Deidre's Death (#2, Rhyn Eternal) Read Online Free Page B

the distance.
    “Don’t –“ she shouted, bracing her hands
against his chest. He gripped her wrists and pushed her hands down
with little effort while the second demon pushed her head to the
side to expose her neck.
    Deidre panicked. The intense fear broke
within her, and she struggled.
    “I love my breakfast fighting,” the demon
before her whispered a moment before his fangs sank into her
neck.
    She screamed, not expecting the level of
sharp pain.
    “Deidre!” Cora shouted.
    Deidre was flung aside. One demon fell
beneath Cora’s flashing swords while the other bound away and
disappeared.
    Stunned, Deidre placed a hand to her neck
and lifted it away. It was covered in blood. Her blood. Hot,
throbbing pain was in her neck, and she felt woozy. Cora dropped to
her knees beside her and pressed Deidre’s hand back to her
neck.
    “Keep it there, so you don’t bleed out,”
Cora ordered then tilted her head to the side. “Gabriel.”
    “Oh, no,” Deidre mumbled. She wasn’t ready
to face him yet!
    She hurt. She’d never felt pain as a
deity. She’d never been attacked by a demon, either.
    Wooziness turned to lightheadedness. The
world faded into shadow and light then into an uncomfortable
darkness, not quite sleep but not consciousness either. Deidre
closed her eyes, unable to fathom some stupid demon had hurt
her.
    She was human. She was weak.
    She was terrified.
    Something warm drifted through her, and her
body felt like it was floating. The pain faded then stopped
suddenly, but she wasn’t able to leave the in-between place.
    Wake up,
sweetheart. The quiet command was
accompanied by a flare of warmth and strength within her. Deidre’s
eyelids fluttered open. She was lying in her bedroom, on her bed.
Someone had figured out how to turn off the overhead lights that
blinded her earlier.
    She had a nasty headache and groaned,
touching her head. Soft voices drew her attention to the doorway,
where she was able to hear but not see Cora behind the massive
frame of Gabriel.
    Deidre stared at him, not remembering him to
be as big as he was. Just under seven feet tall and muscular, he
wore all black with weapons strapped to various parts of his body.
His back was to her, his arms crossed, and his t-shirt stretched
tightly across his thick back and shoulders. His hips were slim,
his long legs shapely. She didn’t remember the aura of power and
command around him either. It was subtle but compelling, drawing
her attention involuntarily.
    Her Gabriel, who spent his life a part of
the shadows, radiated the quiet power of a deity that reached her
from across the room. He’d never blend into the shadows again.
    Her heart was racing and something new
fluttered through her, warmth that pooled at the base of her belly.
And fear. If a demon nowhere near his size was able to hurt her,
what could Gabriel do, if he was upset at her for any reason? If he
found out the extent she’d gone to in order to be here with
him?
    In his place, she’d kill him.
    She reclined back onto the bed, staring at
the ceiling. The soft bed was warm from her body heat, and she
found herself running a hand over the downy comforter while she
tried to understand the emotions within her.
    “Are you okay?”
    Deidre’s heart flip-flopped at Gabriel’s
husky baritone. He sat down on the bed beside her. Her breath
caught.
    Beautiful did not describe him. The features
she’d admired when she was Death she now saw as stunning. Chiseled
to perfection, covered in olive-hued skin, with a low brow,
piercing gaze and strong jaw …His nearness made her feel hot.
    “I’ll assume that’s a yes,” he said with a
faint smile. He reached out to tilt her chin to the side to see her
neck. Warm energy fluttered through her. His large hand was
unexpectedly gentle as it settled on her neck over where the demon
bit her. She’d never let him touch her like that before, but she
found his touch calming.
    Fascinated by the texture of his palm, she
took and held his hand