Bound by Light by Anna Windsor Read Free Book Online

piercing his heart, ending Jake’s world.
    The searing pain of that moment was etched through every molecule of his being.
    Jake’s biggest scar ached. He raised both hands to his torso and pressed against that wound—healed. It was healed now. And the other scars, too, reminders of where his mother had vented her wrath with belts and canes, and at times cut him open to harvest blood for some of her darker activities.
    It was a wonder she had never turned the brunt of her biosentient talents on him. If she had, he’d be moldering in the family crypt instead of reliving the worst moment of his existence.
    "Go away," he whispered, but his mother remained, dagger raised, gaze unfocused.
    Jake realized his mother’s memory had grown beyond his own consciousness until she had become a vestigial image. Through their collective recall and shared history, every Astaroth evermore would recognize this person, Jake’s mother—or rather, the meaning of her presence. She represented the threat from within, the beloved betrayer, the traitor in the fold.
    Why was she here, now? There were no traitorous, murdering bitches in the townhouse, not now that she was dead.
    Not real. Not a portent. Just a personal memory.
    "The snake in the gift box," Jake said aloud, wishing he could summon wind energy to blow away the ghostly figure.
    "Excuse me?" asked a lightly accented woman’s voice from behind him.
    Jake startled so badly his fingers almost dug holes in his own sides. He bared his teeth, felt the punch of his fangs as they tried to form. His Astaroth body tried to rip itself out of his human shell. He’d fight this time. He’d tear off his mother’s head if he had to—but his mother had vanished to nothing.
    In her place stood Merilee Alexander.
    The air Sibyl held up her dangerous, beautiful hands like Down, boy .
    Jake shook his head and snarled, then tried to make himself breathe. Even half crazy, he could see that Merilee’s pretty face was tense and worried, and he hated that, and despised himself for causing it. She didn’t attack or even take a more aggressive posture. Instead, she let off a soft wind, and the warm breeze wrapped itself around Jake like a caress.
    "Take it easy." She lowered her hands. "Just relax. I didn’t mean to scare you."
    "Sorry," he mumbled as the calm touch of her elemental energy put his demon instincts to rest. His fangs stopped trying to form. The push and tear of wings against his back—finished. His claws hadn’t even grown—well, not over an inch, anyway.
    Why couldn’t he control these idiotic memories? He had learned all sorts of mental focusing techniques during his travels and at the Motherhouses, but they had failed him every day since he came back to New York. Now he had made an ass of himself in front of the one woman he would rather impress.
    Merilee gradually took back her wind energy and studied Jake. Her light, sweet fragrance teased his nose. He focused on her blond hair, her blue eyes, nothing like his mother’s. Brighter and more vibrant. So much more alive. Merilee’s form-fitting jeans, the way her soft-looking tan shirt hugged the curve of her breasts—her presence engraved itself on his senses. The fantasy of her, that had been one thing.
    The reality of her was quite another.
    Jake felt the power of Merilee’s personality and ventsentience—her elemental control over the wind and air—like a storm in his own soul. He was close enough to really see her. Close enough to touch her if he wanted to. His mind went completely and suddenly quiet, but the rest of him started to roar instead. Just the sight of her was enough to make his blood burn, make his chest tighten.
    I want to taste you, his mind whispered to the beautiful woman he had once vowed never to touch. I want to take my time with each slow, delicious bite .
    The roller coaster inside Jake made him physically sick and completely aroused all at the same time. He didn’t need to be here in this place. He