Crave (ARC)

431 Pages·2016·2.55 MB·English

by  Darnell Melissa

Savannah
A wave of pain rose up to slam into my stomach and chest, wiping the
smile right off my face. This was an ache I knew far too well. It hit me
every time he came within a hundred yards of me, usually before I even
saw or heard him.
Michelle let out a dreamy sigh, confirming what my body already knew.
“Please let me trip him,” Anne muttered once she’d glanced back over
her shoulder and spotted him, too.
I kept my gaze on Michelle, though the tiny blonde’s moonstruck
expression was tough to watch. Anything to keep me facing forward.
Just a few more seconds and he’d pass right behind me. I told myself I
didn’t care, even as my skin tingled with some secret knowledge all its
own that he was drawing closer.
I groaned inside my head. How did he do this to me?
Tristan
Even in the middle of a noisy mass of students, one girl’s laugh grabbed
my attention.
I couldn’t figure out how she did it. The hallway was loud, with at
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least a hundred students all talking and yelling in a space only a few e
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yards wide and a hundred yards long. But every time Savannah Colbert Pa
laughed, the husky sound somehow managed to reach out and twist up 50
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everything inside me. 0
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I and all the rest of the descendants of the Clann had been forbidden e
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to have anything to do with Savannah. Supposedly she was a dangerous Cra
influence or something. Whatever she was, she was definitely on the 1
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Clann’s list of social outcasts. And Mom made sure I knew it, too, 1/
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constantly pounding it into my head for the past five years to “stay away n
from that Colbert girl.” e
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And yet I couldn’t stop myself from turning to look at her now. ui
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CRAVE
Mel i s s a D a r nel l
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If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware
that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and
destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the
publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”
ISBN-13: 978-0-373-21035-0
Recycling programs
CRAVE for this product may
not exist in your area.
Copyright © 2011 by Melissa Darnell
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or
utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic,
mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage
or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the
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publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, e
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Don Mills, Ontario M3B 3K9, Canada. a
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are 50
either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, 03
and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business 21
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establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. e
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This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A. Cra
For questions and comments about the quality of this book 1
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please contact us at [email protected]. 1/
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® and TM are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with n
® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, ee
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the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries. n
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www.HarlequinTEEN.com q
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Printed in U.S.A. H
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Dedication
As always, thanks goes out first to my hubby, Tim...
not just for being my soul mate in every sense of the word,
but also for being my best friend, the bouncing board I run
all my plot ideas by, my confidant and therapist, the best short-order
cook I’ve ever seen, the ultimate beta reader, not to mention so
romantic you put me to shame and inspire me daily to write another
story! Thank you for showing me just what a true romantic hero should
be like! I thank God every day for bringing us into each other’s lives.
To my boys, Hunter and Alex...you gift me with tons of laughter
and smiles and hugs every single day, fueling me to keep on keeping on.
I hope that I can make you proud of your mother. I love you guys!
A huge THANK YOU also goes out to my editor, Natashya.
You are truly one of the great unsung heroes in the publishing world,
and this story would not be even half what it is without you! Thank you
for believing in me and my characters and helping make them so much
better. If they live on in even one reader’s mind, it is because of you and
your genius suggestions! Also, thank you to everyone at Harlequin TEEN
for your awesome ideas and creativity and support for this series!
Thank you to my agent, Alyssa Eisner-Henkin, for your enthusiastic
support and all your hard work. You are an amazing and tireless
warrioress for authors, and I am truly blessed to get to work with you!
To my friends Melissa, Mandi and Corrie...you have shown me the 5
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true meaning of lasting friendship over the years, no matter how g
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much or little we had in common (or how bad I stank at sports!), and 0
regardless of how time and miles and crazy schedules have separated us. 35
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I miss hanging out with you guys and think about y’all every single day. 1
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And last, but NEVER least...thank you to my family. You have taught me e
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how to be strong, have faith and have the courage to keep reaching for Cr
my dreams. Thank you for your love and your support! 1
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PROLOGUE
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Savannah
I edged closer to my unconscious boyfriend cuffed to a chair
nearby.
My judges gathered in a tight half circle a few feet away.
Probably so they could see me better as I failed their test.
The guard’s face looked bored, as if to say this was nothing
personal. Which was a lie. This was totally personal. And all
my fault.
He reached inside his inner jacket pocket and took out two
items…a syringe and a scalpel. Their clear plastic protectors
made loud snicks as he removed them.
I gulped, the air rushing in and out of my lungs in noisy
gusts I couldn’t hide within the silence of the cold cement
room.
The guard stepped closer to us. My thigh muscles tensed,
the instinct to fight pulsing through me, and the guard’s eyes
grew cautious. He knew I was desperate. But that didn’t make
me stupid. The guard was big, built like a linebacker beneath
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10 Melissa Darnell
his badly fitted suit. And even if I could somehow fight him
off, my audience of judges would step in to stop me.
I struggled to breathe, calm down and think straight. Time
for logic, not emotion.
Okay. So we were in deep this time. But we weren’t totally
doomed. Yet. The judges had promised that I had only to pass
one test, and then my boyfriend could go free.
An innocent boy who wouldn’t even be here if I hadn’t
fallen in love with him. My fault he was in danger…
No, no time for a guilt trip right now. I had to focus on
passing this test so we could go home.
Just one test to pass.
A test I was genetically destined to fail.
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