Nightwalker by Unknown Read Free Book Online

couch.
    "I'm going to teach you a lesson, Cassie." He stoked the flames with
    efficient ease, creating a healthy blaze that illuminated his own hard
    profile.
    Cassie went very still, real fear coursing down her spine as she stared at
    his kneeling figure. He was dressed in a black pullover sweater and a pair
    of black jeans. The black calfskin boots on his feet looked sinister.
    Desperately she fought for some semblance of her normal spirit. But
    trapped in a firelit room facing a man who looked right at home in a
    crumbling old mansion, she found it was difficult to sound cool and
    determined. "I've warned you, Justin Drake, if you try to hurt me in any
    way…"
    "Credit me with a little subtlety, Cassie. I'm not going to beat you." He
    rose lithely to his feet and turned to face her, the strange smile edging his
    mouth.
    Cassie looked up at him warily, aware of feeling very chilled even though
    the room was rapidly warming at last. "Exactly what kind of a threat are
    you making, Justin?" she whispered tightly.
    He closed the space between them, coming to a halt in front of her.
    Almost casually he reached down to capture her chin between his thumb
    and forefinger. His dark eyes glittered in the firelight, brilliant and
    unreadable.
    "I told you to run, lady, remember? Well, you did run and now I've
    caught up with you. You never had a chance, you know? But now the chase
    is over. I'm going to teach you not to look at me as if I'm not worthy of
    you. I'm going to change your attitude completely, in fact."
    "What are you talking about?" she whispered, immobilized by the heavy
    power in him. Cassie felt as if she were under a spell.
    "I'm going to seduce you, Cassandra Bond. You're going to compensate
    me in bed for what I lost when I gave in to your threat of blackmail."
    Three
    « ^ »
    Cassie's reaction was immediate and electric. "Not a chance," she
    whispered fiercely. She dodged free of his hand, leaping to her feet and
    moving to put the sofa between them. "I would no more go to bed with you
    than I would with…with…"
    "With Dracula?" he asked, making no effort to drag her out from
    behind the sofa.
    "Yes, damn it!"
    "As I recall, Dracula got any woman he wanted." His dark eyes gleamed
    with wicked humor.
    "Well, you haven't got that kind of track record, have you? You didn't
    get my sister and you're not going to get me!" she gritted, aware of feeling
    far too vulnerable in the cotton nightgown. "Now, if it's money you
    want…"
    "You're still willing to pay me off? How generous of you," he drawled.
    She eyed him suspiciously. "Go away and I'll send you a check."
    He shook his head. "It won't work, Cassie. I don't want your money."
    "You can't possibly want me, either!"
    "I'll admit you're different from your sister," he acknowledged,
    surveying the picture she made in the old-fashioned nightgown.
    "So why bother trying to rape me if you don't find me attractive?" she
    snapped.
    "I didn't say I was going to rape you. I said I was going to seduce you."
    "I don't see much difference," she gasped.
    "There's a world of difference," he said gently. "Raping you wouldn't
    change the way you look at me, would it? There would just be more
    contempt and disdain than ever in those golden eyes."
    "Plus sheer hatred!"
    His mouth twisted wryly. "Yes. And I don't want you to hate me, Cassie.
    I want you to desire me. I want you in the palm of my hand. I want you
    looking at me with eyes full of passion and need. I want you to surrender
    completely. Now do you understand? That's going to be your punishment
    for crossing me."
    Cassie could hardly breathe. She longed to run and knew that was
    impossible. As she stared at him another bolt of lightning crossed the sky,
    a bolt so brilliant that it was visible even through the rips in the old
    curtains. The thunder followed almost at once. Across the room the black
    cat watched Cassie with eyes as unreadable as Justin's. Cassie felt trapped
    with not one but two sources of