Stefan (Lost Nights Series Book 1) by Jocelynn Drake Read Free Book Online

vampire .

Chapter 3
     
    Something was wrong. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I was suddenly awake when I had been in a deep sleep just a minute earlier. Lying still in my bed, I listened to the creaks in the building and the wind rattling the window in its frame. There were no odd sounds to indicate that I wasn’t completely alone in the apartment. Taking a deep breath, I tried to will myself into relaxing so I could return to sleep when the same scents that I associated with autumn filled my nose. It was spring in Venice and I wasn’t alone. Every muscle in my body stiffened and I strained to hear anything.
    “Shh, ma petite ,” whispered Stefan frighteningly close. “It is only me.” The bed shifted as Stefan curled up against me as I lie on my side.
    I rolled over as far as I could so that my back was now pressed to his front while I looked up at him. The room was dark, but I could make out an outline of his face just above mine. He leaned up on his right arm in the pillow beside mine and the fingers of his left hand slowly threaded through my hair, brushing it away from my face in a gentle caress.
    “What are you doing here?” I asked, inwardly wincing at the low husky tone of my voice caused by sleep.
    “I said I would return tonight. I wished to watch you sleep.”
    “I thought when you said you’d return, you meant before I went to bed.”
    “Business took longer than I had anticipated,” Stefan grumbled.
    Softly chuckling, I rolled back onto my side and closed my eyes. As I did, Stefan snuggled closer, keeping his long body pressed along the length of mine.
    “What do you find so amusing?”
    “A vampire with business,” I murmured, biting back a smile. “I never heard of any vampire having a job.”
    Sleep was a lost cause now that I knew Stefan was here. How could anyone sleep when he was near? And it wasn’t fear talking. My heart picked up its pace every time he inched a little closer to me.
    “I have a very important job, ma petite .” His deep voice was little more than a whisper, a gentle caress of my senses.
    “And what would that be? Do you model capes?”
    “Nightwalkers do not wear capes.” His tone became stiff and I could so easily imagine the affronted expression pulling at his features, thoroughly insulted by the idea. He must have seen a couple Bela Lugosi movies.
    “Are you the main coffin tester for all the vampires in Italy?” I teased.
    “I can’t say that I am fond of coffins. Beds have become far more comfortable over the centuries.” As he spoke, he snuggled down so that his head was lying on my pillow. I didn’t think he could get any closer and still remain a separate person. He was also not cool to the touch anymore. I wasn’t sure if he was leaching some of my own body heat or if he’d gained a little warmth from feeding prior to visiting me.
    The thought gave me some pause as some uneasiness twisted in my stomach. The image of him holding another woman like he’d held me as he drank from her throat left me feeling ill. I no longer felt special to him. What’s worse, jealousy flared in my chest. How dare he feed from someone else and then come snuggle in bed with me! I knew that I couldn’t possibly supply him with blood every night. I wouldn’t be able to function after a couple days and he’d drain me dry in just over a week. But I still didn’t like the idea of him holding another woman. Damn, I was so freaking screwed .
    Stefan sat up suddenly and leaned over me so that he could clearly see my face, assuming that he could even see anything in the dark. “Erin, what is wrong? Something is bothering you.”
    I stared at his shadow-cloaked face, stunned that he’d picked up the shift in my emotions without me saying a word. “How...?”
    “I can clearly feel your emotions and something has upset you.”
    “You can read my mind?”
    Stefan paused and he seemed to stare at me. After a couple seconds of tense silence, he shook his head. “No, and