Immortal Darkness (Phantom Diaries #3) Read Online Free

selfish and childish. I didn’t know how to face you, what to say or how to act. I didn’t know how you’d react… and I guess I didn’t want to risk finding out.”
    “I apologize if I left you with the impression I couldn’t handle your rejection of my proposal.”
    For the first time since he’d arrived, his tone held a note of forgiveness.
    “The last thing I wanted to do was hurt or insult you, and I went about all this in the wrong way.”
    He reached for my hand again and this time I remained still and allowed him to come closer.
    “I forgive you,” he said, “if you forgive my persistence. I know you're still so young.  I allowed my own selfish need to take over.  I knew you weren’t ready and I attempted to push you into this all the same.” He kissed my hand and winked. Holding up the ring for a second, he glanced thoughtfully at it then shoved it into his pocket. “I can wait, Annette.  I’ll wait until you're ready; until you know in your heart that I’m the man who can make you happy.  For you, I’ll wait.”
    I shook my head. “Aaron, your mother… she wants grandchildren and she wants them soon. I’m far from ready to even think about that. Marriage and a family… I’ve just begun to lead my own life, to build my career.”
    “Don’t worry, Darling.  I know you're not ready and I have no intention of pressuring you.  I realize now just how futile that would be and how much you truly need time to come into your own.  Mother will wait. For all her insistence on becoming a grandmother, I know she would rather wait until the time is right rather than push for an unhappy marriage.  That said, however, just know that I’m not going to give up. I still have every intention of marrying you one day. I love you, Annette and I feel the need to protect you. Don’t take offense.  I know you're strong and independent, but this need to protect you persists. I think all this business with Kristine and Eric has left me with an even stronger desire to keep you safe.”
    Hearing Eric’s name on his lips was like a spike through my heart and it was all I could do to keep from physically reacting to it.  I wanted to ask what he knew of Eric; of Eric and Kristine.
    He reached into his jacket’s inner pocket and pulled out a small and tattered leather bound book.   “Though you may not be interested in wearing my ring, I thought you might be interested in this.” 
    My eyes remained riveted to the book as Aaron waved it about. I was only vaguely aware of the knowing grin on his lips.  He was taunting me.
    “What’s that?” I finally asked. In my heart I felt I knew exactly what it was.  It all but belonged to me.  But I wanted to hear him confirm it.
    “This is Kristine’s journal.  I went to the village she grew up in and found it there.  I admit I thought it rather curious to find it there after all this time.” 
    He held the journal up and my fingers twitched with a desire to grasp it; to rip it from his hands.
    “I wondered if perhaps you might not find it of interest.”
    I cocked my head to the side and smiled. “It might.”
    “After all, she was a relative of yours. I thought you might want to know more about her.”  He reached out to set the book and my hand, but kept a hold of it, his gaze reverently on the journal.  “You know I sensed a strong connection to you the moment I found this. It seemed so important for me to bring it to you; so important for you to have it.  In some strange way I feel she would have wanted you to have it, to read it.”
    I fingered the soft and tattered leather as a chill ran up to straightened the small hairs at the back of my neck.  Involuntarily, I shivered and hoped Aaron wouldn’t notice. But in the instant that followed, I realized it wasn’t just a chill up my spine but a veritable iciness that filled my living room.
    Billowing in front of my mouth was a small cloud of my breath, just like the cloud that emerged from