In the Dark. Jen Colly

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      LYRICAL PRESS

      Kensington Publishing Corp.

      www.kensingtonbooks.com

      Copyright

      Lyrical Press books are published by

      Kensington Publishing Corp. 119 West 40th Street New York, NY 10018

      Copyright © 2014 by JEn Colly

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

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      Kensington Publishing Corp.

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      New York, NY 10018

      Attn. Special Sales Department. Phone: 1-800-221-2647.

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      Lyrical Press and the L logo are trademarks of Kensington Publishing Corp.

      First Electronic Edition: MONTH YEAR

      eISBN-13: 978-1-61650-519-6

      eISBN-10: 1-61650-519-2

      Printed in the United States of America

      Dedication

      To my husband Ryan, for all that you are, and all that you do. I love you.

      To Sofia and Roger...you’re too little to read this. Close the book. Love, Mom.

      Chapter 1

      Dark tonight. The steady rain mottled the persistent light from the streetlamps. Darkness was a good thing. He wasn’t comfortable here. This wasn’t home, and a part of him hated Paris. For all the city’s beauty and sophistication, it was a very dangerous place.

      Stepping over a deep puddle, Soren moved as quickly as he could, keeping to the shadows as he scanned the quiet street, straining to hear any movement beyond the rain.

      Though he usually didn’t watch his back or worry about what waited around the next corner, here in this city, it made the difference between getting what he needed to survive and the eradication of his people. If humans were to discover him, their fear would take over, and every last one of his kind would be hunted down and butchered. It had happened before.

      Men’s voices broke through the peaceful silence of night, and he ignored them, just as he did the rain dripping from his hair and off the tip of his nose. They were too far away to cause him any trouble. He was here for another, more urgent purpose. He’d ignored the signs, and now his body required sustenance.

      Then a woman’s whimpering plea fell into the mix of voices.

      He changed his path, searching for her, and found her in a dead end alleyway. Two men pinned the helpless and frightened woman to the brick wall. He pulled the men from her, threw them hard against the building. Their heads hit on the bricks with a sickening thud, and the men fell to the ground, limp, lifeless.

      The woman had been pitched back against the far building, taking a bump to her head. He spun around to see how she had fared. She still stood.

      Hunger hit him hard.

      He strode toward her, chest heaving from excitement, anticipation. The woman before him was water to a man dying of thirst.

      She was so refreshingly ordinary, from her wet and clinging black hair, to her flushed cheeks. Even the cut of her shirt, low enough to show a mere hint of her bosom and all her lovely neck, was simple.

      She leaned against the building for support as she tested the back of her head for any serious injury. “Thank you. I don’t know what I would have done.”

      Her trembling voice set him in motion, but her tentative smile sealed her fate. He moved a step closer, then another, crowding her.

      She stumbled as she tried to step back, looking for an escape. The wall of the building was already pressing against her back. Still he advanced.

      Standing inches from her, he grazed her cheek with his fingers then plunged them into her hair and swept the sopping mess back. She gasped softly, a nervous intake of breath.

      “Please, don’t.” Her voice quavered.

      “Say it again,” he demanded roughly, though his touch was gentle.

      “Please,” she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut, and he dropped his head and nuzzled her neck. Her voice enthralled him so, had drawn him closer.

      She whimpered, the vibrations touching his lips, and he tightened his grasp on her, trying to somehow remain focused. He needed to go slowly, but it had been too long. The sensation of her lush form against him was too right, the soft scent of her flesh too potent.

      Control fled, and he bit her. Her body jerked once, then went rigid against him. Happily drowning in the sweet and tempting scent that had driven him over the edge, he barely noticed. Rose? Lavender? He didn’t know flowers, and didn’t care to learn them, but he would never again breathe that scent without thinking of her.

      Nourishing, sweet and hot, her lifeblood sent blissful shivers coursing through his body. Feeding was always a delicious experience, though he’d never experienced anything like this.

      The rain continued to fall on them, the cool drops sliding down her neck to the very spot where they were joined. Soren drank in the water, the taste of her skin infused in every raindrop. So intoxicating, so sensual. He couldn’t help but wrap his other arm around her waist and bring her closer. He was no longer holding her still, СКАЧАТЬ