Unfaithful Read Online Free Page A

a child playing hide-and-seek. I was irresistibly attracted, like I’d been hypnotized and had no control over my own body or mind. That’s when I received the mark.”
    “Your tattoo,” I murmured, stroking the symbols that wound around his left forearm.
    Evan nodded. “For a few seconds the burning sensation drove her out of my head. Then I turned the corner and saw her. It was the girl in the white gown. Blinded by my earlier rage, I hadn’t noticed how beautiful she was. She wore her red hair up and a few locks hung over her delicate neck. Her voice continued to beckon me until I went to her and instinctively stroked her rosy cheek. I couldn’t take my eyes off her full red lips.”
    I went rigid, not prepared to hear more. A stab of pain had pierced my heart and I wanted him to stop, but Evan went on before I could protest.
    “I wanted her and yet I had this strange feeling that I wasn’t really in my right mind, like I was falling under some evil spell. Seeing me hesitate, the girl tried to encourage me with her eyes. She lifted her hand and ran it along the curve of her bosom. I thought she might be trying to repay me for chasing off the boys, but I wasn’t interested in that kind of reward. Still shaken from having stood up to my father, I wanted to rush home to tell my mother everything. I didn’t want the girl and yet I had the strange urge to touch her. She seemed to sense it and, taking my hand, she slid it under her skirt. The contact with her warm skin made me shiver.”
    A deep ache throbbed in my heart when I heard Evan say these last words. I knew it made no sense to feel such resentment—so much time had passed—but I couldn’t help it. The mental images his description was conjuring up were unbearable. No matter how distant they were, Evan’s emotions pierced my heart like a dagger.
    “A cold shiver,” he continued. His eyes locked onto mine as if he’d perceived my thoughts and wanted to reassure me. We were sitting close together, almost facing each other. “An evil chill I’d never felt before, so cold it permeated my bones. It was almost painful, as though someone had trapped me under a thick layer of ice and I couldn’t reach the surface. The more I struggled internally, the more it overwhelmed me; I was totally at the mercy of that pain. I couldn’t breathe but, against my will, my lips continued to move closer to hers. Shards of ice ran me through every time I tried to resist. My body, in contrast, wasn’t offering any resistance. It was attracted to her; it wanted her, but I’d never been that kind of guy. It wasn’t that I was indifferent to her beauty, but normally I would have made the decision not to give in to her. I’d always been strong-willed, and my intolerance of those who lacked a sense of decency was probably due to Father’s behavior.
    “It was only when I looked her in the eye that everything changed, as if I’d unexpectedly found the key to escaping her control. Not caring about appearing rude, I grabbed the hand that was holding mine, doing with it as she pleased, and shoved it against her chest so hard she winced. I had only a second to stare into her sensual, pouting gaze. I saw defiance in her eyes as if, despite my rejection she was still trying to make me change my mind. Then she vanished before my eyes.”
    As Evan said this it dawned on me. “She was a Witch.” I was so stunned by everything he was saying that it came out as a whisper.
    He lowered his head in confirmation. “It was a trap. The boys had just been bait. By giving in to evil they’d sealed their fates, but I was her actual target.”
    “So she wanted them to kill you? But why?” I asked, confused.
    “To claim my soul through seduction. That’s how they do it. They fog your brain.”
    “They use sex to steal souls?”
    “They use desire . Lust is one of the most underestimated sins and the one most often committed. The seductive power of a Witch is so strong it’s hard to