Page 12 of The Darkness

“Is this where you live?” she asked.

“Not for a long time. I stayed here with Raven before she was taken by the fire-demons. After that I lost my taste for the city, and besides, most of my time was spent out hunting for her. I couldn’t face this place; it had too many memories.”

He took off his jacket and laid it on the back of the black leather sofa, then released the band that held his hair. He ran his hands through it so it fell to his shoulders, dark as night. She watched the play of muscles under the thin white shirt, her fingers itching to stroke the dark body hair shadowing his chest.

He crossed the room, poured them both a drink, then came back and sank down on the sofa. He patted the seat next to him. She came and sat in the crook of his arm and he pulled her tight against him.

“I enjoyed myself,” she said. “Thank you.”

He smiled. “Well, you know, it occurred to me that I’d never taken you out before. The first time, when I took you from your sisters, we didn’t exactly get out and about much.”

“No,” she murmured. They had spent most of the time in bed. It had been glorious, and her body tightened at the memory. But she felt no rush. Here, now, safe in his arms, it seemed inevitable that they would consummate their love. As though nothing could stand in the way of something so right.

Somewhere out there in the night, the hounds were hunting her, but something told her they were not that close yet. She snuggled closer at the thought, and his fingers stroked down the soft skin of her arm.

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