Cloak of Deceit: An Alex Moore Novel Read Online Free

something I couldn’t quite hear, his lips moving slower than his voice. His voice. That thick, honeyed rumble…so alluring. I closed my eyes, listening to it rise and fall, before drifting into the black fog of dreamless sleep.
    I woke up in my bed, blissfully relieved of stiffness or pain, but thirstier than I had ever been in my life. I leaned up on my elbows, and though I felt disoriented, everything in the room stayed where it should. Thank God for small mercies.
    It was dark outside, and I wondered how long I had been out. I lifted the covers to see I had been dressed in a T-shirt and shorts, and my bed had been stripped underneath me. Theresa’s comforter was draped over me, drenching me in the cloying scent of candied apples.
    “Theresa?” My throat felt dry and scratchy. I looked around for something to drink.
    “Miss Moore?”
    Not Theresa .
    The overhead light came on. I rubbed my eyes as they adjusted, then froze.
    “Alexandra Moore?” My tall, dark stranger eyed me from the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest.
    I let a few seconds pass by to make sure I wasn’t still dreaming.
    He didn’t disappear.
    I picked up the nearest solid object and pitched it at him as hard as I could. He ducked behind the doorway as my hairbrush hit the wall, but immediately poked his head back in.
    “What the hell are you doing here?” I grabbed the lamp off the bedside table and brandished it like a deadly weapon. “Get out! Who do you think you are? I’m calling the cops!”
    I threw off the covers and edged towards the windowsill, holding the lamp out in front of me. My breath came in unsteady gusts, but I was surprisingly calm, considering I had a psycho-maniac stalker in my bedroom.
    He stared at me, his face a serene mask. “Which one of those questions do you want me to answer first?”
    “Wh-What?” I swallowed hard, my throat constricting with the effort.
    He held his hands out in front of him in a gesture of truce as he stepped into the room. His chocolate brown eyes never left mine.
    “My name is Julian. I’m here to help you. I won’t harm you. I helped you at the club last night, do you remember? An associate of mine brought you home. I took your keys. Your phone is broken, by the way.”
    “I don’t understand.” I shook my head. “What—” I paused and narrowed my eyes at his too-convincing expression of innocence. “No, wait, w hy are you here?”
    “I told you, I’m here to help you.” He eased farther into the room.
    “So you’re a doctor and you make house calls?”
    He raised his eyebrows, his mouth twitching on one side. “Something like that.”
    He wasn’t wearing the trench coat anymore, but even in just a turtleneck and jeans, he had an air of danger about him. That served as more of an attractant than a deterrent to my mixed-up radar, but something was definitely wrong with this picture. He’d stolen my keys and snuck in to my apartment to find me naked and drugged and he’d just dressed me and tucked me in?
    I straightened up, projecting my mother’s don’t-you-dare-cross-me tone. “Look Mister, you don’t have to give me some bullshit excuse. I don’t care if you’re the patron saint of hangovers — what you did is against the law. It’s called breaking and entering, or, stealing and entering.” My hand tightened around the lamp. “You need to get out of here. Now.”
    “I told you, my name is Julian.” He sounded mildly agitated. “I’m not going to hurt you, Alex. Don’t you want to know what happened to you last night?”
    “Nope. Honestly, I’d rather forget the whole freaky thing.” I tossed the lamp down and backed towards the window.
    “You’re not curious about the marks on your neck? Your bouts of unconsciousness?” He pressed forward.
    I un-latched the window and inched it open, never taking my gaze from his. I shook my head slowly, trying to appear engaged in the conversation. “My loser boyfriend drugged me, bit me, and then left me