Dearly Beloved by Jackie Ivie

Author:Jackie Ivie [Ivie, Jackie]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Paranormal Romance, novella, short story, vampire romance, vampire assassin league
Amazon: B005O2SO98
Published: 2011-09-17T21:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

Shock was an undervalued condition, especially the numb part that seemed to accompany it. Courtney was solidly in its grasp as she rounded the fourth circle of steps in her quest to get out. Her heart pumped madly and she panted from the exertion, but that was better than dealing with what she’d just heard and was expected to believe. No. Wasn’t true. Didn’t happen. Couldn’t be. Nothing like this happened in the world anymore. Well…maybe on some new cable show, but not to her. People from Seattle didn’t end up in some Mediterranean labyrinth; they didn’t have their world blown to smithereens about them; they didn’t wake up with millionaire princes; they wouldn’t fall heavily into passion-drenched lovemaking sessions with them; and they’d never be expected to believe that said wonder-guy was a real-life murderer.

It was bad enough he had vampire delusions and acted on them. No. That didn’t happen either. None of this did. Courtney blinked against a blurred view that smeared the steps into one long snake built of stone. She wasn’t just denying this entire episode. She refused to believe it. Period.

Numbness should’ve gotten her to the top of this damn spiral staircase. She should be racing steps, rather than watching the series of them distort, elongating before her eyes. There was a landing of sorts where the steps semi-vanished into what was probably another floor of his cave mansion. She’d passed three of them. Maybe four. The guy must have ten floors in here. That wasn’t fair.

Fair? What a joke.

She blinked, clearing her vision again, and then she was at the next set of steps. Hearing that self-confirmed asshole, Shawn Elliot, was dead didn’t bother her. Much. He had such an over-inflated vision of himself, the world all of a sudden felt bigger. Her sister using his own money to rid the world of him – now that bore consideration, if and when Courtney got past the bigger one: She’d actually bedded the murderer…and loved every moment of it.

Argh.

Numb was supposed to last longer. Courtney swiped at both cheeks. She wasn’t facing any of it yet. She had time. She had to get this physically grueling climb behind her first, though. It was obvious Apollo/Dominick didn’t need to work out much. All he had to do was climb his stinking stairs.

The man loomed out of the shadowed recess marking the next floor, making her stumble. Courtney grabbed for the rail, wrapped both hands around it, and looked over the precipice at darkness that went a long way down. The steps were safer. She turned back. But that meant she had to face him…and everything that went along with that.

The split dress she’d tied back together with one of his canopy ties was sweat-damp at her waist. She supposed that helped keep it closed. She didn’t have a stitch on beneath it, and silk skimmed and stuck to just about everywhere. She was sticky with sweat. Her heart was pounding so hard she could barely hear her raspy breaths over it.

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