Shadow Touched: A Paranormal Vampire Romance (A Touch of Vampire Book 1) by Becky Moynihan (great reads TXT) 📕

jerked upright and stepped back, leaving me devoid of his touch and teetering on unsteady legs. I blinked, shaking my head to clear it. Holy fates, what was that? I barely knew the guy and he’d made my body light up like a firework. Never in my life had I felt anything so intense and intimate. I’d completely forgotten who I was for a second. Who he was—a stranger who very well might be dangerous, a serial killer even.

After a moment more of calming my racing heart, I looked up at him, only to find his gaze pinned to my chest. I glanced down, immediately noticing why. My wet shirt was proudly displaying two very alert nipples. Instead of feeling annoyed or embarrassed at the attention, I had the oddest desire to make him squirm. So I did, popping my hands onto my hips, effectively stretching the shirt taut over my breasts.

“I came here for answers,” I said, infusing confidence into my voice. “I want to know why you think I’m a missing person, and why Kade thinks I need protection. Also, why is it such a big deal if Reid touches my skin?”

At the mention of skin, he swallowed and forced his eyes back to mine. I tried not to smirk as he struggled to don his usual blank expression. Faster than I’d hoped, though, he was back in control, saying, “You shouldn’t be here, McKenna.”

My confidence slipped at his brusque tone. “Why?”

“You just shouldn’t,” he said obtusely, and reached for my arm.

I avoided his touch, my earlier ire toward him reigniting. “I’m not leaving until I get some answers. Look, I’m starting to freak out here. Everyone’s keeping secrets, including my aunt, and I don’t know who to turn to. Actually, I don’t know why I even came here. For all I know, you’re a stalker killer who’s going to stuff my mutilated body in a basement freezer. I bet there’s a really big freezer in your house.”

Crap! Why did I just say that?

Rain slid down a deep groove forming between his brows. “I won’t kill you.”

I snorted and crossed my arms over my chest. “How come I don’t believe you?”

“Because you’re smart.”

My jaw dropped. Uh . . .

“Turn to your instincts,” he continued. “If you don’t know who to trust, then trust them. And if they’re telling you to run right now, do it.”

“But . . .” I shook my head, beyond flustered. “My instincts are telling me that you have answers, and I want them, even if I have to stand in the rain all night to get them.” I flicked a pointed glance at his house, but he ignored the silent hint.

“Go home, McKenna,” he said, more firmly this time. “You’ll be safe there.”

“But I—”

“If you want answers, start by searching that house of yours. It harbours many secrets.”

“Lochlan.” I stepped forward, but he moved back, glancing at his wristwatch.

His lips thinned and he turned, striding toward the side of his house. Clenching my teeth, I followed.

“Loch.”

Not even the use of his shortened name made him pause. He disappeared around the corner and I sped up. When I rounded the house seconds later though, he was nowhere to be found.

I spun in a circle, squinting through the downpour. “What the crap?” He’d truly vanished.

Trying to rationalize his disappearance, I searched for clues along the house. After a few minutes, I growled in frustration and almost turned to leave. There was nothing here but a bunch of red rosebushes.

I slammed to a halt.

Roses.

Red ones.

Goosebumps erupted over my skin as something clicked in my brain, a connection I’d been subconsciously trying to piece together for a while now.

Lochlan had been wearing black leather gloves again.

And now, combined with the red roses and his disappearing act, I couldn’t help but finally make the connection.

Lochlan and my red-eyed stalker had these three things in common. No, they had a lot more in common than that. They had both followed me to Rosewood, for starters. They both kept coming to my rescue. And they both sparked an awareness in me unlike anything I’d ever felt before.

It all boiled down to one impossible yet undeniable realization.

Lochlan D’angelo and Shadow Man were one and the same.

10

Sending the twentieth call to voicemail, I tossed my phone on the bed and went back to eating my cookie dough ice cream. I had never avoided my aunt before—I’d never had the courage. But after today’s realizations, something inside me had shifted.

I didn’t feel like walking on eggshells anymore just to soothe Aunt Tess’s paranoia. If she wanted to move after our confrontation today, then she could move without me. I didn’t know how I’d manage to stay in Rosewood, attend school, and financially support myself, but I’d cross that bridge when the time came.

All I knew was that my need for answers outweighed the risks. There was a big empty box in my head that needed filling, and I wouldn’t rest until it was overflowing with information.

“So what do you want to watch next?” Isla asked. Grabbing the TV remote, she scrolled through the movie options.

When she landed on a teen fantasy, I said, “That one looks interesting.”

“Wait.” She peered at me from her sprawled position on the bed. “You’ve never watched this cult classic before?”

“My aunt is kind of anti-fantasy.” I made a face around my mouthful of ice cream. “I’ve watched a few fantasy shows when she wasn’t around, but I usually draw and read in my spare time.”

She shook her head and rolled over to better see me. “Do you think she’ll call the police if you don’t go home soon?”

I paused, then scarfed down more ice cream. “Dunno. Maybe.” But I was already in hot water with her, so I honestly didn’t care right now. I’d face her when I was good and ready, which wasn’t tonight.

After my realization at Lochlan’s house, I’d driven aimlessly for an hour, loath to return home. Not knowing where else to go, I had