Page 60 of In the Dark

Morgan turned away to stare at the lighthouse. “I’ve been giving this a lot of thought and I think the best solution, if you refuse to find a replacement, is a binding spell.”

“We already tried a binding spell.”

“Well, you didn’t have me there.”

“There’s no guarantee a spell will work. I don’t like to know there are no guarantees. It could get my family killed if I decide to go on a hunting spree again.” Karsia squirmed.

“You won’t. I wouldn’t allow it.”

“And what are you going to do? You can’t keep zapping me back into unconsciousness. I eventually wake up madder than when I went in and that’s not a good scene for anyone. At least, I get the sense I do.”

“We’re going to the stone. One of these days, your resilience is going to pay off and we’re going to get this thing back where it belongs.” Morgan kissed the top of her head and shifted, his toes reaching for the water and brushing against hers. The instant the two touched, he sighed.

He would love to take Karsia someplace like this in reality. Just the two of them, with no one else around and no responsibilities barking at their door. It took effort to keep his hands off of her.

“When I tell you I don’t want to fight…ignore me,” Karsia continued. “I do want to. More than anything.”

“I know.”

Staring at her, there was no way Morgan could resist her allure. She took him over. Filled his system like a drug. Hotter and more potent than any ambrosia from Mount Olympus. He was raw for wanting her; his brain scrambled when she looked at him, and brought out feelings he’d never thought he would feel in his lifetime.

“If I don’t kiss you,” he admitted, “I think I’ll die.”

There was her smile lighting up her face, a dazzling curve of lips and plump cheeks. “We wouldn’t want you to do that…would we?”

His lips moved to gently caress hers with a light brush and scrape of tongue. Need spread quick and hot, beginning in his chest before moving lower.

Even with the severity of their situation pressing down, she wanted him. Oh, how she wanted him. His dry humor and easy manner and keen intelligence. Normally, need for intimacy would have propelled her forward, heated blood and desire and demand. She’d never believed in waiting when her heart told her to make the leap.

Still, none of the men in her past compared to Morgan and the pull she felt. Take it slow, her sisters would caution. No. She couldn’t live her life by taking it slow. She lived large, she remembered. A life full of joy and adventure. Right?

From the day of her Awakening on her fifteenth birthday, Karsia had sought happiness in freedom. To experience the joy of life outside of her tree-lined street, away from her mother and father’s velvet-lined power. She did the best she could, and had certainly bent more than her fair share of rules. She’d pushed boundaries and risked exposure based on the laws that kept witches safe. She’d risked more by thinking she was powerful enough to actually get what she wanted. Now all of that was like child’s play. Or foreplay, leading up to this encounter with Morgan.

She arched her neck and felt him touch her, slow and easy, trailing those lips along the graceful column and down toward her breasts. He trembled against her and brought an answering response. Need, merciless and demanding, devoured her and took her to the edge.

“If you keep kissing me like that, I’m never going to let you leave.”

“That’s fine with me.”

She fell into him. Understood the tenderness of the gesture. The absolute need. His pull was like a gravitational force on her soul. She’d never experienced such things before, soft and fierce and arousing.

Morgan murmured her name. He was a man ready to take her on. Warm her, keep her safe. Stand by her side through peace and trouble. Those were the kinds of things that mattered in the long run.

A tear burst to life and slid down the curve of her cheek. Morgan moved his lips to it. Made it disappear. “We will find a way, love. I promise,” he told her. “How about this… We enjoy the time we have left before we think about the hard stuff. Sound good?”

She searched his face for answers. “How long? How long do we have before it ends?”

“I don’t know.”

Her smile was slow in coming. “Then I think it’s time I see you.”

“You’re seeing me now,” he teased.

She shook her head. “No. Not this you. While I appreciate the attractive package you’ve presented to me, I know it’s a facade. I want to see the real Morgan.”

Those interesting eyes took in everything he tried to hide and could not. “You mean my…horns.”

“You have horns? Jeez, man. I mean, yes! I want to see you. All of you. No more hiding.” She hesitantly reached out and placed her hand on his arm, thrilled when his muscles flexed under the material of his suit coat. The land around them may not be real, but his arm was. He was. Real and full of heat, full of fire.

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