Page 85 of Born into Darkness

Chapter 22

Shadow blocked my path, leaning against the door, his eyes glinting. I wasn’t getting out of here without telling him everything.

“Why do you run from me?” he asked, pushing a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “Are you afraid of me?”

“What?” I pretended like that was a ridiculous idea. Nerves scattered in my body, and I chewed on my lower lip.

Judging by his cocked eyebrow, I wasn’t fooling anyone. “You stay away from me—keep your distance, as if I might harm you.”

“Well, you’re wearing that collar that calls for my destruction,” I panted as his hand fell to my shoulder. “I’m not sure how long my magic will ward off the witch’s dark power in your collar.”

“The witch has no effect on me right now.” His fingers pressed into my flesh, and I swallowed the gasp in my throat, gliding on the wave of glitter across my flesh. For too long, such a touch would have me pulling away, but in his presence a surge of confidence bubbled through me.

“You want me,” he whispered. “I sense it. But you stay away.”

Fire crept up my neck, and I lowered my gaze. I’d fantasized that one day, I’d meet a man who worshipped the ground I walked on and who treated me like his treasure. But I’d never imagined myself attracted to someone who was dangerous. Someone sent to kill me. Yet, something about Shadow had me quaking with excitement at the idea he might kiss me. He, too, longed for his freedom, and it affected me to know we weren’t that different.

“I can’t,” I said, fighting the desire pulsating in me. “I’m not ready.”

In that moment, I knew there were only two options. Leave and possibly close the door on Shadow forever, or stay and release the dam of pain trapped behind another door. Neither option sounded too great at that moment.

His bent finger slid under my chin, lifting my head to face him. “I would never harm you intentionally. I’ll do everything in my power to protect you.”

Until my spell on his collar wore off. Still, I adored his words. A strange sensation danced in my stomach and had me leaning closer. The warmth of his body leaped over to mine, encasing me, raising the hairs on my arms in all the right ways. All of it banished my doubts in an instant.

“I know you carry secrets,” Shadow whispered. “Pain you try to bury behind a wall to protect yourself.”

Flipping hell.How could he tell all that about me? The air stifled between us, as if we were stuck in a blazing-hot tavern. Awkwardness pressed on my shoulders. I felt raw and naked, and I hugged my waist. He thought I feared love…quite the contrary. Weekly torture sessions, scars, a fractured personality, panic attacks, and horrifying memories weren’t exactly the makings of a conversation to broach with someone I hardly knew.

“When I’m near you,” I admitted, wanting to steer clear of my past. “I can’t think straight. As if a fog is blurring my rational thinking, and it’s just my body controlling me. It scares me.”

He smiled in way that told me he was pleased to chip away at one of my layers. “The unknown always terrifies people. Hell, I was scared the first time I went swimming as a child when the plants tangled around my legs, and I almost drowned. For years afterward, I avoided the water. Until one day, a friend hit his head on a boulder in the river and was drowning. No one else was around, so I had no choice but to go in and save him. The river wasn’t that deep, but I’d faced my fears. After that, I went through a phase where I swam daily and loved the freedom of floating down the river.”

“Is that all that’s ever scared you?” I asked, inspired by his story.

Sighing, he leaned back against the door, and I missed our closeness.

“I always thought I had everything,” he said, smiling and shaking his head. “That my life was set—that I’d lead the plantation for my family.”

He ran a hand through his hair, his eyes distant.

“But my kidnapping made me realize I want more out of life, something beyond all that,” he said. “To find my purpose. Make my own way in life. Not just accept what was given to me.”

I’d never questioned my duty as the future Ward of Tritonia. It was just expected of me and I welcomed it. But I understood how it might feel to Shadow if that wasn’t what he wanted.

The edge of his hand skimmed my arm, and a shiver of delight stretched from my head to my toes. “I fear this collar might never let me achieve my goals.”

Ah. That suffocating feeling of being trapped and unable to do a damn thing about it. Something I was all too familiar with.

When the back of his hand drew down my cheek, a shudder of longing ripped through me.

“Mysterious beauty,” he whispered, his breath gathering all the goose bumps from my body. “You don’t understand the affect you have on me. The way your shyness drives me insane. How I dream about being with you. Touching you. Seeing you naked and showing you the kind of love you deserve.”

No words came at first, and despite me burning up from the inside out, I longed to push past my insecurities. Shadow openly revealed his desires, but he hadn’t made a move, didn’t force me into anything. A concoction of excitement and worry blended through me.

He leaned toward me, his lips brushing mine at first, as if testing my reaction. I closed my eyes, inhaling his muskiness, and pressed myself forward, our mouths crushing together. His kiss was commanding and careful, determined to make me stay. I melted under him, my mind soaring at the idea of having someone as strong and handsome as Shadow desire me. He threaded his fingers through my hair and I curled myself against him. Our bodies plastered together, his hardness nestled against my groin.

I gasped as fire boiled in the pit of my stomach. At the same time, his tongue pressed into my mouth, and I moaned with pleasure. His attraction captivated me, and a strange confidence burst forward. I lowered my hand, bringing it to his waist, then sliding south farther still, over his pants until my fingertips brushed his erection.

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