(Nikki Michael, #1) Dancing With the Devil by Arthur Keri

Author:Arthur, Keri [Arthur, Keri]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 0440246512
Publisher: Dell
Published: 2013-07-30T07:00:00+00:00

THE HEAVY RUMBLING of traffic woke her some time later. Nikki shifted slightly, and cotton rustled against her skin, bunching near her thigh. A faint scent clung to the material—warm, musty and recognizable. She smiled, wondering how she’d come to be wearing Michael’s shirt.

She opened her eyes and studied the room. A lamp that had seen better days sat on the table to her right, its pale light washing across the smoke-stained blue walls. Paint peeled from the ceiling above her, and across the room sat a small brown dresser that looked as if it would be more at home in a Dumpster than a bedroom. It wasn’t her room, or her dresser. Her heart skipped several beats. Where was she?

A hand rested lightly on hers, enclosing her fingers in warmth. Michael. She closed her eyes briefly and wished he’d take her in his arms, tell her it had all been a nightmare, that everything would be all right.

But he didn’t move, and maybe that was just as well.

“What time is it?” she asked softly.

“About ten at night. You were unconscious for a while.”

The weariness in his voice tore at her heart. She turned her head to meet his gaze, and even such a small movement caused pain. She bit her lip, fighting the sudden sting of tears.

“Gently, Nikki. Your hip and left leg were badly grazed by the car.”

He sat in a chair next to the bed, bare feet propped up on the mattress. His midnight-colored hair was unkempt and in need of a wash, his face etched by deep lines of exhaustion. Though he looked relaxed, there was nothing remotely casual in the way he studied her. In the dark depths of his eyes, she could see all her secrets, all her fears. All that had happened.

She swallowed uneasily and looked away. “I guess I’m lucky I’m only grazed. How did you find me?”

“I followed your thoughts.”

If her thoughts were so open to him, why didn’t he tell her if Jasper’s mind-bending techniques had succeeded or not? “How long was I gone?”

“Two nights.”

It had seemed far longer. She shivered and rubbed her wrist. Though the two puncture wounds in her skin had healed, her flesh still burned. “Where are we?”

“My hotel room. Your injuries didn’t warrant a hospital, and this place is safer anyway.”

“No it isn’t. Jasper’s forged a connection to my thoughts, Michael. He can find me anywhere, anytime.” And there wasn’t a damn thing she could do to stop him.

“I know.” Michael’s voice was calm as he shifted his feet and rose, but something in the way he moved spoke of violence. “He cannot get into this room. I’ve taken precautions.”

She raised an eyebrow. “What sort?”

He hesitated. “Let’s just say I’m friends with an old witch who has forgotten more about vampires than anyone else actually knows.”

Given his closed expression, he wasn’t about to tell her anything else about said witch. A thought he all but confirmed by adding, “How are you feeling?”

“Surprisingly enough, like I’ve been hit by a car.

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