Bitten Surrender Read Online Free Page A

hands and the lights in the room she’d come out of flickered on and off. “Sound makes the lights come on. You must have been too quiet.”
    “I saw some commercial once where some woman clapped her hands and the lights came on. I’ve never seen such a thing in person before.” What else to say? How embarrassing, knowing he heard her trip. “What if someone talks in their sleep? Do the lights come blaring on?”
    “I think it requires more of a bang noise.”
    He finally turned to regard her, and she had to keep her breath steady. Was it possible he looked even more attractive in the daytime? Most vampires who rose during daylight hours were pale and wan. The man in front of her gave the word beautiful a new definition. She’d never thought beauty was relevant to men.
    Men shouldn’t be so strikingly gorgeous. How were women supposed to compete? Tall, well over six feet, with dark brown hair and piercing green eyes. His image would be burned into her brain forever. He’d tied his hair back behind his neck so she wasn’t certain exactly where it would fall when it was let free. His clothes were different as well. Today he had dressed casual, whereas the night before he’d been in all black. She wasn’t certain which look she preferred, dressed darkly or in his jeans and gray t-shirt.
    “Who are you?”
    Before she took another step in the room. She needed to know why he had stayed. For the past ten years, her life had been spinning out of her control. Yet, standing with a stranger’s gaze on her, she felt almost solid on the ground.
    “My name is Hanzi Black.” He waited, as if his words should have some meaning. When she didn’t answer, he spoke again. “I take it you haven’t heard of me.”
    “I’m afraid not. Should I have? Are you important? A primo vampire or something?”
    He snorted, a big grin crossing his face. Wow, he was handsome.
    “No, I suppose not. Although I’m told I’m something of the bogeyman to my own kind.”
    “Or maybe you have delusions of grandeur.”
    Hanzi shook his head. “You have quite a mouth on you.”
    Oh, he had no idea.
    “Why did you bring me back here? Afraid of whoever is supposed to be claiming me?”
    The side of his mouth quirked to a slant. “He terrifies me. I never know exactly what he’s going to do next.”
    His words moved through her brain, exploding into her consciousness. Loudly.
    “So, we’re clear.” She wasn’t an idiot. “ You are the vampire I’m supposed to be doing the crazy joining with?”
    “I am he; you are correct.”
    She cleared her throat. What was she supposed to say? She’d never gotten to the actual speaking part in her imaginings of the meeting moment.
    “Is there coffee? I really need some caffeine.”
    “Coffee is poison.”
    Adrienne put her hands on her hips. “Actually there are numerous studies showing regular coffee drinking has lots of health benefits. And if it were, as you say, poison, it’s my own body to destroy as I see fit.”
    He held his hand in front of him like a police officer ordering traffic to stop. “We’ll order you some.”
    With a grace she rarely saw in men his size, and she had tons of burly guys walking through her tattoo parlor, he crossed the room. Hanzi pressed a button and then spoke in a language she didn’t understand.
    “Are two pots adequate?”
    He turned his green gaze on her, and she had to look at the floor for a second. Their meeting was not going well.
    “I need two cups. Pots are way too much.” As an afterthought, she decided to be polite. “Thanks.”
    The same foreign language as earlier, or at least she assumed it was, rolled off his tongue. Finally, he let go of the button.
    “I also ordered you something to eat.”
    Adrienne nodded. “I appreciate your consideration. Listen, let’s lay it all out there. The other women here might be fine with becoming sex slaves to vampires and then dying for their effort, but I am not interested. You seem a