Chaos and Moonlight (Order of the Nines Book 1) by A.D. Marrow Page A

and the force of the door smacked her right onto the hardwood floor and sent her sliding into the footboard of the bed.
    “Oh dear God, I am so sorry!”
    Sarah cracked her eyes open to see the blurry outline of a woman.
    “Here,” she said as she scrambled around to set down the large plate she was carrying, “let me help you.” She wiped her hands on her jeans and stretched out her hand. Sarah eyed it cautiously.
    “I’m not going to hurt you,” the woman said, a smile tipping up the corners of her perfectly shaped mouth. “Trust me, that is the last thing I want to do.”
    Holy crap, did she have fangs? Sarah eyed the gesture cautiously but slowly extended her hand closer to the woman until her fingers were held tightly in her soft grip. A quick and steady jerk pulled her upright to her feet. The moment she was vertical again she pulled her hand away and took in the woman in front of her.
    Sarah was straight as an arrow, but this woman was downright gorgeous. She had long, ink-black hair that fell perfectly straight down to the middle of her back, cut in such a way that little wisps of it fell around her face and down to her shoulders. She was about an inch or two shorter than Sarah, but the way she held herself made her look like she was ten feet tall. Her legs seemed to go from the floor straight up to her neck, and the faded low-rise jeans that she was wearing did everything in the world to show off her perfectly curved hips. The black turtleneck sweater she wore did the same damn thing that her jeans did: hug every curve from her shapely arms to her tiny waist and finish off the show with a snug fit around her disturbingly perky rack. Not to mention that she had had the creamiest skin and a perfect complexion.
    It was her eyes that really popped, though. They were wide, almond shaped, and surrounded by the thickest ebony lashes Sarah had ever seen. As corny as it sounded in her head, the only way Sarah could describe the color was the deep orange of a sunrise combined with the emerald green of springtime trees. They were strange and stunning.
    The raven-haired woman turned to retrieve the silver plate she had set down on top of the vanity and walked over to the bed, all the while a smile still trying to break out from her lips. Sarah kept her eyes tight, watching the woman’s every move. The woman snorted out a laugh, and those strange eyes tilted up just as her mouth did.
    “You can relax, Dr. Bridgeman. I already told you, we’re not going to hurt you. You’re just nervous, that’s all.” The woman went into the bathroom and filled a narrow crystal vase halfway with water. She placed a single flower in it and brought it over to the end table. “And if you keep referring to me as beautiful, I’m going to be the one who’s nervous, not you.”
    “You can read my mind?” Sarah spat out the question like a piece of rotten fruit.
    “No,” the woman said. She sat down calmly on the bed. Her smile was gone. “You actually said all of that out loud, you know, about being nervous and feeling inadequate. You shouldn’t feel that way. I’ve been watching over you for the past few hours and—”
    “Few hours? How long have I been here?” Sarah didn’t realize it, but with every word she spoke, she had inched closer and closer to the bed until finally, she was standing at the foot of the gigantic four-poster. “Why were you watching me? Who put me in these clothes? Where are my clothes? Who washed my hair? Who are you, and what the hell is wrong with your teeth?”
    Raven-hair took in a deep breath. She lifted the lid off the giant silver plate that was sitting in the center of the bed. The scent coming off the china hit Sarah straight in the gut, and she suddenly realized how hungry she was. Pancakes—she could almost taste them—drowned in butter and hot maple syrup.
    “You are starving, Sarah.” She patted the bed beside her. “Why don’t you sit down and eat, and I will explain everything to