Bitten by Darkness by Marie E. Blossom Read Free Book Online

tea and another plate of scones for them,
derailing the awkward conversation. Sienna dove for a chocolate cookie, not
even blushing when both her mother and Jasper rolled their eyes at her.
    Halfway
through the fudgy deliciousness, she realized that Jasper wasn't eating. He
sipped at his tea, barely wetting his lips. “Aren't you going to have any?”
    He
grinned. “I ate earlier. I ordered them for you.”
    She
stopped chewing mid-bite. He'd ordered for her again? She hated that. Hated it. I'm an adult. I don't need some guy ordering food
for me , she thought meanly, angry with him all over again. She debated
tossing the scone back down on the plate out of sheer stubbornness, but decided
irritation was too lame a reason to waste chocolate.
    Her
mother laughed. “Oh, you can be quite charming when you want to, can't you?”
    Jasper
smirked. Sienna's temper heated even more. Her mother thought that was
charming? “He's, like, the opposite of charming.” She glared at him.
    “Oh come
now, I apologized. How can you be angry with me?” He reached over and pulled
her hand toward him, kissing the back of her fingers just as the last rays of
the sun fell below the horizon, like some Prince Charming. His palm was warm.
When he touched his mouth to her skin, a bolt of lust shot straight through her
spine. She remembered what those lips tasted like.
    She
snatched her hand back, fighting the urge to smack his smug, gorgeous face.
Even in the low light of the café's tiki torches his
eyes gleamed. “You didn't even ask me if I wanted more cookies.”
    “I saw
you eyeing your mother's crumbs. I was afraid of what might happen if you
didn't get some more sustenance in you.” He cocked his head and a lock of his
dark hair fell over his eyes. He reached up to brush it away, smirking.
    She
growled. She couldn't help it. He was charming, just like her mother
said. And a jerk.
    He
laughed. She shot her mother a look that said, See? He's impossible , but
her mother had stuffed half a scone in her mouth and was busy chewing. Yeah,
right , Sienna thought. You did that so you wouldn't laugh in my face,
mother . She was outnumbered. She sighed and let go of her bitchiness. It was kind of funny. And she did want more scones.
    She was
just about to grab another when a black-clad hand came down on her shoulder,
hard. She didn't even have time to flinch before Jasper shot up out of his
chair and swung a fist over her head. Belatedly, Sienna ducked, spilling her
tea. Her mother gasped, then dove for the ground, pulling her daughter with
her.
    “Mom? What the hell?” Sienna rolled, trying to see what was happening. Her mother had
a death-grip on her arm.
    Jasper
grunted. Sienna peeked out from behind the table just in time to see him grab
one of the iron chairs and shove it at the attacker's face. The metal hit the
man's skull with a wet thud, but it didn't stop him.
    “Sienna! Stay down,” Jasper yelled.
    Her
mother yanked on her leg and Sienna fell to the worn decking of the café's
patio. “Let me go,” she hissed.
    “Jasper
knows what he's doing,” her mother replied, not easing her grip one iota.
    Sienna
struggled, but when the man shoved the café table to the side, the screeching
of the iron against the wood convinced her to stay down. The edge of one of the
legs hit her shoulder and she gasped. “Jasper. I have
to help him. He's going to get hurt,” she said through clenched teeth. Her
shoulder ached, but she still wanted to do something. Jasper had the man by the
neck. “Mom—”
    “You're
strong, but not that strong. Not as strong as him,” her mother said, voice thin and panicked.
    Sienna
let her pull her back, up against the potted evergreen at the edge of the deck.
The man stomped on Jasper's feet but it didn’t do much to dislodge him. As she
watched, he grimaced and tightened his arms. The crack of the attacker's neck
was loud and disturbing. Sienna blinked, wondering once again why she wasn’t
freaking out. She was