Bound (The Divine, Book Four) by M.R. Forbes Read Free Book Online

couldn't blame him, even the most pious seraph would have trouble ignoring it.
    "Yes. I think I locked my keys in my car. Can you help me?" I pointed down the row towards a random car.
    "Uh... Yeah, okay." He looked down at the fob for the Porsche, searching for the button to lock the doors.  
    That was when I hit him in the temple. Hard, but not too hard. He crumpled to the ground like a bag of meat. I lifted him under the shoulders and leaned him up against the car next to us.  
    "My apologies," I said, taking the keys from his hand and giving him a quick kiss on the lips. He was out cold, but maybe he could feel it in his subconscious.
    Sliding behind the wheel, I felt a sense of exhilaration to be able to drive again. It hadn't been that long in terms of time, but it felt like forever. I started the car and whipped it backwards, then peeled out through the parking lot. I almost careened right into an oncoming Mercedes, having to slam on the brakes and twist the wheel to avoid it. I had forgotten that I was as mortal, and nobody was going to move out of the way for me.
    The other thing I had forgotten, because I had never kept a shell too long, was that my body was human, and needed to rest. I couldn't keep going indefinitely without breaking down, and after an hour on the road that found me still on the west end of Long Island, I knew I needed to stop to sleep.
    I pulled the car off the highway and rode along the side streets until I happened upon a Holiday Inn. My eyes were feeling heavy, and my concentration was fading; both feelings I hadn't experienced in a long time. As a vampire, I would tire when I was hungry, or if I had to be out in the sun. Otherwise, I didn't waste time asleep.
    Getting out of the car, I had another sensation that I wasn't used to. I was hungry, and not for blood. There was a McDonald's across the street from the hotel, and I decided I would grab a bite to eat there right after I checked in.
    The woman at the desk was friendly enough, though she did give me a look because I had taken off the jacket. Swirls and scars ran down both arms to the cuff, in intricate patterns that any artist would have been amazed by. She just seemed disgusted.
    "Room 203," she said, handing back my credit card and the room key. One more crooked glance, and I was off to the room to drop off the jacket, and then head across the street. I checked a wall clock as I passed by. Eleven o'clock.
    I found the stairs, and then the room, using the card to get in. Once I had entered, I put the backpack down on the bed and unzipped it, returning the knives to their spots in the boots and putting the knife Elyse had used on Joe back into its compartment in the sleeve of the leather. That had been a great trick. Once I was re-armed, I went back out of the hotel and across to the burger place.
    I was a vampire. I had never eaten fast food before, though I knew about it from television. My most intimate knowledge of the place was to avoid the blood of humans who were regular patrons, because it would taste of their poor diet. Elyse's stomach was grumbling though, and there was nowhere else nearby to sate its hunger. At least I could cede control to her if I was that disgusted by the meal.
    It was quiet inside, the only patron another traveler who looked like he was resigned to the choice as well. He stared down at his burger, taking a bite, grabbing a few fries, and taking another bite. It was almost enough to make me turn around and walk out.
    I stayed because I needed Elyse, and more importantly I needed her body, even more than she needed my possession. I stepped up to the counter, set to order a meal large enough to keep us going for another twenty-four hours if needed. The cashier was talking to someone else in the back, and pointing to a spill on the floor. He turned to face me, and froze.
    The look was too frightened to be one of admiration. Could he see me? Did he know what I was? I didn't have much time to wonder, because I