What She Wants. Lucinda Betts
Чтение книги онлайн.
Читать онлайн книгу What She Wants - Lucinda Betts страница 14
Название: What She Wants
Автор: Lucinda Betts
Издательство: Ingram
Жанр: Эротическая литература
isbn: 9780758244086
isbn:
“You called them victims?”
“Well, the woman isn’t moving and something attacked the man, for sure.”
“What?”
“I don’t know.” She gave a low chuckle. “I’m not a detective.”
He didn’t laugh. “Was it you?”
“Me?” She didn’t fake her surprise. How’d he suss out the truth so quickly? “This man’s twice my size.”
“I’ll be right there with an ambulance. Wait for me.”
“I won’t be here. I’m leaving.”
“You can’t leave a crime scene.”
“I’m reporting it, which is all I’m required to do. You have my cell and you know where I’m staying.” Except it occurred to her to wonder where she’d be staying, exactly. Not in Daniel’s room, that’s for sure. If he’d been hunting her, and if the predators had been hunting her…Jesus, what was she going to do? “Just call if you need me.”
“If you’re not guilty, why’re you running?”
Ann knew goading when she heard it. “Why would I stay alone on a dark beach in the middle of the night where people have just been attacked?” She clicked off the phone before he could answer.
Her pleasure at having such an unassailable final word lasted a nanosecond. A person who belonged to the human race would sit in the car. An innocent person would wait. She couldn’t though. Not in Daniel’s car. Not for the cops. Not even for Kai Atlanta.
She had to find the vials.
In that moment, she realized her future was ruined.
Her fiancé had been hunting her for bounty and was essentially already married—and she had missed all the classic signs of his betrayal. The secrecy? She’d bought it, hook, line, and sinker. His utter refusal to let anyone know about their relationship? She’d fallen for that too.
Why had he done this to her?
No, she thought. Why had she let herself be fooled? She hadn’t missed classic signs; she’d ignored them.
It was time to start putting her family first—really first. She needed to find the vials and destroy them, and then she needed to help her mother destroy the lab.
She stepped away from the beach blanket, face to the wind. The salt air rolled over her tongue and filled her lungs. Ann knew why she’d done it, why she’d pulled the wool over her own goddamned eyes. She’d wanted the dream too much. Tired of running and hiding and scheming, she’d wanted a so-called normal life so badly that she’d spurned her heritage and embraced what this man had to offer.
Which was lies.
A gust of wind rolled over the water and hit her in the face, chilling her. Fuck this, she thought to herself. Just fuck this. She planted her feet deep into the sand and ripped power from the earth, giving herself no quarter. Her equine form took hold fast, too fast. Muscles tore and ligaments shredded themselves as her human form gave way—but she didn’t care. She deserved the pain. She craved the pain, but it couldn’t last. Her biology healed damaged tissue as quickly as it ruptured.
So she ran.
She ran like a hurricane roaring over the ocean. Sand flew from under her hooves as she thundered over the turf, waves licking her ankles. She put her head down and let the strength of her legs dominate her spirit. Soon she heard nothing but the pounding of her heart and the wind in her ears.
She ran for ten miles, then twenty. Then she quit counting. The naval base had a huge fence, and she cleared it without trying. She sped past a homeless guy, then a couple walking on the shore. They didn’t notice her. She burst past a virgin, a young woman just shy of maturity. The girl woman saw her, saw her horn, but even her sweet perfume of innocence failed to stop Ann. She’d run until—
The fragrance washed through her like a deluge, the kind that rushes through Southwestern arroyos and leaves them barren.
She knew what she had to do right now—before her job talk in the morning, before she found a safe place to spend the night.
Ignoring the wind rippling through the tall palms, Ann looked up the beach and saw the bright lights curving along Glorietta Bay. A shell crunched beneath her boot as she began to walk toward the hazy crescent of the Coronado Bay Bridge.
Where was he? Her mouth watered for him. Her thighs craved him. She’d do now what she should have done earlier.
The predator had become prey.
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.