Kissed by a Dark Prince (Volume 1) by Felicity Heaton Read Free Book Online Page B

breath, struggling for air just as she had been a moment ago. She laid her hand on his shoulder. He was shaking like a leaf.
    Olivia ran her hand along his jaw and lifted his chin, and studied his eyes. She tilted his head towards the light and away, monitoring the responsiveness of his pupils.
    “What’s wrong?” She checked his pulse, pressing her fingers against his neck. It was fast, far quicker than it had been when she’d had him hooked up to the machines in the lab.
    She dropped her hand away.
    It matched hers.
    “Not used to the pace,” he ground out. He was talking about his heartbeat. Her heartbeat. She swallowed, stunned by the reality before her.
    The bond between them was so deep that it affected him physically. It linked them right down to their hearts.
    Incredible.
    He sat back in front of her and drew in slow breaths and her eyes widened when her pulse began to slow. He was the one making it happen.
    Olivia tried to help him, seeking calm amongst the raging storm of her feelings, but it was hard. She was in a strange environment, felt threatened and overwhelmed, and someone was out to torture her. Just thinking about that had her pulse picking up again.
    “Calm yourself.” He was back to commanding her again.
    “I’m trying... it’s... I can’t... it’s too much.” Olivia’s panic spiked, her hand shaking against his face.
    He looked deep into her eyes and then she was in his arms, held close to him, and they were kneeling together on the floor.
    Familiar scents swirled around her and she instantly felt more relaxed. “What did you do?”
    He drew back from her and she found that he had taken her home and they were kneeling in the middle of her small living room on the cream carpet, between the beige sofa and the TV.
    The prince brushed cool fingers across her brow. “You feel better now.”
    She nodded, her heart levelling out again, the soft feel of the carpet beneath her knees and the familiar surroundings making her feel comforted and safe.
    He sighed.
    “I cannot remain here... and that means you cannot either... but I will not rush you,” he said in a low voice, one laced with a solemn note.
    She appreciated that because she could see how difficult this was for him. He was a man used to issuing orders and having someone instantly obey. He was a man unused to having a weakness and she knew that was what she was. She didn’t want this bond between them either. She wanted it undone or broken or just gone somehow. She didn’t care how.
    “Is there a way to undo it?” she whispered, afraid to hope that there was.
    “It is possible it may fade if we do not complete it. I will have my men look into it and we will know soon enough if it is possible to break the bond. If it is possible, you will be free to go.”
    She didn’t like the sound of that. “And if it isn’t?”
    “If it is not possible, then my only choice will be to complete the bond. Completing the bond will restore my strength, because it will make you immortal, stronger.” He held her gaze, unflinching as she glared at him, thinking about giving him another piece of her mind. “You must understand... I must defeat my enemy and to do that, I need to regain my strength, whether that is through breaking or completing our bond.”
    In other words, she wasn’t getting a choice. He was just going to make that decision for her.
    “I don’t want this bond. I’m stating that for the record. I didn’t ask you to bite me and drag me into this mess. I don’t want it completed. I want it gone.”
    “I will do all I can. I will have my best researchers on it as soon as we return.”
    Olivia shook her head. “I’m not returning. That’s another thing. I want to stay here until we know for certain.”
    His black eyebrows pinched together. “I cannot allow that. You will be vulnerable here.”
    Olivia held her ground, refusing to give an inch. “Can’t one of your men stay with me, like a bodyguard?”
    His expression