Read As Long As for Free Online

couldn’t seem to banish. Perhaps anger was a viable option.
    “Your name is not Valerie,” he informed her.
    He surprised her. A slight pause betrayed it before she answered. “How do you know?”
    “Your name is Geena. Geena...Bauman.”
    She turned from him and walked into her room. He followed. He guessed she did it to hide any reaction. His movement was involuntary and impossible to control. Despite any effort he made to stay locked in place. He grimaced in displeasure at such failure but incredibly, didn’t make a sound.
    “Well. If you found out that much, you probably know more.”
    She stopped in the center of the large room. Sokar sent his glance to anything except how the white satin caressed her buttocks. She was so unlike those women from the elevator. His mate’s allure had a bit of mystery to it. A heady dose of sensuality that needed to be discovered. Unlocked. Savored.
    No...
    It needed to be grabbed up. Displayed. Tongued. Plundered.
    By the god, Set !
    Sokar tightened his hands into fists before crossing his arms. And then he pushed them into his chest. He had an answer to one thing. Anger was the last thing he needed. Not when facing such temptation. He could barely force his mind to function. Sokar focused on the room. Flickers of candlelight sent his attention to her table. The remains of her feast. Beyond that was a long sofa. It faced a large black rectangular flat screen monitor. To his left was a door. Ajar. Giving him a glimpse of her bed platform. His knees wavered. He caught the stumble, but didn’t know how.
    “So. Why are you here...So- kar ?”
    She emphasized the last part of his name. His heart reacted with a flutter. She turned, her expression looking as if she’d felt it, too. But then her eyes narrowed. She pulled her cheeks in, pursing her lips into a kissable pout. That look sent sparks shooting through his chest. They rocketed off muscle and sinew and bone before narrowing in on the real target. His groin. Sokar sucked in as something hit. Something massive. Pleasurable. Yet mixed with pain. And it was centered by raw, unwavering need. He didn’t even hear the first part of her next words.
    “...member of one of those weird sects? The ones claiming to be descended from some pharaoh’s bodyguard? The secret army supposedly guarding tombs?”
    “What?”
    “I’d heard whispers. I didn’t think they existed anymore, if they ever had. They became useless the moment Howard Carter found King Tut’s tomb.”
    “I am not a member of any sect.”
    Oh. Wait. That wasn’t entirely accurate. He belonged to the Vampire Assassin League. He opened his mouth to clarify, but she forestalled him.
    “Oh. That’s right. You’re a vampire. I forgot that, too.”
    There was a tone in her voice he wasn’t sure of. It didn’t match the content of her words. She sounded skeptical. Sarcastic. Slightly amused. Or he was hearing wrong.
    “Did you?” he answered finally.
    “You know...you resemble the ushabti. Especially in that pose. Is that why you did it?”
    What pose? Oh. He’d been in the Pharaonic mummy pose. The only things missing were his ankh and djed pillar gripped in each hand. Sokar lowered his arms slowly, brushing against the superfine wool of his new suit coat. A silver button. His trouser zipper.
    His trembling intensified. He shook violently. And she didn’t even notice.
    “You want to explain?”
    “Ex...plain?”
    He managed to answer. The word was a growl of sound. She raised her eyebrows, altering her kissable look slightly.
    “Yes. Before you try to kill me. I think you could explain a few things.”
    “Do...what?”
    “You are not a vampire. All right? They don’t exist.”
    “Ah. I see now. I have been...obtuse.”
    “What?”
    “You will never believe unless you see for yourself. Touch. Experience.”
    Touch? Experience? Her skepticism must have given him back a measure of control. Otherwise he wouldn’t have gotten those words out of his