AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Demon shit.”
The book is plucked from my hand and slid into place before I can lower my arm. A solid, warm, and distinctly male body is flush against my back.
I go utterly still, too stunned to react.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CLARA
“Areyou following me in the hopes of adding my name to your list of kills, little slayer?” Alaric’s voice is a low rumble.
The sound sets my heart thundering with a myriad of emotions. I turn to face him, with anger across his features. He shifts to the side, forcing me to back up into the corner, making sure I am well and truly trapped. Black veins slither up his neck from under his collar, receding before I can decide if it was real or a trick of the dim, flickering light.
“I would never—” I stop abruptly, realizing the lie I almost spoke. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I try again. “I would never intentionally hurt you.”
Alaric scoffs. One of his hands finds the decorative cuff of my sleeve and idly rubs the material between two fingers. His anger shifts to mild annoyance.
“Who are you?” he asks. The faint scent of liquor is on his breath, and his eyes have a glassy sheen.
It’s tempting, so tempting, to tell him everything—our history, our connection, what Elizabeth is doing to him. Though the words are on the tip of my tongue, I swallow them down. I’m afraid it will do more harm than good. The curse’s hold is too strong.
“Clara Valmont,” I say, as if I believe he wanted my name.
The movement of his hand stills, and he fixes me with an expression I assume is meant to portray how little regard he has for such an answer. Except, the longer he studies me, the more intense his gaze becomes.
“No,” he says.
I frown.Does he think I’m lying?
I bite down on my bottom lip. There is an air about this moment reminiscent of my first days at Windbury.
“That name does not suit you. It’s far too ordinary for what you are.” Alaric’s lip curls, though it doesn’t hold the promise of violence he intends. But something else entirely. Heated. Intense. Consuming. It makes the blood in my veins race and sets my heart fluttering.
Demons take me…
“It doesn’t?” I ask, little more than a breath. “Then what does?”
He considers for a moment, then says, “Nightmare.” He tastes the word on his tongue, then hums in approval. “Yes. That is more fitting.”
My heart stumbles a beat. It cannot be a coincidence for him to call me that. “Why is that?”
I am unsettled by the way his gaze heats. Equal amounts loathing and desire.
“You are everywhere I look. You are in my dreams. It seems there is nowhere you cannot find me… How is it that my little nightmare has come to haunt me even when I am awake?”
This small, secluded corner of the library has taken on a hazy feel. Our voices are quiet, as soft as the intangible whispering of dreams.
For the first time in days, I feel the spark of hope relight. To him, I am a stranger he has been told to hate. Yet, there are parts of the man I know buried under the lie, peeking through. Parts of the man who knows me on some level still.
Alaric cups the back of my neck, slowly weaving his fingers into my hair. His grip is firm, and I let him tilt my head back. “I thought to rid myself of you the next time I found you.”
“And now?”
He presses his body against mine, wrapping himself around me in a way that is both intimate and seeking comfort. He buries his face in the crook of my neck. I don’t hesitate to return the embrace.
“Do not worry, my captivating little nightmare. I have no intention of ending your life tonight.”
“I appreciate that. I would be quite cross with you if you did.”
