Seduced in Shadow Read Online Free Page B

this old.
    Laid out by William Penn’s sons in 1748 along the banks of the Schuylkill River, Reading held secrets ancient and powerful. Magic not many outside of the Etruscan bloodlines knew about, much less believed in.
    The city had been dying a slow death for years, at least the non-magical part. Crime had overrun entire neighborhoods, leaving only small pockets of prosperity to flourish.
    The recent addition of a sports arena hadn’t done much to perk up the once-grand Penn Street but it was pumping some money back into the economy. Just enough to make the drug trade boom.
    Making it much easier for those like him to live relatively undisturbed and unnoticed as the police and other eteri had more pressing matters to attend to.
    Antonin reached the city in minutes. Sunday morning traffic on Lancaster Avenue was light and as he raced over the Bingaman Street Bridge, he kept a careful eye on his rearview mirror to make sure no one followed him.
    Even so, he took a roundabout route to his final destination, only turning into the unmarked alley off Plum Street when he was positive he didn’t have a tail.
    Ellie slept through it all, thank the Goddess.
    Muttering the spell to raise the garage doors, he slipped her Miata into the empty space behind his 4Runner, the doors nearly hitting the bumpers as they came down again.
    The overhead light blinked on as soon as the garage doors hit the ground. Releasing the breath he didn’t know he’d been holding, he turned to watch her sleep.
    25
    Stephanie Julian
    By the Gods, she was gorgeous. Aguane , the most beautiful of all the females of the magical Fata races, were plain Janes compared to this woman. The fact that she was a god’s daughter explained a lot, though her mother had to have been a beauty if Selvans had been attracted to her.
    Ellie muttered something he couldn’t make out but he clearly heard fear in her tone as she started to regain consciousness.
    Shit. He hadn’t planned on abducting her. Though if he were honest, he’d wanted to seduce her, get her in his bed and keep her safe there. Professional distance be damned.
    What the hell would he do with her now?
    Ellie should be safe here, for a few days at least. Until he and his brothers caught up with the guy who’d tried to snatch her.
    Antonin hadn’t recognized the fake ranger but that wasn’t a surprise. The Mal , evil bastards with a world-domination complex and ties to ancient witchcraft, had sent a flunky who had power but not a lot of brains. They probably hadn’t thought a girl would give them much trouble.
    And they hadn’t been expecting him.
    He should have killed the guy but that would have freaked Ellie out even more.
    And he didn’t want her freaked out. He wanted her to trust him.
    Because, eventually, he wanted her in his bed.
    With a sigh, Antonin got out and made his way to the passenger side. He lifted Ellie out of the car and carried her into the house. He’d chosen this townhouse south of Penn Street specifically because he could access the house through the garage. Safer that way.
    The house itself had been a mess when he’d rented it just after Justin had asked him and his brothers to watch over her. The building hadn’t been updated since the ’70s and it was filthy. The kitchen and bathroom were functional though and the location was close to Salvatorus, the salbinelli who ran the safe house for the Etruscan bloodlines.
    26
    Seduced in Shadow
    Antonin’s parents had used their considerable magical powers to get the house habitable. His mom, whose powers of translocation nearly rivaled his oldest brother Cam’s, had been gracious enough to redo the house with a few snaps of her fingers, transporting furniture from the basement of their home here. She’d also had the house sparkling within minutes.
    His dad had kicked in a sophisticated set of protection wards and new steel garage doors. The doors had appeared out of nowhere but no one in the neighborhood had noticed.