Nightwalker by Connie Hall Read Free Book Online

to the desire to kiss her. He could have forced his will on her by just touching her. No doubt about it, Takala Rainwater tempted him, a morsel for the taking. But he had only one resolve, and that was to find out if she worked for Raithe.
    He broke the kiss and stared down at her face, at the strong curve of her jaw. His fingers itched to touch her square chin, and he gave in to the desire.
    At his touch, her closed eyes fluttered.
    He traced the line of her jaw as he stared down at the ginger-blond lashes, a little darker than her coppery gold hair. They formed thick crescents on her high cheekbones. Her full lips were swollen from his kiss, the sweet scent of chocolate still on them. He couldn’t draw his gaze from her tanned face; it had a reddishgolden glow that mesmerized him. He didn’t think he’d ever seen more beautiful feminine features assembled in one package.
    Something about her seemed familiar. What was it about her that tugged at him, that reminded him of someone? It was there, buried in the eons of his life. He just couldn’t retrieve it.
    Takala moaned seductively and pressed her shapely pliant body against him. He hadn’t noticed it before now, but there wasn’t an ounce of extra flesh anywhere on Takala Rainwater. She was all hardened, lean muscle. Her back and shoulders rippled with it. She had the physique of a female bodybuilder, slender hips, indented small waist, and high rounded breasts, all held together by sinew. Strong, yet so intoxicatingly woman. He felt his body responding, and he cursed.
    She inflamed dormant desires and sensations that he had controlled for two centuries. He thought he had evolved past all that, exorcized those demons. But there was no denying it: he wanted her right now. And the danger of being near her was growing by the second.
    He forced his mind back on the mission and his resolve to stop Raithe. He quickly propped her down on the toilet and rested her head back on the wall. Then he unwrapped the scarf from around her neck. He inhaled the overwhelming scent of her blood, and he had to fight the desire to place his lips against the pulsing jugular vein.
    You have her under your power. Taste her blood. Take what you want and need. He heard Raithe’s old voice in his head, tempting him.
    No, he wasn’t like Raithe. He wasn’t a monster.He used to be. For hundreds of years now, he’d led a monastic life of self-denial, atoning for his past evil transgressions—that is, until Takala Rainwater crossed his path. He reminded himself he had more willpower than to let a piece of tempting human baggage destroy all he’d worked so hard to accomplish.
    He felt a tremor of sheer will run through him as he made himself concentrate on the task at hand. He half expected to find Raithe’s puncture marks on her neck. When he saw only Tongue’s claw prints slashing sideways across her skin, slightly swollen and red, he felt relief. Though he wasn’t entirely convinced that she wasn’t one of Raithe’s minions. He had to invade her thoughts to be absolutely certain of it.
    He didn’t have to verbally ask her questions, all he had to do was probe her mind. He immediately detected a brain animated by magic; the insidiousness of it grinding and scraping the edges of his mind. And her thoughts were surprisingly an open book, not obstructed by dark forces as Striker had first suspected.
    Takala had arrived at Lilly Smith’s house from a lead she had received from a friend. She wasn’t certain she trusted Lilly. She hadn’t told Lilly they were mother and daughter yet. He was getting recent feelings of love and hate for someone named Akando. So, she was above suspicion. He had expected the opposite, hoped for the opposite.
    Now he had an innocent to take care of, and he’d seen evidence of how selfish and manipulative Culler could be. But weren’t those the very characteristics of a first-rate undercover