Desire the Night by Amanda Ashley Read Free Book Online Page A

She shrugged. “Nothing special.”
    “Is Wanda a werewolf, too?”
    “No.”
    “Does she know what you are?”
    Kay shook her head. She had shared a lot of things with Wanda, but telling her best friend she turned into a wolf once a month hadn’t been one of them.
    “I thought werewolves were pack animals.”
    “We are, but I wanted to live on my own for a year, and after a lot of arguments with my father, he finally agreed. What about you? What did you do before”—she waved a hand, indicating the cell—“this?”
    “Whatever the hell I wanted.” He tugged against the chains that bound his ankles, cussing mightily as the silver burned deeper into his skin. “Dammit!” he snarled.
    Kay recoiled as his lips peeled back, revealing his fangs.
    The anger drained out of him as quickly as it had risen and he slumped back against the wall, his jaw clenched against the fresh wave of pain caused by tugging against his shackles.
    Kay wrapped her arms around her waist as her stomach growled loudly. One sandwich and a can of soda was hardly enough to make up for all the meals she had missed. She looked up, meeting Gideon’s gaze.
    “I can ease your pain, if you want.”
    “You mean by giving me more of your blood?”
    He shrugged. “I’d rather give it to you than have Verah take it.”
    Kay bit down on her lower lip, thinking about his offer. She knew he had hypnotized her into drinking from him before, but she had no memory of it. Still, she grimaced at the idea.
    “I can make you think it’s hot chocolate with whipped cream on top.”
    “Is that how you made me drink it the last time?”
    He nodded.
    And still she hesitated.
    “You’ll need all your strength for tomorrow night,” Gideon reminded her.
    He was right, darn it. The way she felt now, she couldn’t fight her way out of a paper bag, let alone break down a door made of iron bars.
    Gathering her courage, she scooted to Gideon’s side.
    Gideon took a deep breath as Kay’s nearness slammed into him. His fangs lengthened in response to her fear. The scent of her blood called to his hunger. It took all of his considerable willpower to keep from sinking his fangs into her soft flesh. Instead, he spoke to her mind, bending her will to his, implanting the suggestion that she was drinking a cup of her favorite hot chocolate as he bit into his wrist, then held it to her lips.
    When he released his hold on her mind, she looked up at him, her gaze slightly unfocused. And then she tilted her head to the side. “Turnabout is fair play.”
    “Not much point in giving you my blood if I take it back.”
    “You’ll need your strength, too.”
    He considered it a moment, then drew her into his arms and gently brushed a lock of hair away from her neck. Keeping a tight rein on his self-control, he said, “I only need a little.”
    Hands clenched, heart pounding with trepidation, Kay again tilted her head to the side, granting him access to her throat. What if he didn’t—couldn’t—stop? Well, she thought fatalistically, one way or another, she would soon be out of this place.
    “Relax,” he murmured.
    “Easier said than done,” she muttered, and closed her eyes as he bent his head to her neck.
    Later, when she lay asleep in his arms, Gideon stared into the darkness, his fingertips absently stroking her cheek as he imagined what it would be like to share a cell with a werewolf.
    In all his long life, he had never encountered one. He had heard of them, of course—who hadn’t? They were usually depicted as ravening monsters who couldn’t control themselves and killed indiscriminately when the moon was full. Occasionally, they were depicted as social creatures, loyal to their pack, able to change at will and live ordinary lives.
    Kay, it seemed, fell somewhere in between the two. She had no control over the change but she apparently lived an otherwise normal life save for those nights when the moon was full.
    And it would be full tomorrow