Page 42 of A Bond with the Dark

“I know,” he says, his eyes searching my face. “Look, I was trying to say that I like you. I don’t want to mess this up by going too fast. I want to keep seeing you, see where it goes, and let nature take its course.”

“Me too.”

The panicky feeling begins to ebb, and I feel a bit better.

“So,” he answers, stepping up to join me again on the porch. “I am going to kiss you goodnight and leave. And I want you to think of where you would like to go for our second date on the next night you are free.”

“Okay,” I say, the word tasting ashen in my mouth.

His lips meet mine again; this time, it’s swift and sweet.

“Goodnight,” he says when he lets my lips go.

“Goodnight, Dominic.”

He punctuates his smile with a soft wink, turns on his heel, and heads down the sidewalk path.

15

WHISPERING LEAF

DOM

My mind is a swirling rush of emotions and energy, thoughts and musings, fear and excitement violently compounding against each other, ruining and restoring me simultaneously. As my car escalates down Sayah’s street and away from her, I think back on everything that went awry.

The date itself was excellent. I find myself much more attracted to Sayah than I ever thought possible. Getting to know her personally makes all those feelings that were stuttering me at the bar magnified with her up close.

Typically, we can take emotions and flick them off like a switch, steeling ourselves to any mortal sentiments or obligations of social constructs. But with her, my ability to flip it off is not only disabled; it’s intensified. I feel her in my bones and nestling into my skin; the sharp wit of hers is piercing through my own resolve.

She is something else entirely.

The dizziness in my brain is making me feel like I’m buzzing, like I’d drunk a hundred shots of whiskey that were laced with Feyfire crystals. Being in her presence is like getting out of the shower. That million-dollar, fresh skin, clean feeling that only comes after being cleansed in hot water. She douses me with something tangible on my skin; a layer of her still rests all over me even after I’ve left her.

Having to veilweave her to forget we saw those grims is grating on me. I don’t like that I’m already lying to her, and now I had to take away some of her memories. The look on her face when I told her she had fainted was enough to wrench my heart free from my chest and toss it into a garbage disposal.

Seeing those grims in the alley of a smaller town like Fort Collins tells me theyaregetting worse everywhere though, not just in the major cities.

Oh. And the other thing.

As I was kissing her, I could smell her sweat and perfume and shampoo mixed with the agonizing scent of her blood, and I got caught up. When the kiss turned into that heated rush, I couldn’t help myself. My fangs almost came out, and I about bit her before I even knew what I was doing. Luckily, I’d been able to turn around and gain my composure.

I’m more worried than ever about my family wanting her dead. I don’t know how, but I have to try to keep them from killing her. I have to help her find her magick.

“Siri, call mom,” I say to my car as I merge onto the highway, pressing the pedal to the metal, and the car roars in response.

The line rings three times.

“Hello?” comes my mom’s steely voice over the car speakers.

“Mom.”

“Hi, Dom!” Scarlett echoes from the background.

“I have you on speaker phone,” Mom says, even though I deduced that myself.

“Yeah, mom. Got it.”

“So, what did you find out?”

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