The Glass Man by Jocelyn Adams Read Free Book Online Page A

scar on the face of the Goddess. I keep hoping more will fall victim to your gift, but you’ve proven a disappointment so far. We’ll have to change that, now won’t we?” He traced my lips with his tongue.
    I shook my head. “Stop it!”
    His mouth covered mine. My every cell answered his call as if my body had burst apart and remade itself in an instant. It coaxed a wicked sort of ecstasy into me, slipping across the razor’s edge between pleasure and pain. Instincts took over, my desires using my body as a puppet to sate its hunger. No. This is wrong. He killed them! I melted into the kiss, exploring him with my tongue, tangling my fingers into the silk of his hair. Oh God, what am I doing? His touch transcended my skin and caressed me everywhere at once, filling me with intoxicating power.
    I broke away, panting. “No.”
    His whisper came next to my ear. “You know you want to.”
    I did. God help me, but I did. “Get. Off. Me.” Every word rose in volume. Each time he fondled me, each time I enjoyed it, I betrayed them, all of the ones he killed to get to me.
    A flash of memory made me cry out. Hot, so hot. Hands, sweating, skin on skin. A rush of power burning through my flesh, and need, such need, I couldn’t hold back.
    “I can’t tell you how exciting it was to deflower a force such as you.” He moaned. “I always suspected you were a screamer. We destroyed the room that night. I’d like to know how you explained that when you checked out.”
    I didn’t check out. I ran for two weeks straight.
    When he shimmied out of his shorts, I struggled to free myself. I tried to talk myself into calm, but my body wouldn’t listen.
    Only a dream.
    Not really here.
    His warmth, the tingle from his fingers, the reactions in my body all seemed so real they made me want to give in to him. The brush of his skin must have conjured some ancient magic. No! He murdered my family and so many others—all to get to me.
    The thought of enjoying his nearness made my stomach lurch.
    Reason broke through his spell over me. My power flared. I couldn’t use it against him, but I could use it for other purposes. I held on to it for a moment, warring with the part of me that wanted a taste of pleasure for once.
    I let the power go.
    An echo of my mother’s last frantic words rushed through my thoughts. The man who comes tells only lies. Run, Lilabear. Run!
    A deafening crack boomed around us. In a flash of light more brilliant than lightning, the dream broke, and I tumbled from the cot, wheezing on the dirt floor in the shed. The sound of blood rushing through my veins roared in my ears.
    Lies. He tells only lies.
    Rubbing at my eyes, I took deep breaths and climbed onto the cot again. At first I thought the ground shook, but after a moment, I realized it was only me.
    I’d given myself to him once, and the darkest part of me had enjoyed it. I hugged my knees and rocked back and forth.

6
    Faint pink light seeped in through cracks in the shack walls and under the door. Dawn. Did I use my power? Or only in the dream? The guys in the shed continued to sleep, and Sebastian did, in fact, snore like a chainsaw as Garret had said. A blinding flash of light and a thunderous crack should have roused them. Maybe they were heavy sleepers? I pressed palms to my forehead to contain the ache growing under the quandary. Logic emerged through the haze. They should have been awake, but they weren’t, so the surge must have been contained to the dream.
    The sight of Garret, balled up under his blanket, added to the war in my head. On one hand, I wanted to stay and protect him, and on the other, if I stayed, I could put him in worse danger than even the likes of Rourke. I wouldn’t take the chance. If I did use my power, even a small amount, and the Glass Man could use it to find me, then I had to leave.
    I struggled into my shirt, shouldered my backpack and went out the door. The thought of leaving weighed on my heart, but I did my best to