A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole Read Free Book Online

hardened into tight points and her breaths came hectic. Her arms fell over her head.
    He knew she was close even though she slept. A weird charge came into the air, making him uneasy, making his hackles rise. The taste of her made him forget. He savored her as she grew wetter and wetter against his mouth.
    He felt her tense, wakening. “ Come for me ,” he growled against her flesh.
    She drew her knees to her chest, resting her feet on his shoulders. Interesting, but he was game if—
    She kicked him hard enough to send him across the room.
    A stab of pain told him she’d torn muscles in his shoulder. A red haze covered his sight and confused his mind. He roared as he charged her, throwing her to the bed and pinning her down. He freed his trews and gripped himself, about to shove into her, crazed with his rage and lust, ignoring the Instinct’s warnings: Her mind won’t bend—she’ll break. You’ll destroy what you’ve been given…
    He saw her fangs as she gasped with fear, and wanted to hurt her. A vampire given to him? Bound to him for eternity? More torture. More hatred.
    The vampires had won again.
    He bellowed with fury, and she shrieked. The sound shattered the glass lamp and the television and splintered the door to the balcony. His eardrums nearly burst and he leapt back, clamping his hands over his ears to block out the sound. What the bloody hell was that?
    A scream so high-pitched he didn’t know if humans could hear it.
    She shot from the bed, and as she yanked her gown into place, she gave him a look of…betrayal? Resignation? She flew to the balcony, ducking through the thick curtains.
    Dark now, no danger. Let her go . He slammed his head and fists against the wall, mad with lust. With hate. Memories of fire and torture stabbed him. The feel of the bone finally giving way under his shaking hands…
    If he was cursed to carry those memories, to have that burden, it was little better than still being there, trapped in fire. He’d rather die.
    Maybe fucking her regularly, taking his pain out on her, was what he was supposed to do. Of course. He felt himself calming at the thought. Yes, he’d been given a vampire solely for his pleasure, for his revenge.
    He stalked to the balcony, assessing his shoulder, and tore the curtain aside.
    His breath left him.
    4
    « ^ »
    T he vampire stood scarcely balanced on the balcony railing, her hair and gown whipping in the wind. He swallowed hard. “Come down from there.” Why had his chest tightened with such alarm?
    She whirled to face him—somehow keeping her balance. She looked hurt, her luminous eyes filled with pain. He resisted the recognition taking hold in his disordered mind.
    She whispered, “Why are you doing this to me?”
    Because I’ve wanted what’s mine. Because I need you and I hate you . “Come down now,” he ordered.
    She shook her head slowly.
    “You canna die from this. From sun, or losing your head, but no’ from a fall.” He made his tone casual, though he was uncertain. They were how many floors up? If she was weak…“And I’ll easily follow you down to bring you back here.”
    She glanced over her shoulder down at the street. “No, I might die in my condition.”
    For some reason he believed her, and his alarm spiked. “Your condition? Because of the sun? Damn you, tell me!”
    She turned toward the street and put one foot off the railing.
    “Wait!” He tensed to spring for her, not understanding how she could possibly still be balanced. Won’t bend. She’s broken . “I will no’ do that again. No’ until you want me to.” The wind was picking up, plastering the silk to her body.
    “When you woke…that was meant to give, no’ to take.”
    She put the foot back and faced him. “And when I refused your gift ?” she cried. “What was that?”
    If she died…The fear for her brought him his first true clarity since before the fire. Twelve hundred years he’d waited. For… her .
    For whatever reason, the world