Black Blood by Melissa Pearl Read Free Book Online Page A

Tears pricked at her eyes. “What
does he want?”
    She felt a hand
slide up her neck, a sure thumb resting on her cheek.
    “I mean, he
can’t be all bad if he helped me save Sam today, right?”
    Harrison
nodded.
    “I just… maybe
I should call him, but…” Gemma slumped onto the bed and covered her
face with her arms.
    “But what?”
Harrison tried to pull her arms free, but she tensed her muscles in
defence. “Gemma, what are you so afraid of?”
    He finally
wrenched her arms apart and held his face above hers.
    She fought the
lump in her throat, sniffed at her tears and finally sighed. “I’m
scared that pure one crap is just a comparison to Decimus.”
    Harrison looked
confused.
    “Decimus was
the one who betrayed everybody.”
    “I know who he
is, but what has it got to do with you?”
    “I’ve fallen in
love with a normal human just like he did!”
    “Gem.” Harrison
paused to lick his lips. “Do you think he’s going to make you break
up with me?”
    Her head
bobbed. Her lips quivered.
    Harrison’s face
went blank. He pushed away from her, swinging his legs over the
edge of the bed. Running his fingers through his hair with a sigh,
he then rested his elbows on his knees.
    The inside of
Gemma’s cheek grew raw as she watched him. Cautiously she reached
out and felt a soft fire lick through her fingers as she ran her
hand up his back.
    He turned to
smile at her, his eyes glowing.
    “What if I have
nothing to do with it? What if it’s something else? Don’t you at
least want to know?”
    He
swive led his body to
face her. She felt the creeping worry disband at his confident
gaze.
    “ Gem,”
his voice went silky as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear,
“if it is about me, we’ll deal with it. I’m not going to let you
betray your family.”
    Her heart
dropped. Did that mean…
    “But I’m not
losing you either,” he finished, picking up her heart and nestling
it back into its socket.
    She forced a
smile over her lips.
    “Will you come
with me?”
    “Try and stop
me.”
    Her smile
became natural as she took in his words. She said, “I love you”
with a silent look before pulling his head down to meet her.
    Fire enveloped
them as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She let the flames
singe away her fears and thoughts of the little black cell phone in
the back of her underwear drawer.
     

 
    Chapter
Eight
    Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida – 2011 AD
     
    Gemma
pulled her drawer open and rifled through her underwear. Harrison
leaned against the doorframe with his hands in his pockets,
watching her. He kept his posture casual, trying to bring a sense
of calm to the situation.
    He had been
woken with an early morning phone call inviting him up to her
place. Her mother had left early for the lab and her father was
away on business. He had agreed without question.
    “Here we go.”
She pulled out the phone and rubbed her agitated fingers over
it.
    He pushed
himself off the frame and approached her. Placing a hand on her
shoulder, he ran his fingers up and down her arm.
    “Just do it,
Gem. Make the call.”
    “Maybe you
should?” Gemma held out the phone to him.
    “What?” He
stepped away with a shake of his head. “No way. He doesn’t want to
talk to me. It’s gotta come from you.”
    She let out a
frustrated grunt and threw the phone onto her bed. He held his sigh
in check and calmly went to retrieve it.
    “Stop being
such a chicken. Make the call, Gemma.” He used his sternest voice.
It felt a little weird speaking to her that way, but she needed it.
If she didn’t make this call today he might just shoot himself in
the head. This had gone on long enough. If the news was bad they
needed to know so they could deal with it.
    Her eyes were
narrow with irritation as she snatched the phone from his fingers
and flipped it open. She selected the only number in the directory
and chewed her cheek. Her thumb wavered over the send button.
Grabbing her wrist, Harrison pulled the phone