Page 125 of Lady of Darkness

Scarlett was quiet, unsure of what to say. Was there anything she could say? She knew there wasn’t. There was nothing anyone could say that would ease her pain and guilt, so she just said, “I’m sorry,” and gently squeezed his arm where her hand still rested.

Sorin swallowed, composing himself before he went on. “We make bad calls, Scarlett, but we can’t change them. If this turns out to be a bad call, then you deal with it. You learn from it. You become humbled by it. But you do not let it define you. You let it shape you,” he finished, reaching over and brushing his knuckles along her cheek.

She handed him her now empty glass of wine, and he set it on the end table beside his own. “I wasn’t lying earlier,” she said. He turned back to face her with a questioning look. “I told Callan that you have helped me in more ways than one, and you have. You…” she pursed her lips. “When I asked you to train me, I didn’t expect you to teach me about anything more than weaponry and combat.”

“I am old as dirt,” he said wryly, the corner of his mouth quirking up. “I have been known to offer sage advice from time to time.” Scarlett nudged him playfully with her hand, but he caught her wrist. His face shifted to one of contemplation. “What if I make another bargain with you?”

Scarlett cocked her head to the side. “What do you have in mind?”

“If I help you figure out what is going on in the Black Syndicate, you agree to come and see my home,” he said.

“In the Fire Court?” Scarlett sat up straighter. “I don’t know, Sorin. You may have proved to me that not all Fae are bastards, but the Fire Prince…”

“Is responsible for your mother’s death. I know. You would not need to stay. I just want you to see it,” he said.

“Why?”

He sighed, appearing to search for the words before he groused, “Probably because I enjoy torment. It would drag out having to say goodbye to you.”

A pit yawned open in her stomach. “Can’t you stay?”

“I have responsibilities at home. I have already been gone far too long,” he said, playing with her hair.

“Will you come visit me? After you’ve returned home?”

“If you wish,” he said, stroking a finger down her cheek. “You are incredibly demanding. I do not think I could say no to you.”

Scarlett shot him an unimpressed glare. “I was about to kiss you, you know. Now I don’t want to,” she said, sitting back and crossing her arms.

Sorin couldn’t hide the shock that flashed in his golden eyes before he closed them, wincing. “I do not know that I have ever regretted opening my mouth more than I do in this very moment.” Scarlett huffed a laugh, and his eyes flew open, snapping to her own. “You laugh? Kindly remember, Love, that I have never lied to you, and I did say earlier today that I enjoy kissing you.”

“Good,” she said, her voice sultry and soft, as she leaned closer to him. “Because I enjoy kissing you too, Sorin Aditya.”

She heard him suck in a breath as her lips met his, and she lost herself in the taste of him against her mouth and tongue. She relished the feel of his hands on her as one slipped into her hair, moving to cup the nape of her neck, holding her mouth to his.

Never. She had never been able to be unabashedly herself. When she was with Callan, she was always listening for danger, always ready to run. When she was with Nuri and Cassius, she was always training, always preparing, always protecting. But here, with him,she could simply be. She could breathe. Because he understood her. Understood her darkness.

Sorin pulled back, looking into her eyes. “I cannot keep kissing you, not like this, if you are his,” he said, his voice guttural.

“I am no one’s,” she whispered, bringing her lips back to his. His hands were on her hips as he gently pulled her into his lap, rotating her to face him, and a hand stroked up her back to her hair while the other gripped her waist. She slid a leg over, straddling him, and he deepened the kiss, taking control of it. She pulled back slightly. His golden eyes were nearly luminous as they took her in. “It’s a bargain, General,” she said, and brought her lips back to his.

At her words, his kiss grew hungrier. His hand slipped under her top, gliding up her bare back. His fingertips traced her spine. She brought her own hands into his silken black strands, and he pressed her into him. He groaned when her breasts pressed against his chest, and the sound made her core molten. “Scarlett,” he breathed.

Then he was kissing along her jaw, down her neck. She arched into him, a breathy moan escaping her. She felt his teeth scrape along her neck, and for a brief moment, she wondered what his Fae canines would feel like scraping along that same area. His hands were gripping the outside of her thighs now, and she shifted her hips so she was lined up perfectly with him, feeling his hardness press against her center. He hissed at the movement, and she smiled as he pulled back to look into her eyes.

“I am seconds away from lying you down on this sofa, Love,” he rasped, his eyes glazed with predatory hunger as they searched her face, questioning.

Not breaking his gaze, she gripped his shirt and slid off his lap, pulling him down with her as she laid back on the couch. She felt him shudder as he settled behind her on the sofa to avoid the bruises on her abdomen. His hand came up to cup her cheek as his other slid under her shoulders. She reached her own hand up, her fingertips tracing his lips. “What now?” she whispered.

“Now I make you forget every thought that went through your head when that guard said such awful things about you,” he replied softly. Her breath hitched when his fingers began trailing down her neck.There was heat as his fingers lingered along her collarbone then began to roam lower. “You are incredibly selfless, Scarlett.”

His hand skimmed over her breast, and the ache between her thighs intensified. His hand slid down her side to her hip. He paused, giving her a moment to stop him before his hand slipped under her top and slid over bare skin. She trembled slightly at the touch, and a smile twitched on his mouth. “My touch does such interesting things to you, Love.” His hand had stilled on her ribs. Her breathing was rapid as he leaned down and pressed light kisses to her neck. “So fucking stunning,” he murmured against her skin. He continued those soft kisses up her neck. “You are strong and clever and kind.”

She swallowed. “I am a killer, Sorin,” she whispered as his hand started to move again. “I am cruelty and wickedness and darkness. Don’t start lying now.”

“How have you not learned that I do not lie to you?” he replied. She could feel the slight frown against her neck as he said it. He pulled back to look into her eyes. “I watched you with those children today. I watched you tend to them. I watched you patiently teach them. I watched you love them. Then I watched you be physically hurt and bow before a cunt of a man to ensuremysafety.” Anger flared in those golden eyes. “You are anything but cruelty and wickedness and darkness.” As he finished speaking, his hand finally reached her breast, and she gasped slightly as fingers grazed her peaked nipple. His lips were on hers at the sound, as if he were trying to devour it, and he did it again. She rotated slightly, pressing her hips into him, and he groaned against her mouth again.

He squeezed her breast one more time, then his hand was drifting lower again. His fingers explored her abdomen. Her navel. Her hip. Then they were grazing the band of her pants.

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