Read Courted by the Vampire for Free Online

She leaned closer to the glass, horrified to discover a piece of pretzel embedded into her cheek. It was part of her late night snack from the vending machine. She met Edwin’s gaze in the mirror. Mortification washed over her. Faint amusement lurked in those frozen blue depths. Was he trying to develop a sense of humor? “Just perfect.”
    “Your flirtation with sarcasm will not get you very far in life.”
    In annoyance, Hannah picked the offending snack from her cheek. She stuck her tongue out at him then belatedly realized it must look terrible after a full night’s sleep. “Yeah, well, that’s how I deal with abnormal situations, and this one takes the cake.” She turned to the mirror, determined to make sense of her situation.
    The splash of freckles over her nose stood out in sharp relief, her green eyes appeared faded from lack of sleep. Why couldn’t I be one of those women who looked great when they woke up? “What you see is what you get.”
    “Vanity is wasted emotion.” His lips twitched. “I am not a vampire. I only have a quarter of those genes. I have found when I am on the hunt of a criminal it is best to travel at night. The darkness is good for concealing movement, and the criminal element, whether they are human or not, do most of their illicit activity when the sun goes down.” He brushed at a speck of lint on his shirt.
    “Will there be any more questions?”
    “I can’t think of any at the moment but give me time. I’m still attempting to absorb all of this.” After a brief rummage in her bag, she procured a green toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste. “Good ole magic bag.” She glanced at him again. “Look, I’m sorry I teased you. This situation is bizarre. I still don’t understand what I’m doing in the middle of it.”
    “ If at any time you feel uncomfortable then you may leave. My mission will suffer, but I cannot bind you to me. I will not force you to do something you do not want to do.”
    “I doubt that.” She snort ed. “Powerful men like you have probably done your fair share of creative detainment.” The baby fine hairs at the back of her neck quivered at the thought of being “detained” by him. “In spite of the fact I feel death and destruction will show up at any time, I’m intrigued by your quest. Killing is wrong, no matter who does it.” She tapped her toothbrush against the palm of her hand. “Besides, it’s not like my life was at a pinnacle of success.” Tears filled her eyes as despair washed over her.
    “Success is only how you measure yourself, Hannah.”
    She swallowed past the tears then watched him slip a slim brown wallet into his back pocket. “Okay, so let’s get a couple things straight. You can’t be ordering me around all the time. You may ask me, but not order me. We are now a partnership. Equal responsibility, equal effort. And, you have to loosen up because you’re too anal for your own good.”
    “Anal?” He sipped his coffee and lifted a glossy eyebrow. “I am not familiar with that term. Please explain.”
    “You’ll need to know some slang of this century. Anal means straight-laced or stiff.”
    “As in my body? I will become rigid?”
    Warmth heated Hannah’s cheeks at the images his words provoked. “Uh, no. As in, an unbending will. Or unable to compromise.”
    “I see.” The corners of his mouth tipped up in a tentative smile. “Agreed.” He held out his hand. “Partner.”
    “Partner.” As soon as she took his hand to shake on their deal, emotions flashed through her mind. Pain, sadness, and anger echoed through the corners of her brain, and rocked her senses with bright flashes of white light. She yanked her hand from his grasp. Blinking, she stared at him in apprehension as her vision returned to normal. “Who are you?” Her voice was barely a whisper. “What are you not telling me?” She itched to touch him a second time just to see if she’d experience the same sort of reaction.
    Sadness