Free Shiver (Night Roamers) by Kristen Middleton Page A

moment. He stiffened up and moved his face away from my skin. “I have to leave,” he said, “before I can’t stop myself from taking you.”
    I released a sigh . “You don’t have to.”
    He clenched his jaw. “We’re not talking about the same thing. The hunger is magnified being this close to you.”
    I touched his lips again. “Duncan…”
    He moved his mouth away from my fingers. “Stop,” he said, staring down at me, his face flushed, his eyes blazing with fire. His mouth opened slightly and it was then that I saw the fangs. “I need…”
    “ If you need blood that bad,” I interrupted, “take it from me.”
    It was my fault he was a vampire and I felt I owed it to him anyway. I’d already sacrificed myself to Ethan, and I trusted Duncan much more.
    “No ,” he growled. “I’m not going to do that to you.”
    “I t’s okay,” I said, offering my neck again. I pushed my dark hair away from my neck. “Just take enough to sustain you for a while.”
    His breathing increased until he was almost gasping. He lowered his lips to my skin, licking just below my ear. I closed my eyes, anticipating the pain from his teeth.
    “No,” he snapped, getting up from the floor. “What you’re asking is suicidal. I have to go.”
    I reached out for him. “No, please stay.”
    He stepped towards the balcony without looking at me. “I can’t. I knew this was a bad idea.”
    Then he open ed the door and I watched as he leaped over the balcony all the way to the ground and disappeared.

Chapter Thirteen
     
     
     
     
     
     
    “Well, that certainly wasn’t very smart. He could have drained you down to nothing.”
    I whipped my head around . “Celeste!” She was sitting outside in the same spot as Duncan had been earlier, staring at me with amusement. “You have to quit sneaking up on people.”
    She smiled . “Sorry, I didn’t want to interrupt your little interlude.”
    I grabbed a blanket from my room, to wrap around myself. The chill in the air seemed magnified by her presence. I cleared my throat. “So, um where’s Nathan?”
    She licked her lips. “Oh, he’s had an exhausting night. Don’t worry, though, he’s tucked safely inside of his bed.”
    My eyes narrowed . “You didn’t do anything to him, did you?”
    She gave me a wounded look. “You don’t trust me very much, do you?”
    I didn’t answer. Instead, I sat down on the chair next to her and stared off towards the woods, wondering where Duncan was headed. “So,” I stated. “You’ve made Duncan into one of you…”
    “I had to do it,” she murmured , wrapping a piece of red hair around her finger and staring at it. “He’d lost too much blood.”
    “Why?”
    She raised her eyebrows. “What do you mean, why?”
    “Why did you bother saving him? Why didn’t you just suck him dry or whatever it is you Roamers do?”
    She studied me for a few seconds and then shrugged . “I don’t know. I guess I just like Duncan. Besides, I want him to find Ethan and kick his arrogant fucking ass.”
    “ So, it really was Ethan who attacked him?”
    She nodded. “Of course , who else could it be?”
    I let out a sigh. I was hoping she’d have an answer other than that. “Well, how did you come across Duncan that night?”
    She stood up and walked over to the railing. Looking off into the distance, she said, “I was just leaving your house when I chanced upon him. It was a pretty bad scene, though, blood everywhere. Fortunately, I called a couple of my friends and we were able to clear the wreckage before daybreak.”
    “Why?” I asked.
    “It was my dad’s idea. He wanted to avoid any kind of investigation.”
    “I don’t understand . If there was blood everywhere, and it’s so hard to resist, why didn’t Ethan finish him off? Drain him of his blood?”
    She shrugged. “I’m really not sure myself.”
    “ Well, what about me? How did I end up back at home?”
    “ I don’t know. You weren’t with Duncan when I