Illicit Desire: Outlawed Realm, Book 2 Read Online Free

assured her nothing bad would happen. She’d begun to believe it.
    The fetid odor of the vampires had long since faded in her bedroom. She smelled nothing more this evening than the citrusy furniture polish she used, a hint of the bacon she and Nikoli had enjoyed for breakfast, the cinnamon toast they’d made.
    She started at a clicking sound. It reminded her of the night the vampires had come here, not in human form but as bats, landing on the roof, their nails clawing at the shingles, their seductive voices coaxing her to let them inside.
    Stop it.
    The noise continued, becoming louder, telling Regina it was footfalls. Not Nikoli’s. She knew the sounds he made. These were lighter. Belonging to a female? Had one of her patients come here? Had Nikoli let her inside? Why would he?
    A flash of blonde caught her attention. Regina stared at the woman who stopped abruptly at the other end of the hall in front of the dining room table. Her face was exquisite, the kind that belonged to a model or film star. Long tresses the color of winter wheat flowed over her narrow shoulders.
    She wore a look of anguish, no different from when she’d sought Regina’s services months before, exposing her and Nikoli to the vampires.
    Sazaar.
    How had she escaped annihilation? Were Andris and the other vampires also here? Oh my God, had they harmed Nikoli?
    The bags of groceries fell from Regina’s hands, spilling a box of spaghetti, bananas and the bottle of vodka. Oranges, another of Nikoli’s favorite food, rolled across the floor, bumping against the beige molding like balls on a billiard table.
    A cry of agony rose in Regina’s throat, the same as Sazaar’s when she’d begged Andris to love her, giving up her life and Nikoli’s safety to assure it. The vampire hadn’t cared. He’d used her then and was certainly doing the same now. Regina bolted toward Sazaar, wanting to tear her apart…to find Nikoli. How dare she come here and ruin what they had. Why couldn’t they destroy her? Why did she have to keep returning?
    Just short of reaching her, Regina heard a flurry of movement from behind, footfalls coming from the living room. An arm snaked around her waist.
    “Regina, no,” Nikoli said, pulling her back. “Stop.”
    She couldn’t. Adrenaline pumped through her, along with primal fear. Had Sazaar already turned Nikoli? Was he one of them now? Was that why he was dragging her away? Regina writhed in his arms, trying to get free so she could find a way to undo this. To somehow save him.
    His grip tightened.
    She cried, “How did Sazaar get in here, Nikoli? Did she bite you?” Her hand went to his wrist, the faint scars from the last time Sazaar had attacked. “We can fix it. There has to be a way to—”
    “She isn’t Sazaar.” He pressed his cheek to hers and spoke softly. “She’s not a vampire. Her name is Damir.”
    What? Who? Regina didn’t understand, nor could she believe what he’d said. “Let go of me.”
    “When you calm down.”
    That wasn’t going to happen. From Nikoli’s left, Regina caught movement. A man.
    Although he was older than Nikoli by decades, they bore an eerie resemblance to each other, their features decidedly masculine, their coloring identical. The same as the scientist Regina had seen when they’d been on E2, hiding from the vampires. What had Nikoli called him? Something beginning with a T, like Timothy or Thomas.
    Thomo.
    This couldn’t be the same man. His left arm hung limply at his side, no doubt paralyzed. A brutal scar marred the left side of his face and throat. The wounds were an angry red, certainly fresh. How had he gotten them? Why was he here? “Is that Thomo?” she asked.
    “No,” Nikoli said. “It’s Meelo.”
    Who the hell was he? Regina glanced at Damir, who’d edged down the hall. Given the concern on her lovely face, she was prepared to retreat the same distance.
    Although her features and coloring were strikingly similar to Sazaar’s, she was also