Escaping The Beast: A Darkhills Romance (The Darkhills Series Book 2) by Elizabeth Greene (young adult books to read TXT) 📕

like he said. Then, she’d grab a night’s sleep in her own bed and set an alarm to make sure she got back on the road bright and early, tomorrow morning. The small flip her stomach made had nothing to do with the bumpy forest road, and everything to do with the thought of returning to a certain charming vampire.

Chapter Fourteen

Lucian

Lucian awoke with time to spare. The sun had just begun to set and while normally he didn’t sleep this late, he allowed himself a moment to stretch out in the cool bed. He rarely dreamed but during the day he had been plagued by images of Katherine. He had been careful not to make any advances while in her company for the last few days, and it appeared his mind had reached its limit. Even after giving into his lascivious thoughts and stroking himself into a bittersweet release in the middle of the day, he had still been teased and taunted by her presence in his dreams. It was as though his subconscious resented not having her near.

He would see her again soon enough, he told himself.  A small thrill of excitement bubbled to the surface as he lay there. He was looking forward to seeing her in action. Seeing the Katherine that everyone else saw, he was curious to know if she behaved differently with him. If she was as argumentative with others as she was with him. That brought a smirk to his lips. He loved her challenging nature. It puzzled him all the more that she still put up with all her father’s behaviours. Perhaps it was as simple as she had said; he was family.

Lucian thought back to his formative years, his family had been of the aristocracy and were by all accounts respectable. He certainly never had to make amends for any black sheep of the family. But then he remembered his decision to leave his family estate, his very presence had caused rumblings of discontent and rumours of witchcraft and deals with the devil. He left everything he loved and all that he held dear; the younger generations of his family who called him uncle rather than great uncle, who begged him to teach them piano and let them ride his horse. He had left them without a backward look and never made contact again. Those great-nieces and nephews would have long since aged and died, Lucian mused sadly.

He supposed she was right; when it came to family, no sacrifice was too great. Even the never-ending sea of loneliness in which he floated aimlessly.

Shaking himself from the blackness of his thoughts, Lucian rose and headed to the kitchen to heat through a quart of A positive. While he had told Katherine he wouldn’t feed from her, he preferred to not tempt himself unduly. Her scent was fiercely enticing and he saw no reason to run the risk of him being tempted to have a small taste. He wouldn’t. Not unless she wanted him to. The thought sent a shiver of desire through him. A sudden flash of him sinking his teeth into her neck while he was buried to the hilt inside of her, burned into his mind, branding him with its intensity.

Lucian shut his eyes and breathed deeply to suppress his wayward desires. He refocused his mind and grabbed the warm packet of blood from the microwave, biting into it fiercely. The satisfaction of having bitten into something, even if it was just a silicone pouch, went some way to tempering his needs. He drained the liquid and tossed the pack away in the trash. The sustenance filling him with renewed strength and vigor. His thoughts sharpened and his focus returned in full. He glanced out of the tinted windows that lined one wall of his apartment. The sun had set, leaving a weak glow to the sky that was becoming outshone by the bright speckles of artificial light from the city below.

He had approximately one hour to get to Katherine’s university if he were going to have the opportunity to see his beautiful darling in action. With that thought, he padded to his shower, eager to meet with her again.

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After breathing in the sights and sounds of the city streets, Lucian slipped easily into the college building, the security guards fell effortlessly under his thrall and waved him in with a complimentary guest pass to allow him access to the rest of the campus. The receptionist didn't even need any enthrallment to give directions to the lecture hall, the flash of his easy smile was all it took.

Lucian could hear another student talking from down the hall, and he took the stairs up to the next level so he could slip into the back of the small lecture theatre and watch Katherine discreetly. He snuck in and took a seat far apart from the rest of the audience. He scanned the crowd and as expected he found Katherine exactly where he thought she would be. His studious little darling sat alert in the front row, listening intently to her peer who stood upon the stage.

Lucian had feared he may have mistimed his arrival and had missed her turn until he focused in on the way her foot bobbed up and down repeatedly. She was nervous, so she had not yet presented. She needn't be concerned, he had heard her rehearsals from behind the closed door to her room. Katherine would impress. She always did.

Lucian settled in and listened to a few more students present their hypothesis, smiling politely as a few stragglers looked over at him. He ignored their whispered speculations about which law firm he was recruiting for. While he did hold shares in more than one firm, he honestly couldn't care less about their recruitment processes.

Finally, it was Katherine's turn to take to the stage. Lucian sat up in his seat and focused all his attention on her as