world had tilted on its axis—the moment on a dark terrace under a moonless sky when a masked man had pulled her into