Ashley, Amanda Sunlight Moonlight

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."Navarre?" She called his name, her voice drugged with passion.Abruptly, he sat up and buried his face in his hands.He could feel the hunger raging through him, knewhis eyes betrayed the same unholy lust he had often seen in Shaylyn's.He ran his tongue over his fangs,sickened to think of what he had almost done.He'd been a fool to come here, a fool to think he could benear her and not want her.All these years, he had congratulated himself on his ability to control thehunger.Only now did he realize that lie had been kidding himself, that he hadn't controlled it at all.Ithadn't been the hunger that was controlled, but himself.He had refused to put himself in any situation thatmight get out of hand.He had kept his distance from mortals, never letting himself care too deeply, neverletting himself get close for fear he wouldn't be able to take a woman's love without taking her very life aswell."Navarre?"He felt her stir beside him, felt her hand stroke his back."Is something wrong?""Annie, go to your room and lock the door.""What?""Please, just do it.""I don't understand.What's wrong?""Do it!"His voice echoed of the walls like the crack of doom.Frightened, she jumped off the sofa and ran downthe hall.He heard the sound of her door slam shut, the harsh rasp of the lock falling into place.In the next instant, he was out the front door, running down the rain-slick sidewalk.Foolish creature;he thought as he darted across the street.Try as you might, you can't outrun whatyou are.Chapter EightAdrianna cowered against the door, her heart pounding, her breath coming in ragged gasps.What hadhappened out there? One minute he had been kissing her until she was drowning in ecstacy, and the nexthe was ordering her to her room as if she were a naughty child.For a moment, she held her breath, her ears straining for some sound from the other room.Nothing.Adrenalin pumping, she began to pace the floor.Never in all her life had she heard a voice like that, feltsuch menace.Try as she might, she could find no explanation for his peculiar behavior, and as the minutesticked by, she began to wonder if she hadn't overreacted, or perhaps imagined the whole thing.She glanced at the clock on her bedside table.Twenty minutes had passed.On silent feet, she crossed the floor, turned the lock, and opened the door."Navarre?"Page 263Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.htmlHe didn't answer, but his name seemed to hover in the air, repeating itself over and over again.Navarre,Navarre, Navarre &She took a cautious step down the hallway, her heart beating in triple time as she paused to listen, but allshe heard was the pounding of her own heart, and the steady drip of the rain.Her throat was dry, her palms damp, when she reached the doorway to the living room."Navarre?"She glanced around the room, then checked the kitchen and the den.He was gone.The breath she'd been holding escaped in a long sigh.She didn't know if it was disappointment or relief.She moved through the house, double-checking to make sure all the doors and windows were locked,wondering at her sudden compulsion to check them yet a third time.Moreno Bay was a small town.Nothing ever happened there.There was no crime to speak of.Until the incident reported on TV thatnight, the last offense of any note had occurred when Milt Evans got drunk and drove his pickup throughthe front window of Mavis Harper's Dress shop.Still, as she drew the shade over the kitchen window, she couldn't shake off the feeling that somethingevil was lurking outside in the shadows.Navarre stood on the balcony of Cliff House, his hands clenched at his sides, his face turned up to thesky.He closed his eyes as the cold rain pelted his face and chest.For the first time in years, he wished he had the right to pray, to plead with a loving God to protectAdrianna, to keep her safe.From himself.He should leave there, he thought, leave tonight while the memory of what he had almost done was stillfresh in his mind.But all he could think of was how good it had been to hold her in his arms, the way herhands had felt as they caressed him.For the first time in centuries he had felt loved, cared for.For onebrief moment, he had dared to hope that he could spend time with Adrianna without destroying her.Besides, he couldn't leave town, not until he learned who, or what, had attacked the woman in the alley.He stood there until dawn, oblivious to the cold and the rain, his thoughts turned inward.Eons ago hehad resigned himself to what he was.He had learned to appreciate his supernatural powers, to enjoy theincreased physical strength, the constant good health.He didn't age.He was never sick.He had traveledthe world time and time again.And when he grew weary of living, when the loneliness grew too great, hehad only to go to ground for a decade or a century, and when he surfaced, the world was new again,fresh again.Perhaps he should go to ground now and sleep away the years of her life.Heedless of the passing hours, he stood there, gazing in the direction of Adrianna's house, picturing herasleep in the bed that had once been his, imagining a lifestyle he had never known.The rain stopped with the coming of the dawn, and still he stood on the balcony, staring at the rainbowthat stretched across the sky.He watched the sun rise, a brilliant burst of color that painted the horizonwith vivid slashes of ocher and crimson.With a sigh, he turned away and went into the house.Feeling drained of all hope, he changed into a pairPage 264Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.htmlof jeans and a black turtleneck sweater.Barefooted, he wandered through the house.He took a deepbreath, and the faint floral scent of Adrianna's perfume filled his nostrils.Adrianna&And even as her image rose in his mind, he sensed her presence, heard her knock at the door.He swore under his breath, wondering what madness had brought her there."Navarre? Navarre! Open the door.I know you're in there."Angry that she had dared to seek him out, he stalked to the door and flung it open.Adrianna took a step back, alarmed by the rage that glittered in his eyes."What are you doing here?" he demanded."I& " She took another step backward, then straightened her shoulders and stood firm."I had to seeyou.""Go home, Adrianna.You're not safe here.You're not safe with me.""Why?" She gazed up at him, her blue eyes shining with unshed tears."Tell me what's wrong.What haveI done?""Done?" He groaned deep in his throat."You've done nothing.Please, Annie, please go home whereyou belong [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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