Free Soul Seducer by Alicia Dean Page B

me.”
    He crossed his arms and moved slowly toward her. His eyes dropped down her body. “Your limp.” He moved his gaze upward, settling on her cheek. His eyes glittered. “That scar. I was there that night. I saw it happen. You were so helpless, so close to death.”
    “Too bad for you and your buddy I survived, huh?” Audra’s stomach quivered. Her heart pounded a loud, fast rhythm that seemed to say flee, run, get away…
    “I thought so, but I kind of like you this way, too. Talking, breathing, spitting fire. It’s cute.”
    He moved closer. A wave of fetid, warm air enveloped her. An unpleasant energy reached out to her, something inhuman and despicable. It was different from the aura Dimitri carried. Although she was loathe to admit it, Dimitri’s caused her pulse to race. Gaylen’s, on the other hand, made her stomach heave.
    “I’m leaving now. Please don’t follow.”
    He rubbed his hands together, chuckling. “I don’t have to follow you. I can just...appear...any time I want. Why are you being so standoffish? I want to be your friend. I tried to help you that night in the hospital, remember? I wanted to take your pain away. I’m not your enemy. Would an enemy do that?”
    She frowned, trying to remember the details of that nocturnal visit. He’d said, I can take your pain away or I can make it go away, something like that. “Dimitri stopped you. He didn’t want you to help me. Why?”
    He rolled his eyes. “The guy is such a stickler for rules.”
    “Really,” she scoffed. “Somehow he doesn’t strike me as the law abiding type.”
    “Oh, yes. He’s all about rules now. In the days before he became a reaper, things were different.” His eyes took on a faraway look. His face contorted in what almost seemed to be a human emotion. “Back then, he was a cold-hearted bastard. He made his own rules and what he wanted was all that mattered. To hell with the consequences or who he hurt along the way.”
    One part of her wanted to hear the story, but the other wanted to run like mad, to get as far away from this monster as she could. “I’m going,” she said. “Stay away from me.” She backed away. “Don’t either of you ever come near me again.”
    “What? You’re not having fun?” He feigned injury.
    “Just stay away,” she choked out, then whirled and hurried toward her car.
    His voice echoed behind her. “No point in running. We’ll always be around. Me, Dimitri, you. Together forever. The fun is just beginning.”
    Even as she reached Jaxon’s car and thumbed the unlock button on the key fob, she could hear his laughter, following her, mocking her.
    ~*~
    Barney sat in his car, his gaze searching up and down Main Street in downtown Broken Arrow. It was after midnight, few people around, but he needed zero people around.
    Well, maybe not zero. One was more like it. The one sitting no more than twenty or thirty tantalizing feet away.
    At the moment, she wasn’t alone. A couple of teenage boys were coming down the sidewalk, smoking cigarettes and engaging in a shoving match, playfully shouting mother fucker and fuck off at one another. If they kept walking, he was home free.
    While he waited, he flipped down the visor, then slid the cover back from the mirror and stared at himself.
    Facial hair in place...check. Green contacts...check. Friendly smile...check. All was good to go.
    “Barney,” he whispered, trying the name aloud.
    Although he’d used it several times, he still wasn’t used to it. Barney didn’t really fit him, but it worked. What other name would evoke as much familiarity with a generation that grew up watching the lovable purple dinosaur?
    He’d chosen the name for multiple reasons. He’d recently read a novel featuring a character he’d admired named Barnabas Silent. And, who could forget the ever-lovable, classic vampire from Dark Shadows, Barnabus Collins?
    Yep, he couldn’t have chosen a name that would mean so much to him, yet at the same time,