Blood and Redemption (Cassandra Myles Witch Series) by Electa Graham Read Free Book Online

strength and he let me push him away.
    Cold eyes studied me. “I can hear your heart beating , Cass. It’s thundering in your chest and I can smell you.” He took a deep breath. “It’s a mixture of arousal and just a hint of fear. I don’t know about you, but that’s pushing all my buttons.”
    “You can smell what you like, but I still want you to leave.”
    “Really? If I dip my hand in your cute little panties, I bet my fingers will come out all sticky and sweet.”
    “Lucius , stop!”
    He looked at me like he just noticed I was there. “Cass, I’m so sorry. Please …don’t hate me.” His face had turned back to the man who had protected me and took care of me when I needed someone.
    “We’ll figure it out. I know we will.” I pulled him into my arms. He was actually shaking.
    “I should leave here. I could have hurt you. I could have…”
    “No, you would never do that. Don’t leave, Lucius. We’ll find the cure for this, I promise. I’ll bring you the goblin king myself and you can drink him dry.”
    He went still. I felt his soft lips against my neck and then in an instant I was alone . I could never be with Quintus; I was in love with his son. Even if Quintus was guilty of some heinous things, it still killed me to know how much this was going to hurt him. I had made a deal and committed to Declan, when I knew in my heart we would never make a good couple, no matter how much we cared for each other. My second chance came at the cost of his life. I wasn’t going to waste it by committing the same mistake all over again.
    I la y in bed for a long time, letting my body and mind calm down. I decided I needed to get a grip. Lucius needed that goblin blood to live and I had to deliver on my promise to seal that fae bitch back in hell. My love life seemed a frivolous worry after those two things. I was going to unlock my magic tonight if I had to use a blow torch and crowbar.
    I found Quintus in his office . He held up his index finger to indicate he would be with me in a minute. He was having a very heated discussion with someone on the phone, which ended in a very anticlimactic touch of a button.
    “I miss an old fashioned phone; there is something very satisfying about slamming down the receiver.” He looked up for the first time and smiled. “You look very refreshed this morning.” His eyes had an extra twinkle in them. “Maybe you should sleep in my bed more often.”
    I instantly blushed. “Quintus.”
    He just laughed. At least he was in a good mood. “Are you ready for your lessons?”
    “Yes, but I thought we might talk first.”
    “Okay . I will talk about anything you want.”
    “What have you protected me from?”
    “That is a very broad question. I will answer it with an extreme example, one I’m sure you’re not aware of. I have protected you from the dark side of our kind. Even the best of us are predators. We survive so long because our instinct to do so is very strong. I see you giving me your ‘duh’ look, so I will give you an example. When you first came here, everyone treated you very kindly. I was happy with how things were going, and then I came upon a small plot to kill you. Some of the younger vampires didn’t like having their baser ways curtailed. It was to look like an accident.”
    “Who? ”
    “You were new here and you may not remember them. There were three : Andre, Edith,and James. ”
    “What happened to them?” I didn’t remember them and the thought that three people I didn’t even know had wanted to kill me was unnerving to say the least.
    “I killed them. I tortured them first to make sure there was no one else in on the plot, then I drained all three of them and left them in the sun to take care of their bodies.”
    The way he said it sent a cold shiver down my spine. He described the scene like he was talking about a grocery list. I could feel him watching me, waiting for my reaction.
    “I don’t know what to say… ‘Thank you’