The Turning-Blood Ties 1 by Jennifer Armintrout Read Free Book Online Page B

attraction to Nathan made him seem more dangerous.
    But he didn’t attack me. He just invaded my personal space and shattered my comfort zone. He leaned down so our noses practically touched. “How do I know you’re not stalling so you can get back to Cyrus and gain his protection?”

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    “Because until you mentioned it, the thought hadn’t crossed my mind.” I don’t know if he expected me to cower or cry or melt into his arms, but I could tell by the pronounced blink of his eyes that I’d surprised him. “Give me a couple of weeks. You can even check in on me. I’ll give you an answer at the end.”
    “Or you’ll run screaming.” He tried again to frighten me, but I was confident he wouldn’t kill me tonight. Something in the way he raked his eyes over my body, like he did now, raw and hungry, told me he had something of a soft spot for women. Or a hard spot, depending on how you looked at it.
    A deliberately slow smile played across my lips. “Do I look like the kind of girl who runs away from trouble?”
    He folded his arms across his chest. “You ran away from Ziggy.”
    Touché. “Yeah, but Ziggy had an axe. Are you going to kill me with your bare hands?”
    He grinned. “I’m good with my hands.”
    Holy hormones, Batman.
    The door to Ziggy’s room burst open, and Nathan instantly stepped away. The teen stalked angrily into the kitchen, middle finger raised toward Nathan as he passed.
    “I know, I know, I’ve got an early class, I should get my rest,” the boy called. “Psych 101, I so need to be awake for that. I’m just making a sandwich before bed.”
    “Bed?” I asked stupidly, checking my watch. Ten after ten. “I have to go.”
    Nathan followed me to the door. “Have you thought of what you’ll do should Cyrus come looking for you?”
    I hadn’t. “I’ll tell him to go away, that I gave at the office,” I said, my uneasiness at the prospect betrayed by my forced laugh.
    I couldn’t stand the thought that I shared a plasma-level connection with the monster who’d attacked me. It was bad enough he’d invaded my nightmares. His blood had become part of me, too.
    Nathan studied my face for a moment, and I stared back, unable to discern a single emotion. He’d probably practiced hiding his feelings for so long that even he couldn’t find them. He looked away and handed me my coat. “If you need anything, you have my number. And this,” he said. He held out The Sanguinarius. I took the book in one hand and awkwardly tried to slip into my coat with the other. He moved behind me to help, and it took all my self-control to keep from leaning against him. What could I say? It had been a long time since I’d engaged in threatening, pseudo-sexual banter with anyone.
    “Thanks,” I said quietly, putting my hand on the doorknob.
    “One more thing,” Nathan said. “If you need blood, please come to me. I always have some to spare. Just don’t go outside afterward. In the daytime, I mean. In fact, you should probably start avoiding it entirely. I’m sure after a while, even if you hold out from feeding, the change will complete itself on its own. I’m always here, if you need…help.”
    “Thanks, but I don’t have any desire to drink blood.”
    “You’ll feel it soon,” Nathan warned as I descended the stairs.
    “Feel what?” I was more concerned by the prospect of the snow on the ground outside than his ominous tone.
    “The hunger. You’ll feel the hunger.”
    Four

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    When Carrie Met Dahlia
    I didn’t give Nathan’s warning much thought until the night the hunger came over me. I’d spent the week doing my best to live life as though nothing had changed. Faced with what might be the last fourteen days of life before submitting myself to the Movement’s judgment, I was going to