Page 101 of Darkness Bound (Night Prowler 5)
She stood there hesitantly, looking in the direction he was pointing. The house was a bi-level wood structure like his, covered in curling vines and lined with unlit iron lanterns along the walkway to the front door. It looked friendly and pretty, and not at all like somewhere she wanted to go.
“Can’t . . . can’t I just stay with you?” she asked, her voice small.
The question affected him, evidenced by the way his eyes flared, the way he sucked in a breath, leaning toward her. But he caught himself. He jerked away and looked off into the trees, swallowing.
“It’s safer for you here,” he said, his voice rough, not meeting her eyes. “At least for the time being. I don’t think it would be wise for anyone else to find out about your . . . condition. There’s someone who might have answers for me, and I’ll go to him as soon as I can, but for right now . . . I’m sorry, but you’re just going to have to trust me.”
There was so much she didn’t know. So much he wasn’t telling her. Though he’d scared her when he appeared after she’d woken up, and angered her when he carried her over his shoulder to the Assembly room, he’d been nothing but gentle and patient with her. He’d been . . . caring.
Watching him, so obviously conflicted, so obviously trying not to show whatever emotions he was feeling, a snippet of her conversation with Morgan came back to her.
So you’re asking me to . . . what? Pretend?
No. I’m asking you to be patient. And understanding, even though you don’t understand, and never will, because you’re a different species from him. Just like every other woman who loves a man.
It had seemed like an odd aside at the time, just one more bit of insanity. But now it hit her as if she’d been struck by a bolt of lightning.
Were they in love? Was that part of what she wasn’t remembering? Was that the cause of all this sexual tension between them, sizzling like butter in a hot pan?
Hawk must have sensed her shock, because he looked at her sharply, his eyes dark. “What is it?”
Eyes wide, Jack stared at him. “Tell me one thing, Hawk.”
He stared back at her, taut as a bowstring. Waiting.
Feeling terrified, electrified, fraught with the most exquisite thrill, she whispered, “What’s the most important thing I’ve forgotten?”
She watched him fight. She watched the vein throb in his temple, the way his lips pressed hard together, the way his hands flexed. She watched as his eyes fluttered shut, and his breathing faltered.
And she watched as he opened his eyes and said roughly, “This.”
He took her in his arms and kissed her.
It was hot and hard and delicious, edged with tangible desperation; his tongue invaded her mouth as his hands crushed her against him, tangled in her hair, wrapped around her bottom. She arched against him, feeling the heat and rightness of his body, a thrill running through her when she heard the sound of pleasure he made, low in his throat.
It lasted forever. Or at least it felt as if it did; time had lost all meaning. Finally he pulled away, holding her face in his hands, breathing hard.
She swayed, breathing just as hard as he was. He steadied her with his strong arm wrapped around her waist.
“That definitely seems important,” she said, feeling as boneless as a rag doll. He was so large and male and gorgeous, and he tasted amazing, and Jack was having a hard time coming up with any reason she shouldn’t kiss him again.
So she did.
He pushed her back against the tree, pressed the length of his body against hers, and Jack had the wild thought he would tear off all her clothes and take her right then and there, in the open.
But then he broke away, panting, his expression tortured. “Stay here,” he commanded, taking a step back, then another. “Stay inside.”
Jack couldn’t speak. She was too overwhelmed. Too ambivalent. She didn’t trust what would come out of her mouth.
“Promise me, Jacqueline. Please. I have to go. There’s something I have to do, but I’ll be back as soon as I can. I swear I’ll tell you everything, you can ask me any question you want. But if I can’t be sure you’re going to be safe in the meantime, I won’t be able to . . . I won’t be able . . .”
More of Morgan’s words came back to haunt her, and a chill ran over her skin.
Hawk is going to put his life on the line in a contest against the man who leads this little colony of ours . . . and only one of them is going to
emerge from that contest alive.
“Yes,” she whispered, “okay. I will.”
