Hold Their Peace (Vampire Assassin League) by Jackie Ivie Read Free Book Online Page A

thudding had changed to a ringing type sound. And it was louder. It came over and over to add to the cacophony of sound already in her ears. It was also getting beyond warm. The stone at her fingertips felt hot, while she made each step gingerly until her toes acclimatized to the heat. And she knew she was getting close to the heat source. It was a lot brighter, while shadows flit about the rock walls, looking like demon-inspired fingers or something worse. This was a hell of a dream/nightmare, an unpaid excursion into madness, or a trip off the far side. And nothing worked at altering it. Darcy fully expected to see the real Hades, or maybe that three-headed dog thing, as she poked her head around each corner.
    Holy smack .
    She had a fabulous imagination. Truly...fabulous. A blast of heat hit her face. Her jaw dropped. It was Thanos. He was sideways to her, putting all kinds of shadows into play with each movement. There was a fire behind him in a huge kiln-thing, making whooshing sounds as it ate up fuel. His arm was the origin of the banging sounds, for he was swinging one badass hammer, hitting again and again on what looked like a sword blade even to her untrained eye. And every muscle on that guy was defined and moving. He was wearing his little skirt thing again, but it wasn’t hiding much. She’d seen pretty much all of him last night. Wow. Again. It hadn’t been enough preparation. A jaw drop wasn’t sufficient. She could barely breathe.
    Someone else was in charge of her feet, too. She was almost to him before he saw her. He jerked upward, lost his grip on the hammer, and he was probably lucky that it hit beside his foot and bounced away from an ankle, rather than maiming him.
    “Hi there.”
    The words came out in a breathless, sexy-voice she didn’t know she owned. That was another oddity. But she could go with it. After all, this was her fantasy, and she couldn’t seem to stop it. Might as well enjoy it as long as it lasted; worry over recriminations later. That should be in the rule listing for this kind of thing.
    Because...look here. She’d definitely dreamt the perfect male into place. He was even taller than her. In this country? What a plus. And he was more than fit. Every bit of work-out time he spent in a gym was getting highlighted and sculpted by firelight. She could tell his eye color now. They were a nice, warm shade of brown. And he was worse than gorgeous. Or was that better? Either, way, it was true. There was no denying what was right before her. Especially since he had his eyes widened, his nostrils flared, and had pulled his head back just slightly. His chest looked to enlarge with what could be a huge breath, or a bit of masculine preening. But that couldn’t possibly be a flush touching the tops of his cheeks...could it?
    “What’re you doing?” she asked.
    “Uh...You. Uh. Y-yes.”
    He stuttered. Damn. He was rapidly approaching the realm of cute again. His eyes darted away for a moment, before returning to hers with an intensity that momentarily stunned. And she’d been off a hair on color. They shifted...looking red. Dark red. Blood...dark red.
    She swallowed before answering. And the same voice came out. And damn, but it was warm in here!
    “Yeah. Me.”
    “You...uh. You...”
    Darcy stepped closer, nearly touching the anvil thing. He appeared to have stepped the exact space back from her. Toward his fire. That was even more endearing. She couldn’t help the slight smile.
    “Are you making a sword?” she asked, putting the tip of a finger to it and running it along the raised ridge of his project.
    “Uh...yes.”
    “Why?”
    “You. Uh. You.”
    “Yes. Me. You already said that, Thanos.”
    “I meant...the blade. It’s...for you.”
    He answered in a faltering fashion, as if unsure she’d approve. Or accept. Or do anything other than continue stroking the raised line along the upper part of the blade. And she’d been wrong. It wasn’t just warm. It was