Page 8 of The Darkness

“I did. That day, my sister Catrin was supposed to meet with you. But I begged her to let me instead. So you see, in a way it was all my fault. I chose you.”

“I’m glad.”

She laid her hand against his cheek. His skin was cool to the touch, or maybe she was hot. He turned his head so her palm brushed his lips. His tongue snaked out, licked the tips of her fingers, and pleasure ran through her, settling at her core.

The intensity shocked her. She went to take a step back, but his hand reached out and clasped hers. He brought it back to his mouth and kissed the sensitive skin of her palm, then the inside of her wrist, tracing the blue veins where her blood throbbed close to the surface. The action was so tender, tears pricked at the back of her eyes.

Vampires couldn’t love. That’s what Regan always said. Gina tried to hold on to the idea, but it was slipping away.

His other hand wrapped around the back of her neck, and he tugged her toward him. His fingers spread in her hair, cradling her skull, ruffling the silky strands. “I miss your hair.”

“You do?” she asked, and a moment later, long silver tresses reached down to her waist.

“Clever,” he said. “Is it real?”

She sighed. “No, it’s a glamour. A cheap trick.”

“Not like blacking out the sun.”

“No, not like that. That had to be real.” She shuddered as she remembered the terrifying moment when the sun had risen, and she’d thought they were too late to save the daughter she’d never met. Raven was half vampire—the sun’s rays would have burned her to ashes—so Gina had extinguished the sun for the time it took them to save her. It was powerful magic and came with a high price—a price she had yet to pay—but she knew she would do the same again. Now, she pushed the memory away. If this was all she was going to have with Darius, she didn’t want to spoil it.

His hands held her still as he lowered his head. She made no move to evade him, her whole body rigid with expectation.

Their lips met.

She’d forgotten what it was like, one more of those things she had buried deep in her subconscious as too painful to remember. His lips were soft. His tongue licked at her lower lip, then his teeth nipped until her mouth opened beneath his, and his tongue filled her, slick, wet, velvet. The taste of him flooded her, pushing everything else from her brain as his mouth hardened against hers.

∞∞∞

She was so incredibly soft, and the taste of her was driving Darius wild. His fangs throbbed with the urge to feed, and the hunger rose in his belly. His cock was already rock hard, and his balls ached viciously. He shifted, trying to ease the pain, but he knew there was only one thing that would do that. He needed to be inside her, deep inside her. He slid his hands down her back, cupped the globes of her backside and pulled her against him, pressed her softness against the hardness of his shaft, and she groaned into his mouth. He drank the sound down.

He picked her up without breaking the kiss, strode across the room with her in his arms, and lowered her to the sofa. She was so beautiful. His gaze ran over her body, over her nipples pressed against the soft material of her T-shirt.

“Take off your top.” His voice sounded hoarse in his own ears.

She peered up at him, her eyes glowing silver. Holding his gaze, her hands clasped the hem of her T-shirt and she wriggled out of it, tossed it to the floor. She was naked underneath, and he feasted on the sight of her.

Her breasts were small, with dark red nipples already swollen with need. He trailed his fingers over the engorged peaks, watched them pucker and tighten. He pinched one between his finger and thumb, and her hips rose from the cushions.

He came down beside her then, needing to feel her against the length of him. He shifted lower down her body, and his face nuzzled her tender breasts, his tongue flicking over one tight nipple until it glistened with moisture. He drew it into his mouth and suckled, careful that his fangs didn’t cut into her flesh, but desperate for the taste of her blood.

∞∞∞

Gina was boneless, a mass of sensitized nerve endings. His mouth tugged at her nipple, slowly melting her insides. She could feel him hard against her, and her sex was hot and swollen with need. Her hands slid under the worn material of his T-shirt to the satin skin beneath, her nails raking his back. She lifted her hips, rubbing herself against him, and he went still above her.

He released her breast and raised himself so she could look up into his eyes, so dark now they were almost black, glittering, burning with a hunger she knew matched her own and beyond. His gaze shifted to her throat, and he reared up above her. His lips drew back, his fangs gleaming white against the darkness of his skin. She realized what he meant to do, knew she had to stop him, and the need broke through the fog of desire holding her captive. If he fed, the bond between them would be renewed. He would feel her thoughts, know the truth, and would never let her go. Not without a fight. A fight she could not let him win.

“No!”

For a moment, she was sure she’d left it too late, that he was beyond control. She could see the force of his will, his powerful shoulders rigid with tension as he held himself poised above her. He looked savage and wild, his lips drawn back in a snarl.

His fangs retracted, and he closed his eyes. When he opened them, they were back to normal, though tension throbbed in the air. He moved slowly, first onto his knees, then rising to his feet to stand beside the sofa, staring down at her. He raked a hand through his long hair, and finally, the tension drained from him. “Why?” he asked.

She pulled herself up and hugged her knees to her chest, hiding her naked breasts. “You feed, and the bond between us will strengthen.”

“And that’s a bad thing?”

“When we part I can’t…” She paused, gathering her thoughts, careful of what she revealed to him. “When we part, I can’t exist if I feel you all the time.”

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