The Deepest Red Read Online Free Page A

struggling to give him a death glare. His face softens slightly.
    “You are kind of cute when you aren’t trying to kill me,” he comments. Amusement fills his expression, a slight smile appearing on his lips.
    I’m made aware of his weight on top of me, his well defined muscles, his pretty face, his scent that encases me. Everything about him snatches my full attention. I shift under his weight uncomfortably. In my new position, I feel the hardness of him against my hip and my eyebrows raise in surprise. As if knowing what I’m thinking his face breaks into a beautiful smile. Embarrassment. Hot embarrassment lights my cheeks. Thank goodness for the darkness.
    I observe a flash of what looks like a lip ring at the corner of his mouth. I recognize it from the few fragile magazines left in our library. The men and women within in the pages always had the most beautiful designs etched into their skin- everyone pictured displaying at least some piece of metal on their lips, noses or ears. I have always wondered what it would be like to have those hypnotizing colors swirling up my arm. I stare, entranced by the bizarre object and wet my lips.
    A small cough in the back ground breaks our problematic moment.
    “Are you done now?” The girl’s voice fills the awkward silence. “Or should I go and come back later?”
    My blush intensifies on my cheeks as I break the hold he has and push him away. He lets me go easily with a light chuckle. I stand venturing to ignore him and hope the darkness completely covers my embarrassment.
    “So this is why you took off so fast from the gas station, huh, Connor?” The girl’s tiny voice chirps.
    “Quiet,” he barks at her from his relaxed stance only feet from me.
    I can distinguish a hint of amusement still in his eyes. She smiles back at him ignoring his tone. Connor’s eyes narrow back on me in an almost possessive glare. I recognize now that this guy in front of me is not just dangerous but holds a certain allurement that I’m ill-prepared for. The way he carries himself reminds me of a villain in one of the library’s many novels- a redeeming scoundrel, I secretly wish wins in the end. His bright eyes travel everywhere and nowhere at the same time, processing as much detail as possible. I can detect vaguely that he is listening to the woods, keeping alert of any sounds which might be as dangerous as him.
    His eyes sweep over my body, stopping at each one of the cuts on my arm. I probably look like a hot mess.
    “So, does Ms. Asskicker have a name?” He asks, raising one of his eyebrows.
    Oh, that is appealing. Damn it Millie , I scold myself.
    “No, I don’t and I don’t see how any of that matters if you are going to kill me,” I spit back.
    “I’m not going to kill you, yet. I want to know who you are, where you came from so I don’t get my ass in trouble later on.” He runs his hand through his dirty hair shifting his stance. “We would like to make our way through this town without trouble. I can’t just let you go when I’m not finished with the area yet,” he says a matter of factly.
    “Don’t you think killing me is going to get your ass in a lot of trouble with my people anyway?” I glare at him directly and he seems to brush off my comment.
    “Not if I kill you right before we leave this territory. We would be long gone before they found your carcass.” He stands there observing my reaction, expectantly but I notice a hint of a smile hiding on his lips.
    Wow, what a charmer. I glance around to figure out an escape plan.
    “He isn’t going to kill or harm you. Don’t let him scare you, either. Connor isn’t really all that bad.” The little girl chimes from in front of me.
    “He’s just mad because you put him on his ass.” She giggles. “You’re not going to cause any more trouble, are you?”
    The delicate child walks up to me, losing the hop like walk I had seen from her earlier. She trades the mannerism in for a grace only people born