The Twisted Kiss: Doomsyear, Book 1 Read Free Page A

she wanted him to take this even farther. She wanted him to strip off her clothes, lift her up onto this table and take her right here, right now, damn the consequences.
    But he didn’t take it farther. Instead, he broke the kiss, set his forehead to hers and murmured, “I’m sorry. I couldn’t help myself.”
    Her breathing was fast and heavy. “Sorry?” She let out a short laugh. Putting a hand to his chest, she pushed—hard. It was like trying to move a boulder, but he staggered back anyway. “Look, this is all a little bit too much for me right now, understand? Yesterday morning I woke to a day just like any other day. Then, the council made a proclamation about me they had no right to make and now I have two men pursuing me when I don’t want even one. Can you see that I might need a little space?”
    No matter that those two men were a couple of the finest she’d ever set eyes on. Most women would think her insane for denying them—and maybe she was.
    Michael met her eyes. “I see it, but I’m not a patient man. I don’t think Christian is either.”
    “Well, then I’m about to teach you how to be. Maybe I’m exactly what you both need.”
    Michael gave her a crooked smile. “There’s no doubt about that.”
    Her jaw locked involuntarily. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
    “It’s a truth you’ll come to accept.”
    Damn that stupid council to hell and back. She did not need this right now. Dawn blazed brilliantly behind him. She gazed out at the bright horizon. “Shouldn’t you be getting home now?” Please?
    He nodded. “I’ll leave because that’s obviously your preference.” He studied her for a moment. “But I will see you tonight.”
    “I can hardly wait.” Her voice trembled a little.
    He turned, donning his helmet before the early morning sunlight touched his skin, and walked to his cycle. It started with a roar that settled into a kittenish purr. Michael was well off and could apparently burn all the fuel he wanted. With one long, last look at her through the dark visor, he took off, sending up clouds of dust as he traveled down the winding driveway of her farm, protected head to toe by leather.
    Once he was gone, she stalked up the steps of her house and slammed through the screen door into her kitchen. Her father had left this house to her after he died. She missed him every day, but more so today. She could use his advice.
    Scrubbing her hands over her face, she leaned over the sink and stared out at the still-settling clouds of dust that Michael had raised in his wake. The phone rang and she jerked. The phone service was spotty and the shrill ring got her every time. She turned to lift it from the receiver, hoping like hell it wasn’t Christian. That was the worst part of this. Vampires were nocturnal, but werewolves weren’t. That meant she would be plagued by one of them all hours of the day and night. Maybe double time during twilight and dawn?
    Stifling an absurd laugh brought on by stress and fatigue, she barked, “Hello?” into the phone, ready to hang up on Christian if he’d dared call her.
    “Kylie?”
    She let out a relieved breath and sagged against a nearby kitchen chair. “Carolyn, I’m so glad you called. You’ve heard, I guess?”
    Carolyn was her closest friend in Sweet Rock, the daughter of the local alpha. They’d been inseparable since childhood. Since her father’s death and her purchase of the Twisted Kiss, the only time she got to see her was in the morning before Kylie went to bed, since she now kept a vampire’s schedule to correspond with her clientele’s.
    “Heard? Are you kidding me? My father told me over my morning coffee and I spewed it all over the table. Christian Phillips and Michael Sanborn? A human, vampire and werewolf triad? It’s…”
    “Unbelievable, Carolyn. Seriously. There’s been a mistake.”
    “The council doesn’t make mistakes.”
    She rolled her eyes. “Yes, they know all, see all. So I’ve heard about