Page 40 of Queen of Darkness
“Thank you,” he said, slowly lifting his arms to return the squeeze.
For some time, neither of us spoke, simply swaying back and forth in time with one another. There was one question I had left, but it took me the better part of a few minutes to gather the courage to ask it. At some point, he must have felt it in my body.
“What is it?” he asked, moving me back a half step so he could look into my face, his eyes filled with worry and concern.
“Aaron,” I said, halting and then starting again. “Aaron, I need to know something.”
“Of course. Anything,” he said, spreading his arms wide. “Whatever you want to know, just ask. I have not, and will not, lie to you.”
I locked gazes with him, jade versus sapphire. I didn’t want him looking away.
“Are you over her?”
Bracing myself for an immediate reply, a harsh denial of any current feelings, I once more found myself surprised by Aaron. He opened his mouth immediately, but perhaps upon seeing my face, he paused and truly considered the question the way I wanted him to. It wasn’twhatthe answer was that mattered to me. It was thetruthof it.
“There’s a part of me, I think, that will always wonder about what could have been. If she hadn’t become the person that she is now. I think I’ll always love the person I fell in love with. But I love the memory of that person and the time we had together. I can’t just forget it, but I can see it and see what I felt for her in the way I’m starting to feel about you. Much of you is similar to the person she used to be, but in you, there’s so much more, Jo.”
He smiled at me wryly, sensing my embarrassment, I’m sure. “I don’t know how to describe it, but when I look at you, I’m overwhelmed by the goodness within and the strength of character, your willingness to do whatever you must, if you believe it to be the right thing.”
“Thank you,” I whispered as he trailed off and looked at me almost eagerly, like a puppy hoping it had done the right thing. “For the kind words, but also for the honesty.”
“I’ve had a long time to think about it,” he said. “But the person Elenia is now? I can’t love that. I don’t love her. Killing her would, I think, bring some closure. I would no longer be reminded of what she’s become or of the damage she’s done. I could simply enjoy the memories of my past and move on with my future. A future that I very much hope includes you.”
He stepped forward, wrapping his hands around my waist, making me feel tiny and safe. His fingers gripped my hips tight, and my bottom lip curled under my teeth instinctively.
“Pretty bold to be thinking about the future, given all we have to do to get there, don’t you think?” I asked, my throat suddenly dry.
“Time waits for no man,” Aaron said. “Or woman, in this case. I know what I want, Jo, and I’m not afraid to take it.”
“Take it?” I half-teased. “Am I just a possession to you?”
“No, of course not,” he rumbled, moving closer, blue eyes bright in the darkness, like their own tiny sources of light. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t want you to bemine.”
Then, he lifted me by the waist so I could wrap my legs around his back as he kissed me. The scorching heat of his lips stole the breath from my lungs, making the world spin as I struggled to suck in more air. Heat rushed through me like a fire spiraling out of control.
A feral growl escaped Aaron as I clawed at the back of his neck, holding myself up, desperate to stay close to him even as he pressed against me, his own reaction building between us.
Cold stone pressed against my back as he slammed me into the wall with that calculated roughness that felt so good. I was tiny and small, and he simply moved me where he wanted me. I was his, and yet, despite the control over my body, I knew that he was mine.
We slipped into each other’s embrace, a flurry of fingers removing clothing and undergarments, leaving us free as we sank to the floor, the thick carpet underneath one of the few things not shredded or destroyed.
This wasn’t the way I’d envisioned things happening between us, but as our bodies merged and became one, my mind filling withtrueecstasy, I knew that this was the way it wasmeantto be.
If I hoped to keep it, though, we were both going to have to survive what was to come.
Chapter Twenty-One
“This is quite the setup you have,” I said as we walked across the parking lot toward the darkened office building. It was an hour after midnight, but nobody was home, it seemed.
Three stories high, with modern glass architecture from floor to ceiling, the building screamedmoney. The prime real estate overlooked a large grassy park next to the river, and the expensive glass building held clean but minimalist signs that indicated this was the home of Ironchill Holdings. It was the only building in the lot, with parking on one side, the park on the other, and thick strips of grass and trees separating it from other lots.
“Ironchill?” I asked, curious about the name as Aaron keyed in his code.
The security doors slid open with a soft hiss, and we went in.
“Blood has iron, and we keep it cold,” he said with a shrug. “It’s not very imaginative, I know, but I really don’t care about that sort of thing.”
“No, I like it,” I said. “It’s subtle and understated. Prevents you from standing out. Calling it ‘Definitely Not Vampire Food Systems’ or something would attract a little more attention.”
