Neptune's Lair (sensual paranormal romance) (The Protectors) by Dorothy McFalls Read Free Book Online Page A

in his throat.
    “ Dallas St. John ?” He’d been swamped with work and had completely ignored the stack of applications for the vacant associate position the personnel officer had sent to him over a week ago. Personnel and Trina had scheduled the appointments. All he had to do was look at the files and show up for the interview.
    “Yes, sir. That’s what the file says.”
    Fate or the universe or whoever was pulling the strings up there had screwed him over good this time. If not for that damned vision, he would have met Dallas under normal circumstances and recognized that she was a New One all on his own.
    Stone would probably want to hear about this new complication right away.
    “Give me her address and phone number. I’ll contact her.”
    Trina gave him the information without questioning why he would bother calling a potential employee. After talking to Stone, he dialed Dallas’s home number. The answering machine picked up.
    A sense of dread filled him. He pictured her lifeless body sprawled out in the middle of her apartment. But that wasn’t a vision, he reminded himself. Those were his fears speaking to him.
    God help him, he needed to find her.

    * * * * *

    A light snow twirled through the soggy, cold Chicago streets. The dreary weather must have convinced the sun to stay away. In the grim light of late afternoon, Dallas plodded forward, searching aimlessly.
    She dabbed a tissue to her nose. It had started bleeding again.
    That morning, she’d taken a cab to her apartment to shower and change into some warm clothes before setting out on this insane search of hers. Insane or not, she felt pulled by a force outside herself.
    “I’ve got to find him,” she grumbled and dabbed at her nose again.
    A horn honked behind her.
    “Dallas.”
    The horn honked again.
    “Dallas!”
    A flashy, red Toyota sports coupe pulled up alongside her. It slowed to match her pace.
    “DALLAS!”
    “Leave me alone, Janice.”
    The car jerked to a stop. Dallas kept going forward. She wished whatever force tugging at her would do her a favor and look at a map. She’d already been down this street. Twice.
    She was about halfway down the block when she heard Janice slam her car door shut. The tattoo of heels beat against the pavement sped up as her friend grew closer.
    Dallas figured there was nothing to do but wait for the inevitable. Annoying as Janice could be, she couldn’t deny that Janice really was a good friend to be looking out for her like this. Her mind was still tripping over that warm, fuzzy thought when Janice grabbed Dallas by her tender shoulders and spun her around until they were standing face-to-face and toe-to-toe. She gave Dallas a nasty shake that made her brain knock around in her head.
    “What the hell are you doing?” Janice shouted. She didn’t need to shout since she was close enough that their foreheads nearly knocked together.
    “Not so loud,” Dallas breathed. “You’re hurting me.”
    A frigid wind swept through her, chilling her to the core. She pushed away from Janice and hugged her arms against herself, trying to fight the intrusion of all this cold. A shiver tiptoed like icy fingers down her back.
    She blinked.
    This was her third time down this street, yet not until Janice had spun her around had she noticed a storefront that wasn’t much wider than its full glass door. A faded, old wooden sign announced that the place was called The Oblique Café.
    A long-forgotten and neglected voice from her childhood whispered that she had finally found what she’d been searching for. She twisted out of Janice’s grasp and headed toward the door.
    Halfway there, her attention jumped from the door to a large figure approaching from her right. It was him .
    He looked harried, exhausted, worried…and absolutely wonderful.
    Dallas pounced. She swung her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his. To call it a kiss would be too simple. She was tasting him and, liking the heat in her mouth,