Second of the Winterset Coven by T. S. Joyce Read Free Book Online Page A

her had really wished the nightmare was over. Her eyes burned as she felt crushed under the weight of the avalanche tumbling down on top of her. The attack, finding out about Garret’s past, about his great love, and now this? Torunn hadn’t moved on as Garret had told her. She’d been killed by the same man who’d nearly drained Dawn dry.
    And on top of all of that, Dawn’s feelings for Garret had deepened infinitely during their night together. There was no running from this. There was only enduring it until she could see light again, because Garret had said she was his.
    And down to her soul, she felt the same about him.

Chapter Six
     
    Sadey jerked her head to the left and stopped the porch swing from rocking underneath them. Immediately, Dawn was on alert. Sadey’s senses were insanely heightened, and it took several seconds before the mass of bats appeared out of the evening shadows. There was such power in their motion, thousands of bats screeching and flapping in a swirling dance, and then Garret was there when the bats and purple smoke dissipated. He hadn’t ever allowed her to see him in that form before.
    Sadey squeezed Dawn’s knee and told her, “I’ll see you later.” The snow leopard shifter rose from her seat and walked across the lawn with inhuman grace. She waved just before she got behind the wheel of her black Jetta.
    Garret strode straight for her, his long legs making quick progress across her yard. She stood slowly as she watched him approach. He wore a black sweater that clung to his broad shoulders and cut his deep V-figure perfectly. The dark color made his skin look even paler. His jeans were dark and sat on his hips just right. His eyes were still the color of his sweater, but his lips were curved up in a stunning, if slight, smile that nearly knocked her backward. His stride lengthened as he reached the porch where he took the stairs two at a time, and then he was there, pulling her against his chest, resting his cheek against her hair as she clung to his shirt. God, she’d missed him, and it had only been a day.
    Was that his lips in her hair? He was rocking them gently, and for some unknown reason, Dawn felt like crying. Her heart had been pulled this way and that so much over the last few days, but this right here felt right. Just a hug, and Garret made everything okay. He wouldn’t let Asmund hurt her, she just knew it.
    “You look beautiful,” he whispered against her ear, running his fingertips along the black fabric over her waist.
    “Good enough to eat?” she teased.
    Garret eased back and dipped his gaze to her thighs, then flicked those black, hungry eyes back up to hers. “Yeah,” he murmured through a devilish smile.
    And right about now she was cursing the fact she lived with her mom. All her thirsty body wanted to do was pull him inside and make him follow through with that threat. Especially now as Garret went serious and gave his attention to her lips. He lifted her hands and intertwined his fingers with hers before stepping closer. “I like that I don’t have to stop myself anymore.”
    Dawn gulped and nodded dumbly. She was glad, too, only she couldn’t find the words to say that as eloquently as he had.
    He leaned in and then stopped a couple of inches from her lips. “Are you scared of me?”
    “Never,” she whispered. The answer didn’t really make sense to his question, but he smiled as if he understood.
    Garret pulled her hands to his waist, then cupped the side of her neck as he eased his mouth onto hers. And as his lips moved gently against hers, he pressed his thumb down onto her pulse. Oh, she knew what he could feel. Her heart was pounding a hundred miles a minute just being this close to the man who consumed her.
    The heartbreak was done, and he wasn’t pushing her away anymore. He was letting her in, letting her touch him, letting her affect him. His. He’d told his king she was his.
    Dawn pressed her body along his until she could feel