AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The way her eyes narrowed told him that she didn’t trust him one bit, but it was the lack of fear—and filter—that intrigued him further. Nate considered compelling her, then decided the victory of wordplay would be so much sweeter. He waited her out.
He didn’t have to wait long.
“What deal?” she asked warily.
“I need intel on the houses and on every creature surrounding us that is connected to us—us as in Ostrov Krov. I need to know who is planning bad things for the good houses. I need you to pose as my mistress while you feed me that information—”
“No—”
“And in exchange, you will be free.”
“Define free.”
Again, the lack of outright terror was astounding.
“Your name will be written off our wanted list. So will your face. You can remove yourself from this island in whatever method you wish, so long as you do not return. I will just tell everyone it fizzled out and they won’t question you missing. If you do return, I will no longer have anything to do with it.”
“When will I be free?”
“When you serve my purpose and the information I need.”
“One month,” she bargained.
He would have laughed outright, but decided to be honest. “One year max.”
“Whether or not I serve your purpose?”
“Yes.”
She looked so skeptical as she peered at him.
“And if I refuse?”
“I will return you to House Bronson, and what happens to you will no longer be my business.”
Silence. He waited for the refusal and for the woman to add more things to the bargain.
“I need my safety as your intel source guaranteed. And I need the deal signed in blood.”
Chapter 3
It was preposterous. There were a lot of other words to describe just what she had gotten herself into, but Winter found she couldn’t think of those other words as she watched the man who had offered the deal leave the room without even bothering to cuff her again. She contemplated escaping a third time, then decided to save her energy because…well, what defense did she have against a flying creature like that?
Vampires with wings are special vampires. That means they are powerful. The extra special ones can fly long distances over water and can turn into bats. Those not special wouldn’t dare, as most dislike water and do not know how to swim.
The words fluttered in the same melodic tone, and she was getting sick of it. But she stowed the information for future use, remembering the man’s wings and how he had swooped in to pluck her without breaking a sweat.
“I hope you weren’t considering escaping again.”
The smooth, cool voice had her jumping, so she gripped the mattress to keep herself anchored. It was a nice mattress, and she hadn’t slept in one in days…no, in months. But the longing had to be bottled up as she shook her head.
“I don’t have a death wish.”
“Good.”
He strode with ease but didn’t float like most vampires did, as if he couldn’t be bothered. The pale skin and long, lean lines were vampire signatures, along with his face. Not angelic, but the light blond hair close to white, the arresting gray eyes, and the sensual-looking lips made it impossible to look away—which, she supposed, was the purpose.
Refusing to be like any other human, Winter did look away, but not for long, as she needed to witness him get through the blood ritual.
