Page 67 of Touched By Darkness

“I do scare you,” she observes, the tip of her finger trailing down the curve of my chin and down my neck.

“Please,” I whisper, and she pauses as her eyes fly up to mine.

“Please, what?”

I swallow thickly and inhale a breath, then two… three... in an attempt to steady my racing heart and loss of control. “I can’t do this.”

“You can’t do what?” Her eyes glide down to my chest as her finger continues its journey between the soft swells of my breasts that are heaving from my labored breaths. “What can you not do, little witch?”

I shove her away and scramble back, desperately brushing my disarrayed hair out of my eyes. “Whatever your plan is, please stop.”

Like a predator on the hunt, she cocks her head while her gaze dances down my body before slowly, ever so slowly, returning to my face. “Who says I have a plan?”

“I told you my story last night. Iknowyou, remember? You never act blindly. This sudden interest in me, this hunt, is part of a bigger plan.”

My words cause her to draw to a halt, and I daren’t breathe in the silence that follows, settling over us like a thick blanket. I can’t let her touch me. Not like this. Not when the power is all hers. I’m already in love with her, and my heart is already hers, yet her own is nowhere in sight for me to steal. Dariana guards it safely behind the thick walls hiding her from me.

“Please,” I beg again, “not like this.”

Don’t kiss me unless your heart is in it, too.

“Don’t break me further unless you’re willing to pick up the pieces.” I didn’t mean to say it out loud, but my words hover in the air, whispering unspoken truths my heart is not yet ready to admit.

I fully expect her to ignore my trembly plea, but she steps back as my eyes prick with unshed tears. Her ragged breaths match mine, and she opens her mouth to speak but slams her lips shut. Turning on her heel, she walks out.

In the ensuing silence after the soft click of the door, I break. Crumpled in a heap on the floor, I release a soundless cry as my heart splinters.

When duality hits, it hits hard, and when it hurts, it doesn’t just hurt; it shatters the soul into a million fragmented pieces that float away, lost on the breeze coming from the open window.

This is the price we pay for love’s exquisite touch.

ChapterFifteen

DAEMON

Dariana exits the classroom, looking spooked enough that I straighten up and push off the locker. She’s so spooked, in fact, that she doesn’t notice me as she hurries past.

Intrigued, I look back at the closed door.

I followed them here, but not once did I expect the little witch to get beneath Dari’s skin. That’s almost an impossible task in itself. Dariana has a hard shell.

As I make the decision to investigate, my phone rings inside my jeans pocket.

Fucking typical.

Dragging my eyes away from the door, I slide my cell out and tap into the screen.

It’s my father.

“Son,” his deep voice says in my ear as soon as the call connects.

“Father.” My voice is as curt as his. It’s no secret we have a strained relationship.

“I’ll be away for a few more days.”

No surprise there. My father is rarely home.

I stay silent, staring intently at the door.

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