Embrace Me At Dawn by Shayla Black Read Free Book Online Page B

hours with her in the beginning to learn what she responded to, what would make her let go of all the rage, pain, and desire trapped inside her. She owed him her all.
    “ Do you want me?”
    “ Always,” she promised.
    “ I’ll hold you to it.” Then he bit down.
    And Anka shattered with a sharp, keening scream that carried through the entire house and echoed back. Pleasure bulldozed her, bringing every corner of her body to tingling life with a rich swirl of pleasure that made her dizzy and sent her soaring. Behind her, Shock sucked at her neck and pumped into her harder until he cursed, groaned, then emptied inside her. She flew, floated, to a place with no pain, no regret, no feeling…just blessed silence. And dark. She closed her eyes.
    When she came to, he’d withdrawn from the bed and dressed, shoved his sunglasses in place, and now prowled the room, a bottle of Scotch in hand.
    “ All right, little one?”
    She stretched, sighed, stared at Shock. The usual guilt thwacked her in the stomach. The emotion was useless and would only brass him off, so she stifled it and rose. “Of course. Thank you.”
    A sudden pounding on the wall had her jumping. His glower filled her vision. “I don’t want your fucking gratitude.”
    He’d never asked for it, would never say it out loud, but he wanted the one thing she could never give him. Her heart. It hadn’t been hers in a century.
    “ That’s shit, Anka. You never tried.” He grabbed her by the arms, gripping so tightly, she gasped.
    “ Don’t do this. We’ve been over and over this. It serves no purpose.”
    “ What more do you fucking need from me?”
    He rarely discussed anything in such straightforward terms. That he was now made her pause. Guilt crashed through her. “Nothing. You’ve done everything I could ever want and more.”
    Shock scowled under his shades, his dark brows a V that disappeared under the black plastic. “Except be that pussy Lucan.”
    That was the Shock she knew. The one who lashed out when he felt threatened, worried, or afraid.
    “ Boo fucking hoo. Cry me a river,” he sneered. “I’m not afraid.”
    Anka let the remark pass without calling him a liar. It was enough that he flinched as she thought it. His status quo was changing, and he didn’t like it. She understood.
    “ Glad to hear it.” She smiled. “Starting tomorrow, I’ll be spending my days training to fight Mathias. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, Shock. Truly. But I need to do this.”
    His stance changed, his stare dissecting her. “I can teach you more than those wankers.”
    “ Maybe, but it’s rubbish. You won’t. You can’t protect me forever.”
    Shock certainly looked like he wanted to try. He crossed his leather-clad arms over his massive chest. “Lucan can’t protect you at all. You better avoid him while you’re learning to fight. Or he will crawl inside your head and take a shit again, Anka.”
    She closed her eyes, trying to empty her head. But he was right. Lucan didn’t understand. He never would. “I doubt I’ll see him that much. Marrok will probably instruct me on human fighting, and I’m sure Bram will work with me to improve my magic skills. I doubt I’ll see Lucan at all.”
    “ Good.” Steel rang in his voice. “If the fucker touches you, I will kill him.”

Chapter Three
     
    Dressed in faded jeans that had somehow gotten too big over the last few months and a long-sleeved cotton shirt that allowed for free movement, Anka walked into what had once been the ballroom on Bram’s recently rebuilt estate. In this iteration of the mansion, he hadn’t bothered to make it posh or elegant. The wood floors and the mirrors covering one whole wall existed purely for training purposes, and weapons lined the other walls. Punching bags hung from the ceiling. Windows overlooked the shooting range and archery target. There wasn’t a stick of furniture anywhere in the room.
    She tiptoed into the quiet, taking everything