02 Blood Roses - Blackthorn by Lindsay J Pryor Read Free Book Online Page A

up at her as he lifted her dress to expose her thighs. ‘What about down here?’
    Alisha nodded. She slid her hands over the back of his neck, up through his closely cut hair. ‘Just take it easy this time, all right?’
    She tried to relax, her head pressed back against the door, her breathing terse. His tongue felt cold, wet against her inner thigh as he licked her as if she was coated in sugar. Then, as he bit, she flinched, involuntarily gasped, and grasped his shoulders. She could feel him smile as he started to suck, one hand gripping her thigh so as to keep it steady, his other hand pressing against her hip, keeping her pinned to the door.
    Closing her eyes, she relaxed into the discomfort, the sensation, the knowledge that, for those few moments, he was completely lost in her and her alone; not the multitude of others that swooned and crooned after him, scrabbling for his attention. In those few moments he was hers. In those few moments she was the one he wanted. The only one he wanted.
    This is what Leila could never understand. Any more than Leila understood why she’d had to risk so much to save him.
    ❄ ❄ ❄
    Leila seemingly remained oblivious to his presence as she sat perched on the edge of the round table, her gaze lost in the distance. Her bare toes rested on the bench, her knuckles pale as she hugged herself. Her fine, shoulder-length hair was caressed by the breeze, a breeze that swept the subtle aroma of strawberries and white lily towards him – a scent as fresh, delicate and enticing as the witch herself.
    She looked so unguarded that Caleb almost doubted his suspicions, but he couldn’t doubt the spark in his defence mechanisms the moment their eyes had met. He’d hunted enough to know one when he saw one, whatever clever façade they hid behind. And the deadly female on his terrace was going to learn, if she didn’t already know, that not even the most adept of her kind fooled him.
    Catching a glimpse of him in her blind spot, Leila flinched, her startled gaze meeting his.
    ‘Not quite Summerton, is it?’ he said, stepping across the threshold to join her.
    She reverted her gaze to the view, but he knew she was remaining diligently aware of his approach in the corner of her eye.
    ‘And very different to what you’re used to, I’m sure,’ he added, strolling across to the barrier. Facing the view, he braced his arms on the rail as he surveyed the sector he’d built up from nothing but ruins. ‘It’s a very different view from up here,’ he said. ‘On the ground you see ruin, deprivation, neglect. Up here, looking over the expanse, you see a community. One that, despite its impoverished state, has found a way to work together, or at least maintain peace by staying apart. A community that knows it’ll take nothing for it to implode so abides by its own rules, its own laws, its own survival mechanisms.’
    ‘A community run by crime, by bullies, by intimidation, by a select few who have taken it upon themselves to be in charge. A community run by fear.’
    He couldn’t help but smile at her ignorance. ‘Believe it or not, this used to be nothing but fields when I was a child. I spent my youth climbing trees and swimming in lakes around here under clear starry nights.’ He turned to face her, folding his arms as he leaned back against the barrier. ‘Long before the Regulations obviously.’
    She squeezed her clenched hands in her lap. ‘Regulations that allowed our kind to be protected.’
    ‘Protection that brought with it all the privileges, despite the fact it was your kind who ruined the landscape in the first place.’
    ‘I’m not here to talk politics, Caleb.’
    ‘I thought you’d love the opportunity, what with those special little rings of yours.’
    ‘I’m entitled to an opinion.’
    ‘I never said you weren’t. I’m merely pointing out that at least we understand limitations whereas your kind’s selfishness knows no bounds.’
    Her hazel eyes narrowed.