Drop Dead Gorgeous Read Online Free Page A

her to fear in the dark – something so horrible she’d fainted at the sight of him.
    He knew when she woke he should try his magic on her. Madeline and the others in his nest could look into the eyes of humans and control their minds. They’d taught him to do it as well. He’d only tried it once on a person, but he’d used the same newly-discovered mental muscles to work the lock on Clara’s door and had gotten quite good at it for that purpose.
    It was just another part of what he’d become that he didn’t really understand. His body was different now. Aside from the obvious need to drink blood, he had greater physical strength in addition to the seemingly psychic powers. They all had the power to focus their energy to move things, change things – even people’s thoughts and memories. He hated the thought of changing anything about Clara, but he also knew he had no choice.
    Clara stirred and he pulled back and looked at her, waiting for her to open her eyes. He knew she’d be frightened and he’d need to use the magic right away. But when her eyes opened and found his, he felt a surge of joy and waited a beat to relish the feeling. There was no fear in her eyes. He held her gaze, grateful for a good moment after so much pain and loneliness since his death.
    She touched his face, and he came closer. Her eyes glistened with the beginnings of tears.
    “I’m dreaming,” she whispered into his mouth.
    He could no longer resist her and covered her mouth with his, kissing her deeply. She moaned and pulled him closer, wrapping her legs around him. He couldn’t get enough of her. His hands were grabbing; his body pressed into her. He sucked on her warm, sweet tongue until a fang pierced it and he tasted her blood.
    That’s the moment he lost control. His mouth left hers and he bit into her neck. As the blood spilled from the wound, he came hard, grunting like an animal. He was vaguely aware of her sharp yelp of pain and surprise, but he kept sucking and grinding into her.
    Her hands were no longer holding him, but pushing him away and she cried out, “Derek, stop!”
    But he couldn’t stop. It felt too good. He groaned in response.
    She stopped pushing and her body began to relax. Then she began sobbing and pleading.
    “Please, stop. You’re hurting me.”
    I’m hurting her. I’m hurting Clara . He stopped sucking and licked the wound gently, mumbling, “I’m sorry,” as he licked her over and over. His instincts told him to bite again and keep sucking, but he loved her and hated that he’d hurt her. He held her face in his hands and said, “I’m so sorry,” as he searched her eyes for forgiveness. I hate what I am. Now look what I’ve done.
    He pushed her away and stood from the bed, not trusting himself to not hurt her again. He saw the two puncture wounds on her neck, the red blood still calling him, and he turned and ran from the room, through her living room, and out the door.
    Once outside, he kept running, but remembered to slow down so he wouldn’t draw attention to himself. He could run faster than humans now and he knew it looked odd.
    He didn’t stop until he came to the nest. Madeline owned all eight houses on a dead end street in the West Adams district of L.A. He’d never even heard of the area when he was alive and lived in Beverly Hills. This was a part of L.A. he would have only seen on the news in his previous life. He’d known L.A. had neighborhoods like this, but they might as well have been on another planet.
    Now he knew West Adams well, having walked it almost every night since he’d started to roam.  Nearly all the homes were very old and very big, many dating back before the turn of the century. It had once clearly been inhabited by the wealthy, but now housed an eclectic mix of more have-nots than haves after the exodus of the original owners. Once-elegant mansions, huge Victorian and craftsman homes now sat in various states of decay. Occasionally Derek would happen on