The Vampire's Curse, A Paranormal Romance (Undead in Brown County #2) Read Online Free

elegance in the careless way he moved, from the slight swing of his arms to the fluid action in his long legs. He leaned over me, his eyes cold and calculating, his cool breath swirled over my cheeks like a freezing winter mist.
    “ You’re not afraid?”
    I could not move. He was holding me prisoner without chains, without bars of any kind. He held me with the steady, penetrating focus of a hunter who will not be denied his prey. My fingers itched to touch him, to trail over his skin in slow gliding strokes. But he could not have me. No one could really have me. I could not let them. I could not let him.
    Trying to gain any amount of control over the situation, and myself I gestured towards my injured ankle. However, I could not stop looking at his mouth, wondering how it would feel to have those lips locked with mine in a slick, demanding kiss.
    “ I would think you might try to be more of a gentleman. I do have a sprained ankle.” I said weakly.
    His striking blue eyes crinkled at the corners as he gave me a slow, sweeping smile. I saw a tiny vein in his jaw pulse and knew he was angry on some level. Nevertheless, any attention from a man that required me to give up any part of myself seemed totally wrong. Then again, what did I know? It was not as if I had ever been in a real relationship. I did not think that Trevor Kincaid counted because although we had sex couple times, it certainly was not a committed relationship. He had a girlfriend that I did not know about while we were seeing each other. Sweet, huh? Yeah, he was a real winner.
    Michael tossed a dismissive glance over his shoulder at me and wandered back to the windows again. He leaned against the wall, his face turned away from me.
    “ Did Alex tell you about the Breath-Giver?” He asked.
    I released the breath I had been holding back, “Yes, a little.”
    “ I’ve been wondering what my chances would be if I asked her to change me back into a human as she did Alex.”
    “ Oh.” The idea of Michael being human was soul stirring. The possibilities stretched out before me like a dazzling parade. I envisioned him laughing beside me at the kitchen table, eating my French toast. I could see the two of us walking quietly together, hand in hand down the driveway to get the mail. Pretty pictures. But it was completely unrealistic, I reminded myself sternly. And I was still extremely skeptical of the whole “breath-giver” thing.
    Alex had told me before he had gotten hurt that he used to be a vampire and then some strange unearthly creature turned him back into a human. Sounded too farfetched to me, but then again, I did not used to believe in vampires either.
    Michael turned his head back towards me, “What price do you suppose she might ask for such a thing?” The timbre of his voice was ripe with vulnerability.
    I watched the play of emotions cross his face. Hope. Frustration. Passion. However, I remained silent, fearing a return of those heartbreaking scenes that had played out in my head. There were more practical questions to ask. If Michael were human again, what would that mean to the Council? The vampire Council had sent him here because of some crime. If he were human, would they permit him his freedom?
    “ Why did they send you here? What did you do wrong?” I finally asked.
    A mysterious grin lifted his lips, “They were afraid.”
    “ So you didn’t actually do anything wrong? They just fear you?” I refolded my arms across my chest and met his suddenly hostile stare calmly, “That sounds like a load of horse shit, if you ask me.”
    He shrugged slightly, “They wanted an excuse. They found one.”
    His muscular body turned my way, and he crossed the room in a few decisive steps. I noticed with a startling sense of awe that his eye color had changed. Instead of the crystal-blue hue that I had seen time after time, even in my dreams, his eyes were brilliantly silver and the dark brows arching defiantly over them were creased with