The Order Boxed Set Read Online Free Page B

though it was a long way off. The circle shrank to a pinprick and everything went black.
    Chapter Three
    Christian woke as the sun went down over London.
    He stretched, reveling in the feeling of well-being—he hadn’t felt this alive in decades. He’d hunted the previous evening, and his body was replete, filled with power. But it was more than just the feeding. Piers had been right. He missed the excitement of heading t he Order, and now he had the chance to go back.
    There was also his newest client, Tara Collins. His mind filled with the intoxicating scent of her. The sensible thing would be to keep their interactions strictly on a business footing. Relationships with humans never worked.
    Only trouble was, he was bored with being sensible.
    The Order and Tara Collins. What to do?
    He stood in front of the open closet and knew he’d made his decision when he pushed aside the formal business suits and pulled on his old Order gear.
    He paused on his way out of the building to talk to Graham.
    “Nice outfit,” Graham said, his gaze running over Christian’s long black leather coat.
    Christian placed the file he’d gotten from Tara on the reception desk. “I want you to look at this. Find out what you can on the aunt.”
    “Sure, boss.”
    It was still early when he walked into the bar, and most of the tables stood empty. Slow music played in the background, and the lights were dim. Ella’s scent lingered in the air, sharp and acrid. Christian found her sitting on one of the stools that lined the back wall and took a moment to study her. She hadn’t aged in the thirty years he’d known her, and he wondered who’d paid for that—all magic had a price, and Ella had never been too particular about who paid it.
    She’d dressed to impress in a skintight dress the color of fresh blood. It showed off her perfect figure, slender yet with all the right curves, but then Ella was unlikely to leave that sort of thing up to nature. He wondered what she looked like shorn of all the spells. Some sort of raddled old hag was his guess, complete with warts on her nose.
    She wore sheer black stockings and crimson stilettos. Her legs were crossed and one foot bounced in the air. Glancing up as he approached, her sullen expression was replaced by a curving smile that didn’t quite reach her dark eyes.
    Christian strode over and stopped in front of the table. “You came.”
    “The great Christian Roth calls and everyone comes running.”
    He raised an eyebrow, but didn’t reply.
    Ella shrugged. “Piers ordered me to come and give you anything you want.” She stared up at him from sultry eyes, hot and sensual. “What do you want, Christian?”
    Shuddering in disgust, he made no effort to conceal the reaction, and she scowled.
    “You could at least make an effort to be pleasant. You asked for this meeting, after all.” She wiped the frown from her face with practiced ease and smiled again. “Come on Christian, honey, we could have fun together. You liked me once.”
    “Let’s be clear about this.” His voice was ice cold. “Be thankful I left t he Order when I did. If I’d stayed, you would have died twenty years ago.”
    The smile slid from her face, and for a moment, fear showed in her expression. But she quickly regained control. “Don’t be so sanctimonious, you’ve killed—countless times. Why look down on me for doing the same thing? The Order knows I can’t do my work without making some sacrifices.”
    “And are all the sacrifices you perform for your work?” Christian grabbed her chin between his finger and thumb, forcing her to look into his eyes. He studied her pale flawless skin. She had to be in her sixties—she could have passed for twenty-five. “Been sacrificing virgins and bathing in their blood, Ella?”
    “Don’t be disgusting. I use anti-wrinkle cream—it can take years off a woman.”
    He released his hold on her chin. “We might both kill, but our reasons are worlds apart.”
    “But