by Emily Reed
Sneak Peek
Dark Secret, The Kiss Chronicles Book 2
Birds sang, welcoming the rising sun. Emmanuel smiled, his arms warm around me. "Welcome to my world. Welcome home.”
He stepped up onto the bank and set me down, my feet sinking into soft, wet earth. "Where are we?" Dimitri asked, still standing in the swiftly moving stream, looking up to where the house was only moments ago. A mere flash ago. But now, it was just trees—ancient, snarled trees, ferns at their feet. A forest untouched by development. Impossible.
Emmanuel did not answer, his hand trailing along my waist for a moment before he returned to the water, walking deeper into it as he pulled off his dirt-encrusted shirt.
Faint rays of the rising sun lit his exposed skin, playing over the defined muscles in his back and tangling in his curls that were stiff with dried mud. "We are…in a different dimension, aren't we?" I asked.
“What?” Megan’s voice was quiet.
Emmanuel twisted, his broad shoulders angling toward me. My eyes caught on the V shape of muscles below his tight abdominals. Dear Lord. That’s what they called him…the vampires all called him Lord.
Emmanuel gave me a devastating smile, his eyes promising a reward for my observational powers. Tingles of anticipation raced over my skin.
Bending down, Emmanuel dunked his shirt beneath the swiftly moving water. Megan joined me on the bank, her brilliant red hair catching the light. My heart rate picked up. "Dimitri and Megan can't be in the sunlight."
It filtered through the trees, imbuing this new world with a soft golden glow, but soon it would pierce through the foliage—rays of light that were deadly to Dimitri and Megan.
Emmanuel moved to a deeper part of the stream and dropped to his knees, then submerged himself into the frigid water. Dirt flowed off of him, a brown cloud carried away by the current.
Dimitri joined Megan and me at the water’s edge, his shoes sinking into the moist dirt. The T-shirt he wore was ripped and blood stained, yet he still moved like a dancer, all controlled elegance. His pale blue eyes avoided mine, looking into the distance instead. “There is a cave," he said. "About a mile that way." He nodded his chin toward the rising sun. "At least there was in our world. We should go now, Megan."
I wanted to cup his cheek and turn him toward me. So much had changed in such a short period of time. We were lovers just hours ago. And now, Emmanuel had made him my…what? Protector, servant? Either way, he wasn’t looking at me.
"I'm not leaving Darling," Megan said, crossing her arms over her stomach and setting her jaw, her mismatched eyes hard.
"She will be safe," Dimitri assured her. "Emmanuel is here."
Emmanuel sat up then, water dripping off him as he rose, his skin prickling from the cold water and fresh air. He shook his head and droplets sprayed, catching the early morning light, looking like jewels.
He approached us and handed Dimitri his shirt, without looking at the vampire. "Wring this out for me.” Would saying please kill the man…Lord…whatever the hell he was.
Dimitri took the shirt and twisted it, his forearm muscles coming into relief as water splattered onto the muddy shore. “Thank you," Emmanuel said, a playful smile twisting his lips. Did he read my mind? "Go to the cave,” he waved at Megan. “We will meet you there at sunset." When she made no move to leave, Emmanuel focused his attention on her. She dropped her gaze. “Do not fear,” he said, his voice low. “Darling is in good hands.”
Megan chewed on her lip and gave a small nod. “Just…” She sighed, reaching out and taking my hand. “I’ll see you soon. You’ll be okay, right?” I nodded, and she squeezed my fingers. She was so cold, so inhuman.
I turned to Dimitri and caught his eye, reaching out with my influence. He burned with the urge to touch me. I reached for him, and he moved blindingly fast, wrapping me in his arms, one hand buried in my hair, the other spanning my low back. I melted against the hard lines and smooth planes of his chest. His lips brushed my forehead. While not chaste, the embrace bore none of the heat roiling inside of him.
Emmanuel controlled the ancient vampire, keeping him at bay, stopping him from feeding me.
Dimitri released me, and the two vampires blurred out of sight. Emmanuel stepped closer, his chest still bare, his jeans wet and clinging to him. He took my hand, lacing our fingers, and warmth spread over me. I shivered at the sudden heat. “What are we?" I asked. "What are you to me?"
"I hope to be your everything," he answered.
"I don't understand." I looked down at his hand. We almost screwed on a concession table at a club before our last performance. We’d known each other for months. And now suddenly we were destined to be together? “How long have you known what I am?"
"I wasn't sure, not until that day."
"Which day?"
"The one you were just thinking about." I heard a smile in his voice. “The last time we played together.” The way he said played didn’t make it sound like he was talking about music.
“Can you read my mind?" I met his eyes—the warm brown of tree bark glinting with sparkles of amethyst. Water dripped from his hair, the rivulets sliding down his neck and over his collarbones, to his chest. And what an incredible chest it was…
He chuckled—a warm, masculine sound. “I can't stop thinking about it. I have not stopped thinking about you. You are meant for me. I am sure of it."
I shook my head, trying to clear the haze of lust fogging my thoughts. "There are so many people who think they know what I am—know some kind of destiny for me."
He squeezed my hand. "Yes, but don't you feel it?" Energy pulsed from him and ran over my skin. I shivered, my eyes fluttering closed. Oh, I felt it. But on the heels of that wave of desire fear followed—the avalanche behind the gunshot. Don’t get crushed.
Emmanuel placed his big hand on my hip, pulling me just a tiny bit closer. His head bent down. "Don't be scared, Darling,” he whispered, so close that his words felt like a caress. My eyes opened and met his. “I will never hurt you,” he promised, his gaze intense. “I will never let anyone hurt you." His fingers flexed possessively on my hip.
His words were as effective as a bullet, striking me in the chest, hitting me square in all the feels. I always wanted protection. I’d lived most my life hiding…but…here comes the suffocating avalanche. “Will you try to decide my future for me?" I asked, my voice small. I hated how weak I sounded….how much I wanted the protection he promised.
A soft, knowing smile played over Emmanuel’s lips, and he shook his head. "Your destiny is your own. I have no power to control it. And neither do you.”
I bit my lip. Was that true? Energy thrummed between us. I wanted so much. Control over my own life, to be safe, Emmanuel to touch me, to make sense of all that happened…but that was impossible. There was no making sense of this world. It wasn't even my world. "What did you mean by calling this place home?" I asked, grasping at straws.
He didn't answer me. Our gaze locked. The scent of honey rose up between us. It would only take a small movement for our lips to meet, but neither of us made it.
There was something truly delicious about this moment all on its own—not touching, except where his warm palm rested against my hip. It was like the seconds before a performance—a tantalizing anticipation. The moment before the snow slips down the side of the mountain. Once we tip over the edge, there will be no going back.
The energy strained to be released, building up inside of us so that it seemed to fill the forest. Our influences combined, floating into and through one another, mixing so that I could barely tell where one began and the other ended.
I stared into his eyes, sinking into him. Emmanuel had access to every part of me, and I to him. There was no hiding from one another. This would not be a race to satisfaction like I felt with Dimitri, not a ravaging hunger, but a slow and luxurious meal we would share. Music filled my ears, a tune I didn't know but recognized. "What is that sound?" I whispered.
Emmanuel
's free hand circled my other hip. He slowly, achingly, folded the space between us into nothingness. His wet jeans pressed against my dry ones, and I resented all the clothing I'd ever worn.
He lowered his lips, my eyes slipped closed. His mouth against mine was warm and soft, hungry but controlled. I let my hands run up his arms, feeling every muscle as I passed over it, reveling in his form as my fingers wound up and into his hair.
Our kiss deepened.
Colors splashed behind my eyes, and power rose between us, shaking the trees, making the stream run faster, pulling energy from the air and filling us with it. Yes, I felt it.
His hands slipped under my shirt, caressing my bare skin. I shivered from the pleasure of his touch, reveling in the power he shared with me.
"Yes," I whispered. "Yes." I didn’t know what I was agreeing to. I’d slipped over the edge, the mountain of snow began its descent—watch out below!
My legs wobbled from all the power coursing through us. I leaned into him, under his control as he kissed me again, his tongue diving into me, driving more energy into me, filling me up so that every cell in my body vibrated.
That song—I recognized it.
It rose as the aches and pains from the wounds I'd sustained healed, as if they'd never been there. He took away any pain I'd ever had, any hurt; everything bad floated away like the dirt he'd washed off in the stream—a cloud whisked into nothingness by a strong current.
All the atoms in the universe vibrate in the same frequency, and now I could hear it.
"Sorry to interrupt." A voice broke through our passion. Emmanuel’s hands gripped me tighter. "Emmanuel!" A hot and sharp spark snapped between us. breaking our kiss.
Emmanuel growled. "How dare you?"
"Is that how you talk to your wife?"
Wife?
Preorder Dark Secret, The Kiss Chronicles Book 2, releasing December 2019: emilykimelman.com/ERDSwb.
A Note From Emily
Thanks so much for reading Lost Secret! I’m grateful you took a chance on the first book in this new series and liked it enough to make it all the way to my note.
I’d appreciate it if you would leave a review with your thoughts. It’s super helpful to other readers who wonder if this book is for them. We wouldn’t want someone who thinks zombies are gross and sex should be hidden to read this—they’d hate it! But someone who loves fast paced urban fantasy with strong romance themes—this is their thing.
Turn the page to learn more about my mystery and thriller books I release under my own name.
Thank you for joining me on this new adventure!
Thank you,
Emily
About the Author
Emily Reed is the pen name of Emily Kimelman. That’s me! I write romances full of adventure as Emily Reed and mystery-thrillers with grit as Emily Kimelman.
I’m married to a wonderful man and have two awesome kids. My husband and I both have serious cases of wanderlust and while children have slowed our roll, we still manage to hit the open road regularly. I get my best story ideas while traveling but do my best writing while alone—there is dancing involved that no one wants to see, and occasionally I’ll even do the worm in-between writing sprints. ;-)
Want to try one of my mystery thrillers? Get a free copy of Unleashed, the first book in my Sydney Rye series for free when you join my email list: emilykimelman.com/newsletter.
Want to stay in touch about my romances and urban fantasies and always know when I have a new Emily Reed release: emilykimelman.com/ERNews.
Emily’s Bookshelf
Visit www.emilyreedbooks.com for a complete list.
EMILY REED
ROMANCES
The Kiss Chronicles
Lost Secret
Dark Secret
Stolen Secret
The Scorch Series
co-written with Toby Jane
Scorch Road
Cinder Road
Smoke Road
Burnt Road
Flame Road
Smolder Road
EMILY KIMELMAN
MYSTERIES & THRILLERS
Sydney Rye Mysteries
Unleashed
Death in the Dark
Insatiable
Strings of Glass
The Devil’s Breath
Inviting Fire
Shadow Harvest
The Girl with the Gun
In Sheep’s Clothing
Flock of Wolves
Betray the Lie
Savage Grace
Starstruck Thrillers
A Spy is Born