Protected by April Zyon Read Free Book Online

them could be a vestal virgin,
Vivian. You need to get word to your sister. Have her warn them that a killer
is on the loose, looking specifically for virgins. It’s not the whole truth,
but it’s the most believable. Have her get them to suspend all meetings for the
time being. A couple of weeks, at least.
    “Warn them all that they may
already be targeted, that they need to stay in groups as much as possible,
especially after dark. In daylight it’s not so important, but they shouldn’t
take alleyways or any shortcut where there aren’t a lot of people. Can you do
that?”
    She nodded, immediately going to
retrieve her cell phone. When three calls to her sister went to voice mail, she
groaned in frustration. “I can’t reach her,” she said, fear now living inside of
her. “There isn’t a phone at the residence, and she isn’t answering her cell. I
love her like crazy, but when she starts painting, she ignores everything else.
Her phone’s probably at the bottom of her purse or shoved into a drawer right
now.” She felt a little panicked. “I have to go there. The ferry starts to run
again at five a.m. and I have to go.”
    She already mourned the loss of
Jason. “And the group—I know they meet once a month. I … I think they’re supposed to
meet next week. They don’t keep names or whatever. At least, they didn’t make
anyone write down their names when I went to that meeting with Fia, so I don’t
know,” she said, worry making her repeat herself.
    “I’ll take you,” he said. “I
don’t want you going alone, not now that I’ve found you.” He slid his arms
around her, pulling her to him as he pressed his forehead to hers. “We should
sleep. We’ll get to the ferry in time, I promise. I’ll alert James, because I
want to take him as well. I’m hoping we won’t need the backup, but I’d rather have
it.”
    Vivian nodded. She wrapped her
arms around his waist and closed her eyes. “I’m sorry. I feel bad because … I wanted to do more with you
than sleep.” And she never just jumped into bed with people. Ever. “So, what do
you mean, ‘now that you’ve found me’?” She wanted to hear it again, that he
needed her in his life as much as she felt she needed him in hers.
    “You’re my soul mate. The
medallion heating, the intense need we feel … all signs that you’re mine. I’ve
been looking for you for a long, long time, Vivian. Where you go, I go.
Period.” A finger under her chin tipped her face up for his kiss. “I’m going to
make love to you, soon. But first things first, we need to make sure your
sister is safe and see if we can’t warn the other members of her group. Then,
you and me, somewhere nice and private and absolutely no fucking clothing
between us for hours, maybe even days on end.”
    That had Viv shivering. She
licked her lips. “We’ll order food in to be delivered. We’ll just have each
other.” She moved so that she was tucked in nice and close to him, her ear
against his chest, the beating of his heart a comforting sound. “I think I
could see myself falling in love with you one day,” she admitted.
    He gave her a squeeze, and she
felt his chin come to rest on her hair. “I think I’m already in love with you,”
he said softly. A small ripple went through him before he gave her another
quick squeeze. “We should clean up and get to bed. We only have a little over
four hours before we need to leave for the ferry. Grab one of my shirts to
sleep in, if you want. There’s a couple spare toothbrushes in the bathroom. I
need to call James.”
    “Okay.” She didn’t want to move,
though. She wanted to stay where she was. “Or we could just both strip naked
and sleep in each other’s arms, skin to skin?”
    Jason rubbed a hand over her
back. “However you want, Vivian. As long as you’re comfortable, that’s what
matters most to me.”
    She nodded. “If we aren’t able
to do anything else, I want this at least. Even though I know