Amethyst Bound by L. Shannon Read Free Book Online

like that with my heart kept safe.
    Now my security was shredded. I was laid bare before Amethyst. She knew all my flaws and weaknesses. How could I trust that she wouldn’t betray me too?

    L. Shannon
    41
    “I will never betray you, Antonia.”
    “How can I know?”
    “You need only look into my mind. Join me and know my thoughts as I know yours.” Could I do that? Could I read Amethyst just as she read me? Once we connected, could Amethyst lie to me?
    Would I be able to think on my own? I didn’t have any answers. Even now I could feel her presence within me.
    On the other hand, I couldn’t see how I would be able to live with her in my mind without testing that trust.
    I imagined her as a book that could be read, and I pictured that book opening in my mind. And as the pages fell open, the image changed to a dragon curled around me. I looked into her iridescent, many-faceted eyes and knew her thoughts. Like a spring giving up its water, she allowed her every need and desire to flow into me.
    She had come from a piece of old magic and was forced into the pendant, where she stayed for so very long. Then she was free and yearned to feel life in all its forms. She wanted to feel flesh, taste foods and experience everything. Each new moment brought her such pleasure. Her every sense was exquisite to the point of pain. And she reveled in the joy of that too.
    Where I had been closed to anything touching me, Amethyst was the opposite. She devoured every detail within the reach of her senses.
    While I had hidden behind my fears, she had jumped into life.
    “You are as you had to be. As am I.”
    “Shh…” Davis’s arms tightened. He held me trapped against his chest. Yet I knew if I pushed free he would let me go.
    Instead, I let him hold me and examined what I 42
    Amethyst Bound
    wanted. His touch was firm and comforting. His strength offered something I hadn’t known I needed. I rubbed my cheek against his soft shirt and inhaled the smell that was unique to him.
    A tangle of desire twisted through my body. Davis was more than a bookworm who might have knowledge I’d need. He was a man I’d found attractive from the first glance.
    “You feel my needs as much as your own.” Amethyst was right. I could feel her desire within me.
    I could also feel Davis’s masculine body and its flattering reaction to holding me. And since I had no pants nor underwear, and the borrowed shirt had ridden up to my waist, I was pressed intimately to his jeans where I was curled into his lap.
    But what did I want out of the situation? Davis wasn’t pressuring me. Neither was Amethyst. Only my choice was left, and both would let me do the choosing.
    “You can trust him.”
    “Can I trust myself?” Or did I even have a choice? I wanted Davis physically and I wanted to offer the experience to Amethyst. And even more important, I couldn’t let my fear of defeat control me. If I went willingly into a situation, then I could be in control.
    I turned into Davis’s embrace, sliding my arms around his waist. With the first motion, he tensed. I wanted to tell him to relax, that I wasn’t going to bite him. But even the thought made me wonder. Biting him sounded good too.

    Chapter Six
    “You can bite him if you like, Antonia. I would enjoy that.”
    I laughed. I didn’t mean to, but Amethyst’s tone was so deeply sincere that she had to be teasing me. However, Davis hadn’t expected me to laugh while my hands roamed over his body. I glanced up and confirmed his frown.
    “Is something funny?” I could hear the smile in his tone, but also a hint of hurt.
    When he started to shift me off his lap, I caught one hand and pulled him to a stop. “Look, Davis, having a dragon in my head is going to make me do funny things sometimes. Don’t take it personally.”
    “So you were laughing at Amethyst?” He sounded doubtful.
    “Yeah. She said I can bite you if I like.” I raised his hand to my mouth and bit down on his thumb, letting my