Free Phantom Series Boxed Set by Julie Leto Page B

real. A few hours ago, I was trapped in a single room, staring out at nothingness for centuries on end, too exhausted by monotony and emptiness to dream about either my future or my past.”
    She released the lock of her legs around his waist, but he remained inside her. Now lax, a single movement enough to separate them, he remained perfectly still.
    “And now?”
    He brushed a lock of her hair from her dark eyelashes. “The present has grasped my attention in a most amazing way.”
    As their bodies readjusted to normalcy, Damon shifted beside Alexa, and after untangling legs and arms and slick skin, they spooned. He placed his hand protectively on her belly, splaying his fingers to possess the maximum amount of skin. He concentrated, and seconds later, a silk coverlet draped over them, chasing away the chill. Surprisingly, he felt the muscles in his shoulders and arms go completely lax. His legs barely seemed to exist. The only part of his anatomy having trouble embracing this laziness was his cock, and with her buttocks snuggled so tightly against him, he could hardly blame his intimate anatomy for attempting to regain its strength.
    He leaned in and, burying his face in her tousled hair, took a deep breath. When he pulled back, he felt a scrape across the bridge of his nose. Brushing aside her burnished locks, he found that a gold chain twisted the tight strands at the nape of her neck.
    “What’s this?” he asked, tugging on the necklace.
    She attempted to turn toward him as he worked to untangle the chain. “Oh, it’s a good-luck charm.”
    He chuckled, thinking the talisman had clearly done a brilliant job for both of them.
    Working as nimbly as he could, he eased the hair from the chain, twisting and tugging until the charm came free. Only once the torn triangle fell across his fingertips did he realize what Alexa wore.
    Sarina’s necklace.
    The one given to her by their father.
    The one she’d lost on the night of her disappearance.

Seven
    The chain snapped, abrading the skin on the back of Alexa’s neck. Her hand flew to press against the pain, and when she removed her fingers, a light streak of blood slashed across her skin.
    “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she demanded.
    “Where did you get this?”
    Damon’s naked body gleamed with sweat even as he stood in an attack position. Legs balanced, knees slightly bent, arms at the ready, one hand clutching the delicate charm Jacob had given her as if his decision to murder her or not depended entirely on her reply. She pressed her lips tightly together and reminded herself to breathe. She wasn’t going to let some ghost on the edge of insanity intimidate her, no matter what they’d just done or how delicious the experience had been.
    “You need to calm down,” she insisted.
    He lunged forward, and with a squeal, Alexa tumbled off the chaise and remained out of his reach. Damon was easily twice her size and clearly in a rage. She couldn’t protect herself from a prone position. If he caught her, she wouldn’t stand a chance, martial arts training or not.
    His chest heaved with barely checked emotion, only the chaise between them—a strip of furniture he could make disappear just as easily as he’d conjured it.
    “Tell me how you came to possess this charm, witch!”
    Infuriated, she slammed to her feet. “You’d better watch your tone, mister. I took you out of that painting. I’m nearly positive I can find a way to put you back in.”
    Damon leaped over the chaise, his hand reaching toward her. She effectively deflected his first move but wasn’t quick enough for the second. His hand tangled tightly in her hair, and if she moved, she knew it would hurt.
    “Let go of me.”
    “Tell me how you possess my sister’s necklace,” he demanded through clenched teeth.
    “What? You’re insane!”
    “That remains to be seen, but I know this charm. Sarina was wearing it the night she ran away, but I found this very broken piece only