Vampire Cursed Read Free

away.
    He didn’t fight her. Instead, his hands fell away, and he took a step back. “Please rest, Abigail.” Without another word, he left her.
    Abby fell to her knees beside the bed, her heart hammering a wild rhythm in her chest. What had she gotten herself into, and why was fleeing becoming a distant want?
    * * * *
    She is here.   He’d waited for her for centuries, and now she was here.  In his home.  In his life.  Nathaniel moved about the parlor slowly, stealthily, prowling like a large jungle cat.  He knew he’d scared her with his declaration.  She couldn’t know what he knew, but she had to be the one, the woman with the flaming hair and eyes like emeralds.  She would be the one to release him from his torment and allow him to resume a normal life.  The woman to free him.  If only he could convince her to stay.
    Allowing her to leave wasn’t an option.  Though she believed herself to be a reporter, he knew better.  She was the one woman who would break the curse and allow him to find love, thereby breaking the witch’s curse.
    Nathaniel cursed and slapped his palm against the paneled wall.  He’d waited for centuries for this moment.  He wanted to take his time, to convince Abby to stay on her own, to give her the space she needed to fall in love with him.  But time was in short supply.
    If Abigail couldn’t love him, refused to allow herself to listen to her heart, the curse would become permanent, and he would be forced to live eternally as a creature of the dark—a being Abby would never understand and could certainly never love. A loathsome thing trapped inside the walls of a castle he could never leave.
    “No.”  The word broke from his throat.  She had to stay.  It had taken every ounce of strength he possessed to compel her to come. He didn’t know if he would be strong enough to bring her back again.
    * * * *
    Abby dragged her knees closer to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs.  What was happening to her? Instead of rushing around the room trying to find something to wear, she sat on the bed wondering about the man who’d left her at her request.
    Though he’d come across as overbearing and demanding, she sensed no malice in him. And she’d always been able to trust her instincts which were always eerily accurate.
      Her grandmother had told her she’d been an intuitive child, and over the years, that gift had only gotten stronger. Abby could read people, know almost instantaneously what they wanted out of life, the means they’d take to achieve their goals, and how much evil resided within them.
    But it had been tougher to read the Duke. She’d seen desperation in the depths of his eyes and something more—a touch of pain, which made her want to stay, to find out what had caused the it and if she could somehow ease it.  She had no idea why she’d wanted him to kiss her, though.
    One second she had been prepared to lambast him, and the next…her face flushed. She’d had few relationships over the past years, preferring to focus on her career. Her last date had been some time last year which was a little pathetic now that she thought about it.
    But Nathaniel. He was different. She wanted so much more than just one kiss. Something about him mesmerized her. Took her by surprise and suppressed her will so she’d succumbed to his.
    And with just one kiss he’d made her feel alive and sexier than she’d felt in the longest time. 
    Shaking her head, Abby dropped her legs to the side of the bed and stood, testing her own strength.  Grateful the dizziness had passed, she padded across the solid flooring toward the door.  With one hand closed around the doorknob, she swung open the hard wood and stepped out into the hallway. 
    The corridor was dark and uninviting, but Abby moved with sure steps toward the parlor, instinctively knowing where Nathaniel was.  He’d shocked the hell out of her with his words, and now that she’d had the chance to regroup,