Key of Solomon: Relic Defender, Book 1 Read Online Free
Author: Cassiel Knight
make. Her lips pulled into a quick smile. No open seats. Good. A packed audience. The tips’ll be great.
She swiveled her hips and slipped into the comforting routine of her choreography. The pulsing beat swirled around her, curling its seductive energy about her body. When she danced, nothing else existed.
Not the laughter, catcalls or propositions.
Not the clink of glass or scrape of chairs against the scarred wooden floors.
Only the thrumming cadence, the crystal clash of the finger cymbals, the jingle of the coins at her waist and the soulful moan of the lute.
Shutting out everything but the music and the provocative dance movements was the only way she could do what she loved while the lust-filled and often half-crazed faces watched.
Halfway through her set, that changed.
Surrounded by a sea of blurred faces, a shadow-shrouded man grabbed her attention, coerced her regard as if a spotlight caught him in its beam. For a brief moment, she froze while her music continued its bewitching tempo.
The dark figure steeped in gray sat motionless, not attempting to hide the fact he watched her. While that didn’t make him different from the twenty or so other men who did the same thing, his posture and behavior did. Like a quiescent volcano, he left her with the impression that tremendous power lay beneath the serene surface. Power ready to explode at the slightest provocation.
Three other men occupied the same beer-bottle dotted table. Yet, no one spoke to him. They talked to each other around him. As if they didn’t know he sat there.
As if they didn’t see him.
One of his long arms was stretched across the back of the chair next to him. The neck of his black shirt gaped, revealing a muscular, tanned chest dusted with dark hair. He projected an energy that sang a mesmerizing song of hot nights and warm bodies wrapped in cool sheets. Of velvet caresses and hard, yet tender, lips pressed against all her hidden, pleasure points.
Her heart hammered against her ribs, and she squinted with the effort to make out his features. All she glimpsed was a masculine profile and an occasional silver glint from his eyes when the lights eddied over him. Like viewing an object from behind a full glass of water, his form was vague, yet visible at the same time.
Flickering, wavering.
There, but not there.
From behind the shadows over his face, she felt the touch of his stare, his magnetism so potent she couldn’t look away. A wealth of unspoken words hung in the air, words she could only imagine. Words directed at her. For her. Only her.
Despite her best efforts to look away, something kept pulling her attention to him. Something familiar. As if she’d seen him before. But where?
He shifted. The wan, but clear, glow from one of the lights fell over his face and suddenly she saw him as clear as if he stood right before her. The shaft of light struck his hair, illuminating the midnight depths with flashes of fire. She licked her lips as her gaze tracked back to his face, to his firm, sensual lips.
A brief, violent shiver rippled within her muscles, and she lost a step. Or was it two? To cover her abnormal, and frustrating, reaction, Lexi dropped into a deep downward movement. The satin of her costume and colorful jewel-toned veils drifted with soft scrapes against her sensitive skin, skimming across her nipples until they peaked.
His gaze was riveted on her face then moved to her shoulders and down to her breasts. Embers kissed her skin everywhere his eyes rested. Her breasts tightened while liquid heat pooled between her legs. She licked her lips again. His silver regard turned molten.
He held her gaze, a long, silent moment suspending between them as if spun from silk into a finely made and equally fragile gossamer thread. Her pulse leaped before settling into an erratic rhythm that threatened to steal her breath away. She slowly drew off each veil, a come-hither siren’s call in every motion. To tantalize, tease and
She swiveled her hips and slipped into the comforting routine of her choreography. The pulsing beat swirled around her, curling its seductive energy about her body. When she danced, nothing else existed.
Not the laughter, catcalls or propositions.
Not the clink of glass or scrape of chairs against the scarred wooden floors.
Only the thrumming cadence, the crystal clash of the finger cymbals, the jingle of the coins at her waist and the soulful moan of the lute.
Shutting out everything but the music and the provocative dance movements was the only way she could do what she loved while the lust-filled and often half-crazed faces watched.
Halfway through her set, that changed.
Surrounded by a sea of blurred faces, a shadow-shrouded man grabbed her attention, coerced her regard as if a spotlight caught him in its beam. For a brief moment, she froze while her music continued its bewitching tempo.
The dark figure steeped in gray sat motionless, not attempting to hide the fact he watched her. While that didn’t make him different from the twenty or so other men who did the same thing, his posture and behavior did. Like a quiescent volcano, he left her with the impression that tremendous power lay beneath the serene surface. Power ready to explode at the slightest provocation.
Three other men occupied the same beer-bottle dotted table. Yet, no one spoke to him. They talked to each other around him. As if they didn’t know he sat there.
As if they didn’t see him.
One of his long arms was stretched across the back of the chair next to him. The neck of his black shirt gaped, revealing a muscular, tanned chest dusted with dark hair. He projected an energy that sang a mesmerizing song of hot nights and warm bodies wrapped in cool sheets. Of velvet caresses and hard, yet tender, lips pressed against all her hidden, pleasure points.
Her heart hammered against her ribs, and she squinted with the effort to make out his features. All she glimpsed was a masculine profile and an occasional silver glint from his eyes when the lights eddied over him. Like viewing an object from behind a full glass of water, his form was vague, yet visible at the same time.
Flickering, wavering.
There, but not there.
From behind the shadows over his face, she felt the touch of his stare, his magnetism so potent she couldn’t look away. A wealth of unspoken words hung in the air, words she could only imagine. Words directed at her. For her. Only her.
Despite her best efforts to look away, something kept pulling her attention to him. Something familiar. As if she’d seen him before. But where?
He shifted. The wan, but clear, glow from one of the lights fell over his face and suddenly she saw him as clear as if he stood right before her. The shaft of light struck his hair, illuminating the midnight depths with flashes of fire. She licked her lips as her gaze tracked back to his face, to his firm, sensual lips.
A brief, violent shiver rippled within her muscles, and she lost a step. Or was it two? To cover her abnormal, and frustrating, reaction, Lexi dropped into a deep downward movement. The satin of her costume and colorful jewel-toned veils drifted with soft scrapes against her sensitive skin, skimming across her nipples until they peaked.
His gaze was riveted on her face then moved to her shoulders and down to her breasts. Embers kissed her skin everywhere his eyes rested. Her breasts tightened while liquid heat pooled between her legs. She licked her lips again. His silver regard turned molten.
He held her gaze, a long, silent moment suspending between them as if spun from silk into a finely made and equally fragile gossamer thread. Her pulse leaped before settling into an erratic rhythm that threatened to steal her breath away. She slowly drew off each veil, a come-hither siren’s call in every motion. To tantalize, tease and
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