Vigil by V. J. Chambers Read Free Book Online Page A

write about that too?”
    “No,” I said quickly. “It’s only that it… introduces bias, and good reporter should never allow her personal feelings to—”
    “You have personal feelings about me?”
    “Well, not like that,” I said. “I barely know you. And you obviously have… issues.”
    He chuckled again. “Issues?”
    “You know, because of the mask and the costume and the connection with…” I sighed.
    “I frighten you.”
    “No,” I said. “No, you don’t. At all.” I took a deep breath. “And I think that’s what frightens me. The fact that you should scare me, but you don’t.”
    He crossed the room to me and pulled me to my feet. “No.” He tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. “You should never be frightened of me. I would never hurt you.”
    I looked into his blue eyes. He was so close.
    I put my hands on his chest, running my fingers over the swell of his pecks. He was so solid. So firm. Being this close to him, I felt lit up like a fuse.
    He put his arms around me. He engulfed me.
    I kissed him.
    His gloved hands roamed over my back, guiding me closer, pressing me into him.
    Oh. That was nice. That was so nice. For a minute, it was all I could think about.
    But then the wheels in my brain began to turn. Vigil was right, wasn’t he? If I got Barclay arrested, he’d be back on the street in months. He was too rich. He had too many connections. The entire system of Aurora was infected with the money from organized crime.
    I massaged Vigil’s tongue with my own, bliss shooting through me. And I thought that maybe it would be okay if I didn’t break the Barclay story.
    Maybe.
    I pushed him away. “One condition.”
    He looked confused. “What are you talking about?”
    “I’ll agree not to reveal anything about Barclay. To interview you instead as a consolation prize. But on one condition.”
    “What?”
    “As long as no other girls die. The minute that they do, the deal’s off.”
    He nodded slowly. “All right. That’s fair.”
    “Good,” I said. I traced the places on his chest where his muscles were knit together. His costume was so tight that I could see every plane and valley.
    He closed his eyes, drawing in a long, slow breath.
    His reaction made something inside me tighten pleasantly.
    His hands moved on my body. The halter top I was wearing left so much of my skin bare, and his gloved fingers dragged themselves over my shoulder blades, down my back, and over my waist.
    “Why?” I whispered. “Why are you touching me?” I knew why I wanted him. He was walking, talking sex. Just being near him made me feel bothered. He was a mysterious man in a mask who’d saved me more than once.
    “Do you want me to stop?” His mouth was on my neck again.
    I moaned. “No. But I don’t understand.”
    “I don’t either,” he murmured into my skin. “Something about you…”
    His lips found mine again.
    I surrendered myself to him, kissing with abandon.
    * * *
    The police were in my apartment when I got home.
    “You didn’t check in with me,” said Airenne. “And it’s after two.”
    I’d been with Vigil for a long time, it was true. I had to conduct an interview, because Henry wanted another story. And for some reason, the he and I had found it difficult to concentrate on the questions. We’d done a lot of kissing.
    A lot of really intense kissing.
    I stood in the doorway to my apartment, staring at the police officers, wondering how I looked. The makeup I’d put on earlier than night was probably smeared all over my face. My clothes were a little wrinkled. And I had bandages on my bare midriff from where The Phantom had cut me. What must they be thinking?
    “Sorry,” I said. “I forgot.”
    “You scared me to death,” said Airenne.
    “Where were you, ma’am?” said one of the police officers.
    “Working on a story,” I said. “I’m an intern for The Sun-Times .”
    “Oh, that’s why I recognized the name,” said the other officer, a woman.