Freaks in the City by Maree Anderson Read Free Book Online Page B

as
she was concerned there was nothing the least amusing about her
body failing to work as it was designed to. It wasn’t as though she
could seek out her creator for assistance. If anything went wrong
with her and she couldn’t diagnose it and fix it herself, she would
be, as Tyler’s twin Caro liked to say, royally screwed.
    His grin faded. “It’s nothing to worry
about, Jay. No need to run a diagnostic. It’s a normal human
reaction. Sometimes humans have that effect on each other.”
    He pulled her in close, wrapping his arms
around her and linking his fingers at her lower back like he feared
she might try to escape his embrace. “And just so’s you know, I’m
thrilled to itty bitty pieces that I can do that to you—affect you
physically just by looking at you, I mean. I’d be gutted if it was
all one-sided.”
    Jay arched her spine, leaning backward
slightly so she could better observe his face. “What do you
mean?”
    “I mean, me being glued to the spot,
incapable of moving, staring at you like an idiot the first time I
saw you. I mean, you opening the front door seconds before I unlock
it and my breath catching and my mouth going dry at the sight of
you. I mean, feeling like the luckiest guy in the entire freaking
world because you chose me.”
    “Oh.”
    “Just oh?”
    “I mean, ‘oh’ as in, I hoped that’s what you
meant.”
    His chocolate-brown eyes darkened, the
pupils dilating as she stared into his eyes, into his soul. But she
wasn’t human, didn’t have a soul. She wondered what he saw when he
stared into her eyes. And hoped that whatever he saw it was
something real, something he could love.
    She entwined her arms about his neck and
tugged his head down to meet her lips. She gave him every
opportunity to pull back, to resist. His lips met hers, and she
truly thought her racing heart would burst from her chest as his
hands skimmed her sides, settled on her hips and pulled her hard
against him. Wobbly knees were nothing compared to this involuntary
relaxing of her muscles and her limbs, almost as though she was
absorbing the heat of his body and melting against him.
    When he pulled away, she choked on a tiny
cry of protest. Dazed, she stared at him, wondering at his sudden
alertness.
    “Someone’s at the front door,” he said.
    A shiver coursed through her. If she’d been
human, she might have labeled what she felt right now as a sense of
foreboding. The sensation was so strong it almost cancelled out the
disturbing fact that she’d been so caught up in Tyler’s kiss she
hadn’t sensed someone approaching her front door. “Let’s not answer
it.”
    He tapped his forefinger on her nose. “Could
be important.”
    Jay sought a more valid excuse than having a
“bad feeling” about whoever was at the door. “They’ll call again.
Or ring. Our pizza’s getting cold.”
    Tyler inhaled, momentarily diverted by the
mention of food. “Mmm. Smells great.”
    “It is,” she assured him.
    “Okay, you win. We ignore the door.”
    The harsh squeal of the buzzer intruded
again. And again.
    Tyler sighed. “Persistent, aren’t they?”
    She should have shut the door behind her and
enclosed them in the sound-proofed room. Obviously now there would
be no peace until she’d answered the front door. “I’ll get rid of
whoever it is,” she said. “Be right back.”
    “I’ll be waiting. Don’t take too long or
I’ll start without you.”
    Still distracted by her responses to Tyler,
Jay strode downstairs, flicked the lock, and yanked open the
door.
    Oh. She should have used the speaker, for
then she would have been forewarned. Because of all the people she
would least like to see right now—or anytime, for that matter—this
girl would top the list.
    “Holy shit! You’re Jaime
Smythson?”
    “Surprise,” Jay said.
    The girl took a step backward, doubtless
responding to the coldness of Jay’s expression and the displeasure
in her voice. “I-I guess you didn’t die in that