When Shadows Call by Amanda Bonilla Read Free Book Online Page A

one end of the city to the other. Just like the market, the city pulsed with life and possibility. But Azriel seemed to see through my pretense. Somehow, he knew the secret things that I dare not speak out loud. “I love the freedom,” I said, averting my gaze.
    “Freedom from him?”
    Yes .
    I hated to admit it, even to myself. Since waking to this new existence, I had been happy—even thankful—to be free from my husband. I’d been so miserable for so long. I’d resorted to acts of suicide, thinking it was the only way to be truly free. I wasn’t just free of an abusive husband, though. I was free of pious old biddies with nothing better to do than gossip. I was free from convention and propriety. Azriel had taken me away from a world where the societal standard dictated my every move. “It is so much more than that,” I said, just above a whisper.
    Azriel placed his hands on my shoulders and turned me to face him. His gaze burned with an intensity I didn’t understand. He didn’t say a word to me, nor did he ask my permission. No, Azriel took what he wanted without consent or apologies. Right there, standing beneath the Public Market sign, in front of anyone who cared to watch. And when he kissed me, it wasn’t a simple meeting of lips. His mouth claimed mine with a ferocity and passion that left me breathless.
    I melted against him. In fact, I couldn’t get close enough. I’d never been kissed like this, and I reveled in the excitement of the moment, the taste of his mouth, the firm press of his lips that were still so soft. His tongue traced my lips before darting in my mouth and I gasped at his boldness, but my surprise only prompted him to hold me tighter. My body ached with a need I was desperate to satiate, an emptiness that begged to be filled. I wanted more. Craved it. Azriel wound his fist into my hair and gently pulled my head back. A moan worked its way up my throat as he left a trail of kisses down my throat.
    “I want . . .” I started to whisper before I stopped myself.
    “What?” Azriel asked as he worked his way back up toward my ear. “Tell me, Darian. What is it that you want?”
    “I don’t know.” I gave a nervous laugh. Honestly, I had no idea what I wanted. I didn’t know the first thing about making love aside from the basic mechanics. I wanted to answer my body’s urgings, but how could I tell Azriel that I’d never been with a man before?
    Azriel laughed against my throat and the seductive sound caused my stomach to clench. He pulled away from me and took my hand in his, leading me down the boardwalk as if we hadn’t just engaged in indecent behavior on a public street. “You are without shame,” I teased. I couldn’t help but look around me as I wondered who had stopped to witness our impassioned moment.
    “True,” Azriel laughed. “Would you rather I respected decorum and social graces?”
    “No,” I answered immediately. “I envy your unabashed nature.”
    “Give me time,” Azriel said in a conspiratorial tone, “and I will make a sinful woman out of you.”
    Delicious chills raced up my arms and over my scalp. If this is what sin felt like, then I couldn’t wait to fling myself headlong into the fires of hell.
    We wiled away the daylight hours shopping and sightseeing. Azriel spent lewd amounts of money on new dresses and scandalous undergarments. He seemed to delight in shocking the shopkeepers as he held a corset up against my body as if imagining how it would look on me. I couldn’t help the blush that leapt to my cheeks, but as the day wore on Azriel’s antics only served to endear him to me more. With him I could almost remember the woman I used to be: sharp-tongued, spirited, and adventurous. Before Henry had beaten me into submission and squashed my zest for life, I’d been a free-thinking sort of girl. Azriel showed me that I could be that girl again.
    As the afternoon drifted closer to evening, I felt a strange exhilaration. Soon, the sun