Page 55 of Barbi and the Villain

A harsh expression crosses his face.

He curses under his breath as he takes himself away from me. Dark mist surrounds him. It bleeds from his skin, creating a protective cocoon around him. The mist almost has a life of its own as it moves wildly around, almost like the untamed flames of the fire, seeking to burn everything in their path.

“Nykander? Are you all right?” I ask tentatively.

The darkness suddenly dissipates.

He blinks once. Twice.

“You mean your Dark One?” He raises a brow, the dark atmosphere from before all but gone.

“Ah…yes…” My eyes widen. “The evil dude everyone’s afraid of. But you see, he’s evil but not that evil. He’s a nice guy once you get to know him. He wouldn’t cause a mass plague. Only if people threatened me, of course…”

“Because you are the light to his darkness,” he says, a smile playing at his lips.

“Exactly. I am his heart,” I proclaim proudly. “If anyone hurts me, then of course he will cause a plague. But other than that, he’s chill. If anything, I bet it’s that psycho Damien who had something to do with it.”

He sports an amused smile as he stares at me, resting his chin on his palm.

“You speak very highly of the Dark One,” he notes.

“Yes, he…” I close my mouth as it dawns on me I just made myself very unavailable in front of my love interest. Damn it! This little lie might have worked when I thought he was a mummy who might harm me, but now that I realize he’s my soulmate, I need to come up with a new lie.

“Unfortunately, he broke up with me.” I clear my throat, feigning a sigh.

“Did he now?”

I nod.

“He broke up with me after we escaped the cell. Telepathically. Because he’s a strong villain who has lots of powers, you know.”

“I can imagine.” He nods sympathetically. “But didn’t you say you were his heart?”

“That’s exactly why!” I burst out, my imagination dripping with new ideas. “He knows he’s a big, bad villain who is hunted left and right by everyone. He doesn’t want to put me in danger, so he decided to let me go.” I feign a sigh. “He told me to find my happiness somewhere else, even if it won’t be with him. Because he’s nice like that—but only with me. Now he’s off on his next villainous adventure.”

“Hm.” He clicks his tongue against his teeth. “He is not much of a villain if he would let go of his heart, no? If it were me, and I were such a villain, I would not let anything stand between me and my female,” he notes, a wicked gleam entering his eyes.

Did it suddenly get hot in here? He said ‘my female’ in that deep voice of his.

S.W.O.O.N.

“He’s a different type of villain,” I scramble for an explanation, praying he doesn’t notice the blush climbing my cheeks. He’s making me scatterbrained—not that I already wasn’t a little before. But now I can barely function, let alone come up with a thousand more lies! “He’s the misunderstood type that may seem evil to everyone else but actually has a heart of gold. Because he does,” I stammer. “He is bad but not that bad. Why, he sometimes volunteers at a pet shelter. It’s because of me and PomPom, you see. We converted him and now he’s on a path of self-improvement…”

“You are doing that thing again,” he says in a low voice as he gets closer to me.

I blink rapidly.

“W-what thing?” I whisper, suddenly aware that the distance between us is shrinking by the second. My heart cannot take this much tension. The drum of every heartbeat is a loud echo in my ears. Sweat gathers over my forehead, dripping down my temples.

He’s so close.

Oh my God! He’s so close.

“Talking too much.” The corner of his mouth pulls up.

My eyes move up slowly, from that irresistible curve of his lips to those mesmerizing eyes that have me in a chokehold.

I gulp down. Hard.

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