Free Dark Rapture by Michele Hauf Page B

trying to get as far away from her as possible, his eyes wide with…fear? As if she would try to hurt him. What was he afraid of?
    Remembering his actions last week, she eyed the door. He’d flipped out once; he could do it again.
    “Maybe I should leave. My car stalled, but if I you’re not feeling well again—”
    “Scarlet, you must forgive me for the other night,” he whispered urgently. “I was not myself. Like you said, I wasn’t feeling well.”
    “That’s what I thought.” Strange reaction to being sick, wasn't it? Nearly raping someone ? “I forgive you, Sebas—”
    She stopped abruptly upon seeing his body tense and then relax immediately as if a tremor of pain had rippled through him. “Are you all right? Are you still sick?”
    He lowered his head, twisting it from side to side as if to wring out a stitch in his neck. “I’m fine,” he whispered breathlessly. “Do not be concerned, s'il vous plait. I should get you something to dry off—”
    “Sebastian.” A sleepy female voice interrupted from the top of the stairs directly above where they were standing. “Sebastian, come back.”
    Scarlet craned her neck to look up and over her shoulder toward the voice, and saw a hand sliding down the railing and wisps of silky red material floating in and about the twisted wooden railing.
    She felt a painful twinge of jealousy. “I’m sorry if I—”
    Sebastian jerked his gaze toward the voice and his dark eyes glimmered. “No! Go back!”
    In a flash, she felt his arms around her waist as she was pushed against the wall and pinned tightly against it. Twisting to get a better view, she saw a woman clad in a flowing silk robe slowly stepping down the stairs, her eyes trapped in an inanimate gaze. Just then, Sebastian’s hair fell in front of Scarlet’s face blocking her view, and she struggled to free herself.
    Why is he acting this way? What’s going on and why doesn’t he want me to see her?
    Scarlet pulled far enough away from Sebastian to get a good look at the woman’s face. She gasped as the girl stopped at the bottom step and turned toward them. Her eyes were utterly blank as she stared at the wall directly behind Scarlet and Sebastian.
    And then Scarlet noticed her neck. She’d been cut. A stream of blood was pumping slowly from an indiscernible wound on her neck.
    What was going on? Had Sebastian hurt her? Why wasn’t he helping her?
    Terrified, Scarlet began struggling, pushing against his hard body in an attempt to move him away. But Sebastian maintained his position, holding her firmly against the wall.
    “Go back,” he whispered violently, and the girl responded by returning soundlessly up the steps.
    Once again, he bent at the waist, twisting and straining against some unknown pain, though his grasp on her arms remained iron tight. Scarlet couldn’t budge and could barely breathe as he rested his body weight against her. She strained to see the expression on his lowered face. What was wrong with him?
    He stood straight, and his stone black eyes flashed with anger, as if she’d somehow been the cause for the woman’s injuries.
    “You won’t tell a soul what you’ve seen,” he commanded in a new voice of authority that she’d never heard before. He was as regal as a prince as he towered over her, and at the same time, an evil monster threatening her very existence.
    “What’s wrong with her? She might need a doctor.” Her voice was high, almost hysterical. “Sebastian, what’s going on?”
    “You needn’t worry. She will be fine by the morning.”
    Twisting her wrists in his hands as hot tears rolled down her face, Scarlet begged “I’ve got to go now, please, let go of me.”
    “Not until you promise you will tell no one.” Another shock wave shuddered through Sebastian’s body and he released his grip on her wrists. He turned away, clutching at his stomach, but peered over his shoulder to keep an eye on her.
    Scarlet rubbed at her bruised wrists and looked