My Forbidden Desire by Carolyn Jewel Read Free Book Online Page B

between closing her eyes and opening them became minuscule, which was disorienting to say the least. She was sick to her stomach, and her legs were jittery.
    “Listen up, witch.” She shifted in the direction of Xia’s words. Did his voice sound like it was coming from higher above her head because he’d straightened up? “I’ve proofed the place against shit-head mages like Christophe or Rasmus, but it would take longer than I’ve had to make it solid. What I did isn’t going to keep magehelds out for long.”
    “You heard something, didn’t you?” she said.
    “I didn’t hear shit. But it’s my job to make sure nothing gets in here.”
    “I think they’re trying to get in now.”
    “Give me your mobile.”
    She obeyed without hesitation. He opened her phone. In the screen’s glow she saw his determined face. The light made his eyes look white. He punched in a number and handed it back to her. “If you see me go down, or if you feel like you need to call for help, get into the bathroom and lock the door. Then call that number.”
    “Why not 911?”
    Without the glow of her phone, they were enveloped in darkness. “Because,” he said after a pause, “that’s not the kind of help you’re going to need. Whoever answers, you tell him you’re Harsh’s sister and you need help, now.”
    “Okay.” Swear to God, Alexandrine thought she saw a neon blue glow in the place where his eyes ought to be. And then there was nothing. Either he’d blinked or looked away, or she was just seeing things.
    Get out. Get out. Get out!
    “Xia,” she said. Her legs did not want to hold her up right now.
    “Shh.”
    If anything, the darkness got deeper. The temperature dropped to an icy chill. Her skin crawled and the muscles in her legs twitched. “We have to get out of here,” she said. “Right now.”
    Glass shattered somewhere in the building, in the direction of the kitchen, where a back door led to the apartment house’s laundry room, garbage area, and garage. She jumped, but Xia clamped a hand over her mouth. His other arm snaked around her waist and held her tight, face-to-face with him. His body was unyielding. Her head clamored, spinning out of whack. A solid block of ice.
    Xia put his mouth by her ear. “Quiet. You got that, witch? Not a word unless I ask you something.” She nodded, and he slid his hand off her mouth. His lips were right by her ear. “Feel anything?”
    She turned her head to use the same soft voice. “Like what?”
    “Concentrate.” He said the word like he meant fuck off and die .
    “I don’t know.” Her head was pounding, and everything wavered in front of her, going in and out of focus.
    He was still holding her tight. Her shirt had flapped open at the bottom when he grabbed her, and her bare belly was pressed hard against his, the amulet between them. His arm tightened around her, and her head spun. “How many?”
    Wood broke this time. The sound came from the rear stairs that led from her kitchen to the laundry room. Whoever or whatever was here wasn’t in her apartment yet, but they would be soon. They were going to get in. She pushed at his chest. Oh, dear God. Naked skin. Hard-body naked skin. “I don’t know!”
    “Guess.”
    She guessed. She was good at guessing. “Four.”
    “That’s all?” Xia laughed. “Piece of cake. Here.” He let go of her and handed her his knife, hilt first. “Take this. Watch the blade; it’s sharp enough to take off your head. Something bad happens, you make the call first. But use this if you need to.”
    The knife was much heavier than she expected. And it made her fingers prickle with numbness. “I don’t want it.”
    “Use it,” he said.
    And then Xia headed for the kitchen to face whatever was creeping up the back stairs in order to get into her apartment and kill her. Alexandrine stayed in the hallway, chill air pressing against her. Her knees shook. She tightened her fingers around the hilt of Xia’s knife. She felt a