Page 38 of A Darkside Interlude

And then there was the way he stared at her, as if he wanted to devour every inch of her; as if he would murder anyone who dared lay a hand on her.

Holy hell. It turned her on like crazy.

“I’m okay,” she rasped, “and he and I didn’t do anything.” She shuddered. “I couldn’t think of anything worse. I’m dressed. He isn’t. See? He’s nothing, nobody to me.” In that instant, Mari’s entire world shrank into a solitary point. There was only the two of them. Nothing else mattered. “Who are you?”

“I am Iskar of Kythia,” he said simply, as if that explained everything. Unexpectedly, he dropped to one knee. “Maribel of Earth…” His voice was a deep, sensual growl, and she loved the way her name sounded as he shaped it with his exotic Kordolian accent. “Will you be my mate?”

Mate? Her head spun. A thousand brilliant thoughts exploded in her head, coalescing into perfect certainty.

Her knight in dark, alien-tech armor had come for her. She’d wishfully summoned him in her thoughts, and he’d come.

Nobody had ever done that for her before.

It was a no-brainer.

“Hell, yeah,” she said, grinning.

He smiled. It was vicious and possessive and tender and beautiful, all at once. Twin fangs gleamed. Crimson eyes brimmed with unspoken emotion. He rose, holding out a hand. “That is the correct answer. I wasn’t going to accept anything less. Come with me, Mari.”

She didn’t hesitate. He curled a powerful arm around her, holding her close. Although his armored body was hard and unyielding, Mari felt safe.

“What the hell are you people doing?” Naked guy on the bed finally sat up, drawing the sheets around him. This time, Mari let him. With Iskar around, he wasn’t a threat at all. “You think you can just barge onto my property and take what is mine? I will have the Enforcers so far up your ass you’ll be choking on law and order. You have no idea what you’ve just done, you fucking moon elf.”

“No,” Iskar growled. “You have no idea what you have just done. You took something that is mine.” His arm tightened around Maribel’s waist. “If I get even the slightest hint that you might come after her, you are a dead man.”

Mari couldn’t resist; she stuck her tongue out at the guy as she threw him the control-wand. “See ya.” She winked.

A dark metal rope dropped through the hole in the roof. Iskar clipped it to a port at his waist and gave it a tug.

Then they were rising, the hot air swirling around them as they ascended toward a dark, silent ship. Mari nearly pinched herself. She wasn’t dreaming. This was really happening.

Still gripping her tightly, his arms like folded steel around her waist, Iskar leaned in, touching his forehead to hers. He closed his eyes. “Maribel. I am sorry I did not come for you earlier. I will never let this happen again.”

Intense relief washed over Mari as she reveled in Iskar’s powerful words. They went up into the dark ship, and suddenly all was still as the hatch closed beneath them. They were in the rear of the craft, in a small bay that was separated from the rest of the ship.

Mari squinted as her eyes adjusted to the low light. The only form of illumination came from faint blinking blue lights in the wall.

The space was cocoon-like, with curving black walls on all sides.

But most importantly, it was private.

Mari looked up at her savior. Her feet were now planted firmly on the floor—encased in those ridiculous silver heels—and he still hadn’t let her go. “Iskar of Kythia,” she murmured, inhaling his delicious masculine scent as she whispered in his ear. “You just abducted me.” Her tone was gently teasing.

“I warned you to be careful,” he rumbled. “You make me crazy, woman. For a man like me, that is a very dangerous position to be in.” He took her face into his hands, stroking her cheeks with gloved thumbs. With her six-inch heels on, Mari stood about half a head shorter than him.

“What does that mean for us?”

“It means I can’t live without you. I can’t spend the rest of my life pining for you like a szkazajik in heat. I am lost to you.”

Whoa. His intensity blew her away. Iskar’s words rang with such conviction that Mari feared she would be sucked into his powerful vortex.

“I don’t know much about you.” She tried to reach for an anchor-point, because this was all happening so damn fast, but the truth was, she was already hopelessly lost in him.

You’re fierce, and powerful, and kind. The first night we met, you saw right through me. Nobody has ever done that before.

“No, you don’t, but we can rectify that. We have plenty of time.”

“You barely know me, either.”

---