Blood Curse by Sharon Page Read Free Book Online Page A

tight to his hard body and kissed her deeply.
    She couldn’t say she wished he would die. It wasn’t true. But she wished he would just . . . leave. So that she could get away.
    This kiss was . . .
    Oh, she was terrified of kissing.
    Her first kiss had ended in horror. She had watched the man she loved fall to his knees, clutching his throat. David’s face had turned purple, his tongue had protruded, and his eyes had bulged out.
    The horrible attack had stopped and he had lived. But she had never let herself see him again.
    Ravenhunt kept kissing her. She held her lips so hard and tight they began to ache. She was going to kill him, and even though this was his fault, she was sick with guilt.
    His hand cupped her jaw and slowly stroked. His fingertips massaged her skin beside her ear, making it tingle. His gentle touch soothed her. She found her spine was no longer ramrod straight with fear. Her legs began to melt.
    Slowly, ever so slowly, her lips softened against his. The pressure of his mouth on hers made shivers of pleasure race down her spine. His lips were so firm but velvety. She ached inside—a strange, empty, throbbing feeling.
    She pressed close to him, hard against his body—
    What was she doing? He was her
captor
.
    This was awful. The wonderful kiss she finally had was from a man she despised. It was
wrong
.
    Ophelia shoved hard against his chest.
    This time Ravenhunt let her go.
     
    Raven’s mouth was hot with pain—pain that shot from his sensitive lips through his entire body. Jade had told him Lady Ophelia’s power would kill him slowly. She hadn’t mentioned it would hurt like hell.
    That kiss had felt like his lips had been sliced by razors.
    He touched his stinging lips tenderly. The pain was easing.
    It had been hell while he’d been kissing Ophelia, but at least it hadn’t hurt her. Just him.
    He could bear it for his sister’s sake.
    Lady Ophelia grasped up her hems and scurried away like a frightened animal. She had pulled her gown on, and it hung around her, for she hadn’t bothered with her undergarments.
    Many times he’d seen his sister run away from him in such a pose—biting her lip to fight tears, her heart filled with black fury toward him. When he’d become head of the family at twenty, he had seemed to spend most of his time leveling his sister’s dreams, breaking her heart, and, as she would describe it, ruining her life.
    How was he going to coax Lady Ophelia into his bed? She could not see him as anything other than her captor. Raven had hoped her simmering anger might ignite into passion. Perhaps it would, in time. But he needed a way to cut to the chase.
    He had to give Ophelia orgasms. How was he supposed to do that with a woman who ran away from him?
    Ophelia would be searching for escape. There was no way out of his house. It gave him time to think.
    How badly was it going to hurt him to seduce her? Hell, he couldn’t begin to guess. And it didn’t matter—he had to do it.
    Raven stood absolutely still for several minutes.
    Then he knew what to do.
    From the battlefield, he knew the fear of imminent death made a man turn to anyone for help and rescue. Even an enemy.
     
    There must be a way out.
    But with each room she ran into and searched, Ophelia was losing hope.
    No wonder Ravenhunt had left her room unlocked and had let her run around his house. No wonder he had not pursued her when she ran from him.
    This house was indeed a prison. Except for the two of them, it was utterly devoid of life. No cook resided in the kitchen, no maids tended to the rooms. Ophelia hadn’t encountered another human soul.
    The house showed its neglect. Cobwebs were strung from ceiling to bedposts and furniture in every room but hers. She had found no other bedroom that appeared occupied by her captor.
    Every door to the outside was locked. He must carry the keys with him.
    If she’d had her sculpting tools, she might have been able to spring open a lock. But she had nothing. Even