Page 369 of Flirting with Darkness

“On occasion I can get over two hundred or more souls on board.” He says it so nonchalantly I half expect him to burst into laughter. But he doesn’t. He just keeps looking at me like he wants to devour me whole. I hope he does. “So what do you think? Do you like it?” Kharon’s voice sounds deeper, and more lush than usual. I know he’s trying to make small talk, but I feel like there’s something I’m missing.

“Well, yeah, I guess,” I shrug, fidgeting with my fingers.

“But?”

“I mean it’s just this is where the dead go. Doesn’t it feel kinda creepy to you?”

Laughing darkly, he saunters toward me. “Actually it feels like home to me.” Pausing, he takes my hand in his and catches my nervous gaze. “But I want it to feel like home to you too. Or at least comfortable.”

“You don’t expect us to live here, do you?”

“Oh, of course not!” He laughs, palming his forehead. “Just think of it as visiting my place of employment.”

We both continue laughing at the thought, smiling as we hold hands and look around. “Okay, I think I can do that.”

“Hopefully, one day it’ll feel less creepy.” Looking at me with another steely stare and sexy smirk, he rubs his chin. “Maybe I should add something that makes it feel warm and inviting?” He teases.

I grimace, clinching my teeth. “Pretty sure there’s very little you can do to make this boat of the dead seem inviting.”

“What about this?” He says, offering me a small rectangular blue box with a small red ribbon.

My eyes widen in surprise. “Kharon,” I gasp. “What is this?”

“It is Christmas, isn’t it? So… a gift.” He smiles wide, his eyes dancing like a kid on Boxing Day.

“Oh but I didn’t get you anything. I’m sorry I didn’t have time.”

“Just open it,” he directs with a lowered voice.

Pulling the ribbon, I slowly crack open the box in his hand. Moving a thin layer of tissue paper aside, the glimmer of a sterling silver frame shimmers in the darkness. But it is the picture beneath the glass making my heart thump wildly in my chest.

“Kharon—how? I didn’t realize. You saved this? All this time?” My words must sound like garble. But I know he hears me. Looking at the picture of us, the sight of me nestled in his embrace warms my heart. I look so young and he looks much older than he does now. Even still, and knowing what I do now, all I see are two people desperate for each other.

“As soon as I got out of the ski lift car, I grabbed the photo from the attendant desk. Everyone was busy seeing if you were well, the picture of the two of us was just left there. So I took it. I’ve held onto it ever since.”

Thick droplets fall to my cheek at Kharon’s admission. For years, I thought I was a fool to think someone like him could ever look past the confidence of my cousin, the whimsy of my twin, or even the control of my uncle to see me. The girl who stays hidden behind it all. The girl who stays hidden behind her own heart. But I am no longer that girl. I am a woman. Madly in love with the one who ferries my heart to new depths with every twinkle of his eye and kiss of his lips.

“Do you like it?” He asks with such an endearing stare I want to be lost in the storm behind his eyes. A small nod is all I can muster. “Good. Now it’s time for me to unwrap my gift.”

34

KHARON

Tucking her hair behind her ear, Rae’s big hazel eyes look up at me and every part of me is more thankful for the beautiful gift staring at me now.

“But Kharon, I said I wasn’t able to get you anything.”

Seeing the strong and stubborn stance she took before her uncle and everyone today, I almost forgot the bashful, sweet woman I fell for resides inside her.

“Oh beautiful, that’s where you’re wrong,” I say, planting a small kiss on her forehead. She casts me curious smile, biting her bottom lip. Just the look she’s giving me, tells me she knows where this is going. “You see,” I begin, removing her coat. “I am a forward-thinking man. As such, I took the liberty of wrapping my gift this morning. Now, after waiting so patiently, I have the pleasure of unwrapping it.”

Rae’s mouth parts slowly and she shuts her eyes tight as I motion my hands along her body. The feel of her perfectly round ass, firm breasts, and cinched waist awakens all that I am. Thinking how I’ve grown since our last encounter, I almost wonder whether her petite body can take in the fullness of me.

We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.

Squeezing my shoulder as she releases a small whimper, “Kharon,” she begins, biting her lip once more before opening her eyes. “It’s so cold out. I’ll freeze. Maybe we should go back to the cavern?”

“Do you trust me?” Dropping my hands to my sides, I await her reply.

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