The Corollaria Read Online Free Page B

feelings for her was so sudden, strange and overwhelming. He desperately wanted to pull her into his arms, make sure she wasn’t hurt, and comfort her.  But he held back, swallowing hard and clenching his hands into tight fists with the strained effort.
    After a tense awkward moment, he cleared his throat. His voice was a thick husky whisper, “Are you okay?”
    “Yeah,” Emily said softly, pushing herself to her feet. She kept her eyes averted as she spoke wondering aloud about Luke’s parents. “We should, uh, look for Cara and Tristan.”
    “Right,” Luke replied, his jaw clenched.  He started to walk away towards the stairs, but stopped after two steps. He turned back to Emily, whose eyes were wide and almost a bluish-green hue.  For one long moment his gaze met hers.  A myriad of unanswerable questions reflected back at him.  He reached out and grabbed her hand, lacing his fingers through hers and pulled her along with him up the stairs.
    He couldn’t explain these feelings, couldn’t answer her questions or his own, but he knew he couldn’t leave her, couldn’t abandon her now.  Even to check upstairs. His chest felt heavy, soothed only by her small warm fingers intertwined with his and the steady beat of her heart.
    Luke flipped on the light upstairs, illuminating the darkened hallway. The hall reeked with the same sickly sweet stench that had filled the alley earlier that night. Emily felt her muscles tense, and Luke’s grip tightened.
    He checked his parent’s room first, only to find it eerily dark and quiet. Nothing disturbed.  Emily’s room and his were the same way.
    “Shit,” Luke muttered. He turned his head to face Emily. “I lost my cell phone.”
    “I grabbed it,” she said, pulling the small silver phone from her pocket.
    Luke grinned and took it from her, his fingers punching a few keys and then holding it to his ear.  His smile was short lived. His parent’s phones both went straight to voicemail. He dialed his older brother Carson next, only to be disappointed when he didn’t answer. He clicked the end button and looked up with worry etched into the lines and creases of his face.
    “Nothing?” Emily asked, even though she already knew the answer. Luke shook his head, furrowing his brow as if deep in thought.
    “Maybe,” Emily said after a few awkward seconds ticked by.  “We should try to get some sleep and find Carson in the morning? I don’t think whoever that was is coming back.”
    “Maybe we should call the police,” Luke said, still staring at her.
    “And say what exactly? That I was attacked by a vampire? That you exploded into a wolf? That now your parents are missing and something or someone attacked us again here?” Emily shook her head, her mind quickly forming a plan. “No, I say whoever that was, whoever is apparently after me, isn’t going to return tonight.  And maybe Cara and Tristan are just out late. We’re safer here.”  Emily felt certain Luke would protect her.  The knowledge was a tangible force in the air around them.
    “ Let’s rest, and um, change our clothes...” Emily trailed off, again diverting her eyes from Luke’s naked body. The side of Luke’s mouth twitched slightly in amusement as she blushed.
    He turned to walk into his room, again stopping and turning back to her.   Anxiety gripped him at the thought of letting her out of his sight.
    “Em, maybe you should, I mean, I just, I can’t—”
    Emily stepped closer, her expression serious, and her eyes curious. The air between them was heavy, heated, and electric. She could feel the confusion, the fear, the all-consuming need for her rolling off him, tickling her skin. His brown hair hung in his eyes and curled around his ears. She traced the lines of his face with her deep blue eyes.
    After a long pregnant moment, s he ducked inside his room.
    Emily didn’t even bother to look around much, her whole face she was certain looked like a lobster.  She kicked off her