Demon Street Blues by Starla Silver Read Free Book Online Page A

unacceptable. And dangerous. For both of them.
    He stood back up with strained control. “I take it you had another dream.”
    “Um. Yes.” Melinda didn’t hear the strain in his voice, too preoccupied with her own. Focus for Christ’s sake. No… Emily’s sake! “Yes, it was a dream,” she confirmed. “This one I definitely need help with, William.” God, I need help with both…
    “Should I awaken your brothers?”
    “ No!” she answered hastily. “I mean, they have a lot to deal with already. And if I told Michael what I just dreamed, he’d probably have a major freak out. Bad enough he had to see our mother shoot some guy.”
    “What does Michael have to do with your dream?” the vampire asked, controlled concern taking over his carnal cravings.
    “Not Michael. Emily. The love of his life that he won’t just admit is the love of his life already.”
    “Emily. This is most distressing,” William replied evenly. “Explain.”
    “I didn’t see enough, William. Not nearly enough. But if I don’t figure out the who, what and how, Emily will die.”
    “You did not say when or where,” he noted. 
    “Bookstore. Right after closing today.”
    Melinda took a deep breath and closed her eyes, letting go of everything else accept her prophetic dream, willing another to show her more. It didn’t happen. It never happened like that. Not at will.
    She let out a frustrated whine.
    Her eyes opened and she gave a start when William’s distressed emerald greens drilled down into her baby blues. She hadn’t even heard him approach. He stood so close she could feel his nearness, yet he did not touch her. Just like the dream. She swore there was an energy field pulling them together.
    Her eyes closed. A silent scream reverberating through her skull. SAVE EMILY YOU TOTAL SHIT-FOR-BRAINS! A defeated breath escaped her lips.
    She opened her eyes. Determined. Feeling a little more in control. 
    William sucked in, the enticing scent of her lessened. Melinda wasn’t emitting the arousal she’d been bathed in when she’d first entered the room.
    “Do not worry, Melinda,” he sang soothingly. “This dream will not come to pass.”
    Which one? Her overworked brain wondered.
    Melinda nodded in response to him, unable to find her voice. She rarely ever saw William up so close. His skin was smooth and pale, almost glass-like in a way. Not a wrinkle. Not a single age spot revealing his hundreds of years of life.
    She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d sucked in and held, tearing her eyes away, cheeks flush from the desire to look so closely. She could not control her heart though. From the look on his face, he heard the pounding beats.
    He took a step away from her, a peculiar look flitting across his face.
    She swore his eyes flashed from emerald to black, but the black vanished so fast that by the time she blinked, it was gone.
    She hated this feeling welling up inside.
    She hated that she’d had those stupid sexy dreams.
    She hated that she wanted it to be more than just a dream.
    She needed to forget about it. William was her closest friend. Her confidant. Although lately, she’d had a harder time talking to him. Even before her dreams started, she’d realized her feelings towards him had changed. Her crush was something more. Something she could not have… something William would never want, and it would do nothing but put a wedge of uncomfortableness between them.
    And hello!
    Her only other friend in the world needed her help for fuck’s sake!
    I think I’m losing my mind. Maybe I am headed for another nervous breakdown.
    William backed away, needing both space and the security of his desk. He wanted to escape the mansion and leave Melinda before something irreparable took place. Before he did something unforgiveable.
    To leave was the right option. The smart option.
    Frustration mounted. Why the hell was this happening all of a sudden? He’d remained in control of his cravings for such a long