Original Sin (The Order of Vampires 1)
His hand closed tightly over hers, holding her close. “Don’t scream.”
She jerked her arm, but his grip tightened. Her gaze shifted to the empty kitchen. “Let go of me.”
His eyes investigated hers, intense and strangely hypnotic. If Adam found him here, he’d kill him. “You’re not allowed to touch me.”
His jaw ticked. “I want to talk.”
Her heart hammered in her chest. “Your mom and sister are right outside.”
He glanced over her shoulder. “I want something from you.”
“What?” She didn’t trust him. “Adam will be back any second.”
He shook his head. “Adam’s still in the barn.”
“What do you want?”
His thumb dragged over her knuckles and she jerked in panic. “Tell me a secret, something my brother doesn’t know about you.”
“Why should I?”
“Because I asked nicely.”
“Let go of my hand.”
“Does my touch sicken you?” He lifted a brow. “I’m not as evil as I seem. Give me a secret, sweet Annalise. Something that’s just ours.”
“Adam knows all my secrets.”
“Liar.” His hand tightened, not painfully so, but enough to make her breath catch. “He doesn’t know a fraction of them. Surely you could spare one. A little piece of you that could be mine first.”
She didn’t want to give him anything. “If I tell you a secret, will you leave?”
He nodded. “You have my word.”
She scoffed. “Like that means anything to me.”
His brows lifted. “Such sass. Your secret, please.”
She searched her memories for something she hadn’t mentioned to Adam. “I can write my name with my toes.”
When he smiled, he looked so much like Adam it disarmed her. “How incredibly charming. I’d love to see that.”
“You said you’d leave now.”
Thunder cracked close to the house and she flinched. In a blink, she could swear he shifted closer.
His finger lifted the seam of her cape. “Do you like it here, Annalise?”
“I’d like it better if you let go of my hand.”
He took a step back, and her stomach pinched when his eyes glanced away. Only because he looked so much like Adam did the rejection on his face bother her. She reminded herself this man was not worthy of her sympathy. “It was you, in the carriage in my dream last night, wasn’t it?”
He met her stare. “Does it make you wonder how I got there?”
“No. It makes me wonder what I ever did to you to be treated in such a way.”
“You mistook me for him the last time we met.”
“Only for a minute. I can tell you apart.”
“Can you, now?”
She nodded, her jaw tight and eyes narrow. “Adam’s nice to me.”
Again, he broke eye contact. And damn her for suffering another twinge of guilt. “I can be nice, too,” he rasped.
She shrugged. “Fooled me.”
“Keep your disdain.”
“Would you rather my pity? I don’t know what you’re after, but Adam will kill you if he finds you here.” And if he didn’t, he’d kill him eventually anyway. “Why are you doing this to him? He’s your brother.”
He glared at her. “All I’ve ever wanted is what’s rightfully mine.”
What was keeping Adam and the others? Though she stood straight and didn’t flinch under his hard stare, she was freaking out on the inside. Her mind reached for Adam, but she didn’t know how to make him feel her panic, especially when she was pretending to be calm on the outside.
Trying to draw Adam’s attention, she decided to use Cain’s emotions if hers weren’t working. “I belong to Adam.”
His head lifted sharply, his eyes flashing and boring holes through her. “Is that what you think? You forget that I’ve been in your dreams.” He took a step forward and she mirrored it with a step back, her gaze cutting to the window. “I don’t think you're the sort of female to give yourself to a man without holding something back.”
Her legs bumped the kitchen table and her hand closed around the rung of a chair. It was becoming harder to remain calm.
“I’m right, aren’t I?” He reached over her and she held her breath. He lifted a stalk of celery and tossed it aside. “You didn’t even agree to a wedding.”
How did he know that? “I’m marrying, Adam.”
“Don’t lie to me,” he hissed, crowding her until her back arched over the chair. “Even if there’s only ever hate between us, let it be honest.”
Her breath labored. “Fine. I might not marry Adam, but I’ll never belong to you.”
The side of his mouth lifted in a half smirk. “You’ll never fully belong to him either.”
He lifted his hand and she flinched away.
“Be still.” With slow, gradual motions, he pulled a strand of hair free from her bonnet. His head turned as he studied it.
Her shallow breathing gave away her panic. “You said you’d leave.”
His eyes cut to her. “I could take you right now. Adam’s a fool for leaving you unguarded.”
“He’d catch you.”
Cain lifted a brow. “You think he has me beat in every measure of a man?”