Read Jaden (St. Sebastians Quartet #1) for Free Online

screen.
    "Let them go," she said, knowing he'd never do it.
    "And why would I do that?"
    "What you're doing is wrong. They're innocent, aren't they? They don't deserve this."
    He stood slowly, towering over her. And he closed the scant distance between them. When he grabbed her face, she tried to shrink back, but his grip was too strong.
    "Go home, Jaden. You don't belong here."
    "I would love to wake up. Right now."
    "Leave St. Sebastians. Or you'll end up like them."
    He looked down into the abyss, at the river of fire. And then he pushed her over the cliff.
    She was in free fall.
    She screamed as she fell. She could feel the heat of the fire enveloping her, growing hotter the closer she came to the bottom.
    She jerked upright in bed, still screaming.
    She looked around the bedroom, blinking, expecting to see him. But he wasn't there. And she was awake.
    She touched her jaw where he'd grabbed her and was surprised at the raw pain she felt. In a moment she was in the bathroom, looking at her reflection.
    "What the hell?"
    She stared at the bruises on her face, the circles of flesh where his fingertips had dug into her skin.
    This had never happened before. She'd never carried an injury with her from a dream. Never. Did that mean he could touch her in the waking world, now? He'd never been able to before.
    She looked at the clock and saw that it wasn't quite eight, yet. Still, she went to the kitchen. She opened cabinets, her hands shaking because she hadn't been able to shake off the feeling of falling and falling and falling. And the heat. Her skin had been melting. She'd felt her skin melting.
    "Damn it!" she said, slamming a cabinet door shut.
    She went to the great room, almost running. And that's where she found it. A bottle of Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey. She didn't bother going for a glass. She opened and drank. She drank until her hands stopped shaking, then she drank a little more. When she stopped, she settled on the floor cross legged, breathing heavy.
    None of the dreams had been like that. She'd felt her skin melting. And now her face was bruised.
    What the hell was going on?
    He wanted her to leave St. Sebastians. That much was clear. But why? What was it about this place that would cause him to attack her? Well, he'd always attacked her in dreams. She'd just never felt it before. He'd never actually touched her before.
    "He's stronger here," she said, then capped the bottle and returned to her aunt's bedroom. She had to get dressed and find out what about St. Sebastians unnerved the entity so much.
     

CHAPTER FIVE
     
    Kenda sat in his office, a large coffee mug on his desk sat forgotten. He'd stopped at Aunt Edna's Bakery as he would any morning, but today he was hoping to run into Jaden. But she hadn't been there.
    He'd had a bout of temporary insanity when he was leaving his house. He'd actually thought about showing up on Jaden's doorstep and... he wasn't sure what he'd do once she answered. Leave her the signed copy of The Stand. Ask her to lunch later in the day. What?
    He'd never been this drawn to a woman before, and he wasn't quite sure what to do with all the emotions jumbling around in his brain. He didn't even know her. She could be a certified lunatic for all he knew.
    "Don't do anything until tonight," he told himself.
    "Talking to yourself now?"
    Kenda hadn't seen Chris enter the office. He was dressed in blue jeans, a sky blue button up shirt, and had his hair pulled back and away from his face. Chris was the only man Kenda knew who could pull off colorful clothing and still look masculine. Pink, sky blue, he'd even worn a pale green suit once. Kenda had tried that same suit on and had looked ridiculous.
    He looked down at his own clothes. Standard navy suit with the standard red tie. Boring. Jaden would probably take one look at him tonight, when he was standing with his brothers and Nico, and forget he existed. He was like plain, yellow wallpaper when his brothers were around.
    "Hey!" Chris