Page 313 of Dark Love

Every night there’s at least one couple that thinks they’re invisible. That no one can see them in the middle of the dance floor trying to have sex. “Nic, Marc, take care of it before they give a show we aren’t licensed for.”

My two guards head off to remove the offending couple from my dance floor and, most likely, my club.

What? Why is there a woman in a cardigan running across my club? Who let a librarian past the rope? Tac is smarter than that. Librarians don’t sneak into bars. They’re smart enough to keep themselves and their sexy little skirts out of my club.

She’s running straight at me. All it would take is a word to stop her, but I don’t utter the word.

Curiosity is going to be the death of me one of these days. But I need to know why. Why is she here? And why is she running towards the scariest person in the room? Sane… normal women run from me. They shield their children from me. They never run to me. I’m the monster in the room.

She skids to a stop, barely avoiding a fall as she slides into the booth next to me.

Curious though I may be, my hand grips the butt of my gun as I slide the safety off...

“Hello, darling.”

Her words punch me in the gut even though her breathless voice is soft and sweet.

Women say those two words to men they love, not to a random stranger in a bar.

Her eyes are anything but sweet. They move around wildly, but she doesn’t seem to actually see anything, or she’d be running in the opposite direction. Her hands shake to a beat completely unrelated to the music. But her pupils aren’t pinpoints like a junkie’s. And her breath doesn’t smell like booze.

The woman in front of me should be sitting on a floral couch with a cup of tea in one hand and a book in another. What she shouldn’t be doing is sitting in my club shaking like a leaf, making me want to wrap my arms around her and carry her back to my library.

I don’t do librarians.

She leans forward and waves of caramel silk brush against my fingers.

“Please help me.”

She doesn’t need to say anymore because the explanation foolishly walks right up to my table.

“Come back here, you little—”

Dumb, drunk, and soon to be dead.

“Mr…Vex…Um. I didn’t…I thought…She didn’t—”

“Go now.” If he doesn’t get out of my sight now, I’m going to kill him in the middle of my dance floor.

My eyes go to Axe. There’s no need to explain what needs to be done.

There’s a room waiting for the walking dead. He’s going to regret being born before I’m done with him. And the only thing I’m going to regret is never getting to touch silk while drowning in her eyes.

Look up. Let me see them one more time.

“Thank you so much. I didn’t know what to do. I can’t believe it worked. Things on television shows never really work. It worked. I can’t believe you saved me. You saved me.”

As if she heard my thoughts, she lifts her eyes to mine.

Death is too kind for the animal that caused her this much fear.

Never have I seen such sweetness… such innocence in a woman. A man would sell his soul and burn down the world to possess a woman with those eyes.

A monster like me… shouldn’t even be in the same room as her.

She should leave.

But I can’t let her go. Not until her breathing goes back to normal and the wild fear leaves her eyes.

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