Black Blood (Series of Blood Book 4) by Emma Hamm (scary books to read .TXT) 📕

clipping sound of his boots striking the hardwood floors created a screen from the words she must be shouting at him. Surely she wouldn’t let him get away with such callous words. Pitch listened carefully to hear what she might spit at him, but silence stung his ears.

Perhaps he was too harsh with her. He was a careless man. Sil had changed that for a time, but she was not here. He returned to his natural state in the long years since he saw her.

The door to his office creaked open. Frowning, he silently chided the house for not appropriately taking care of itself.

Never had he desired to be the soft man Sil wanted him to be, he mused as he walked past rows of priceless ancient leather bound journals. They filled bookshelves stretching twice his height to the ceiling.

They were both the beginning and the end of all time. Each tome contained unlimited knowledge, and unlimited power. He planned to read for the remainder of the night.

But first, he had to check the damage. He trailed long fingers over smooth mahogany as he carefully walked around his desk. There was a wire strung from the wall and hammered into the expensive wood. A crack spread from around the nail down to the floor.

“Menace,” he muttered as his magic fixed the issue.

The wire had been sitting atop his desk although he knew there were far more dangerous things she could have found. He carefully slid open a drawer to ensure that his battle orbs were where they should be.

Thankfully, they were. He scoffed as he eased the drawer shut. Would she use them against him? From the burning anger in her eyes, he thought she might have gleefully watched him writhe in pain.

The next drawer down had been tampered with. Her fingerprints were all over it, even if he couldn’t see the magical signature that sparkled like silver dust. She had no idea she was using the power, he suspected.

Opening the drawer, he grinned. A single letter opener was missing.

“Touche.”

It was such a small thing he might not have noticed it gone if he were not such a meticulous man. She obviously learned how to be sneaky from someone. He admired her for that.

He might have even dwelled upon the new personality traits he had learned if the books were not calling to him. Nay, singing. They fairly vibrated with magic that told him it was now time for him to learn more.

With calculated strides, he found himself staring down a red leather bound book. There were no words upon its spine, only numbers that read MMDXI.

It would be a very long night of reading, he suspected. But she was too curious to stay away for too long. He would wait until he heard the creaking of steps and then he would speak with her again. For certainly she could not stay away.

He was wrong.

Days passed. He asked the house for menial things such as food and water, but he was growing tired of her stubbornness. Was she really going to live in this house and pretend he was not here with her?

All his paperwork was signed and sent back to the club. He’d told Leo to take control over the shipments until his return. And no, he did not know when he was going to return.

There was much to do with his captive. Namely, convincing her she was who he said she was. She had to learn to harness her powers in the allotted amount of time. Otherwise, they would fall off of the carefully written timeline and all hell would break loose.

He couldn’t let Sil down like that. But he was going to fail if she did not speak to him.

Finally, a soft knock on his door suggested she was here. He straightened his coat jacket. Smoothed the velvet so it would not seem crushed. His fingers tangled in his hair so he could at least look as though he hadn’t been sleeping at his desk, which he had, before he stumbled toward the door.

Stumbled? Pitch paused and shook himself. He was no teenaged boy excited for a date with the girl down the street. He was a damned powerful creature who could rip this world from the very timeline of dimensions.

He was not excited she was here. He was focused, purposeful that he could now take the next step in his plans.

With his nerves quelled, he clenched the glass doorknob in his fist, and pulled the door open.

“Oh,” he growled. “It’s you.”

Leo grinned back at him. His fangs glinted in the dim light. “Sorry, is this a bad time?”

“I thought you were someone else.”

“Oh, I’m sure you did. Why is there a woman laying on top of your piano?”

Pitch stopped breathing. “What?”

“I came to make sure you’re still alive and saw her. She didn’t acknowledge me at all. Thought you might like to know before I start scolding you for not telling us what was happening.”

“You don’t get to scold me,” Pitch told him as he strode past. Anger simmered low beneath his skin. “Damned woman is up to something.”

“I didn’t know you had taken a new lover!”

“Lovers are a waste of time.”

“Family then?” Leo jogged to keep up with him. "No that's not possible, you don't have family. And you don't have any friends. Is it a marriage of convenience?”

“I’m not married.”

“Interesting. Then if my deduction skills are up to par, which they usually are, I’d say you probably kidnapped her.”

Pitch clenched his fists to prevent the swell of shadows rising like a wave. They whispered dark thoughts in his ears as he rounded the corner at the end of the hallway. “Why do people keep saying that?”

“Did she ask to come here? Does she know where she is?”

“Doubtful.”

Leo tsked. “Then you kidnapped her.”

“It was required.”

“Probably shouldn’t tell people that. Makes you sound crazy.”

They both skidded to a stop when they reached the central area of the house. Pitch couldn’t believe his eyes, but Leo was