SkinThief
Page 24
“I didn’t know,” Magnus barked, and I heard something hit the ground. It must have been the flowers. “How was I supposed to know?”
“Did it feel right?”
“Not at first...”
“And when did your feeling change? After she took her clothes off...”
“If she was ready, then I was.”
“Didn’t you think it unusual for her to just come to you and express a desire for sex so casually—or was her flesh too much for your judgment?” Aram let a bit of his anger seep into his voice; I could tell he was almost as upset by what had happened as I was.
“I can’t see all these magical things—I’m too human.”
“That, my boy, is a petty excuse and a tired one. You gave in to the darker part of human nature, the part that’s still an animal...”
“And what would you have done?” Magnus snapped, cutting him off. I could hear the door whine under the strength in Aram’s hand.
“What I did!”
“Excuse me?” Magnus was now confused; of course he didn’t know that he hadn’t been her first stop of the night. Nancy had chosen him second, and I still didn’t know why after she’d failed with Aram, she’d targeted him.
“Nancy came to me first, Magnus. She has sought my affection for many years, but I have always preferred Cassandra. I refused; that was not my Andra who walked into my bedroom so readily and tried to seduce me.”
I opened my eyes to watch them again.
“So you’re what? A fucking saint!”
“No. Just a better man than you.”
Aram’s hand slid from the edge of the door to the handle. Without another word, he closed the door firmly in Magnus’s face. I just sat there and watched him do it.
I was still shaking when Aram walked back into the room. He scooped me up in his arms, carrying me toward the bed, and I steeled myself to carry on from where we’d left off. I’d promised, after all. Aram surprised me by sitting with his back to the headboard, cradling me against his body. I was at a loss for something to do or say.
“His visit reminded me that you have been through so very much and that I should not forget myself, although your mere presence makes it so very hard...”
I giggled slightly. He pressed a finger against my nose, playfully silencing me.
“All I ask tonight is that you let me wrap my arms around you, hold you together until you are strong enough to do it yourself once again.”
It was such a small, innocent request that I allowed it without a second thought. Day by day I could deal, could begin to heal, and by night I knew I would have Aram. The prospect pleased me.
I smiled, a genuine smile, for the first time all night.
About the Author:
Sonnet O’Dell was born in Oxford in 1984 and always had a love of the written word. Compelled by vivid dreams and imagination, she has been writing and submitting for many years. Sonnet adores mythology, books, movies, music and animals.
Sonnet currently lives in Worcester, England and working hard on the Cassandra Farbanks series set there. Her first book, Soul Market, was published by Eternal Press in March 2009. She promises more magic, mystery and vampires to come in the future.
You can visit Sonnet at www.sonnetodell.com
or e-mail fan her at sonnetodell@hotmail.com
Another Cassandra Farbanks Novel
by Sonnet O’Dell
Lost Innocents
by Sonnet O’Dell
eBook ISBN: 9781615721597
Print ISBN: 9781615721603
Mystery Paranormal
Novel of 99,710 words
Two Worlds. One Mystery.
Cassandra returns, still caught between realities, and she has another mystery on her hands.
Eight-year-old Adam Baker is the latest in a string of children to mysteriously vanish, and when the bones of a young child are found, Cassandra is increasingly worried for his safety—and the Preternatural Crime Unit has ordered her to keep away from the case or else. Meanwhile, Aram is facing trial, and only Cassandra can save him. But does she want to?
Juggling a boyfriend, college, vampire politics and investigative work is difficult, and it doesn’t help that something seems to be wrong with her powers. Can she pull herself together in time to save all those lost in the night?
The First Cassandra Farbanks Novel
by Sonnet O’Dell
Soul Market
by Sonnet O’Dell
eBook ISBN: 9781926647531
Print ISBN: 9781926647616
Paranormal Adventure
Novel of 113,000 words
Every parent hopes their little girl is going to be special, but Cassandra’s mother always hoped her little girl wouldn’t be.
When her mother died, she revealed the terrible truth, that when sunset came, she would be drawn into another world. A nightmare world, where monsters really did lurk in the dark shadows.
Three years later, Cassandra is still learning to control her magic, while doing the odd magical job for cash. She never dreamed something as big as finding several missing people would fall into her lap.
Despite the police telling her to leave the case be, she can’t, because the law is fuzzy about the rights of the Preternatural groups involved. The police department may not care, but Cassandra does.
Something is out there in the dark and she is determined to do something about it.