Page 84 of Touched By Darkness

Daemon is up on his feet in an instant, faster than the eye can catch—a flurry of movement. “You’re coming with us.”

She slowly looks at him and crosses her arms to create a barrier between them as he steps over body parts to get to her. It could be poetic under different circumstances if it weren’t for the fact that Daemon looks as if he’s ready to choke her to death.

“You think I’ll leave you here when there’s a stalker on the loose?”

“My stalker is not your problem.”

No sooner have the words left her mouth, he grabs her by the throat. “Your stalker stabbed me, little witch. So yes, he is my problem, and now so are you.”

She bares her teeth. “Let go of me, Daemon.”

I watch their exchange closely, the way Daemon asserts himself over her. More importantly, his obsession with her. The stalker is an excuse. He wouldn’t let her leave, regardless. Not now that he has his eyes set on her.

Across the room, Alaric raises his eyebrows, as if to saydo something,and I smirk back.

Dariana throws her arms up, interrupting their stare-down. “Can we just leave already?”

The little witch shoves Daemon off and tries to shoulder past, determined to walk away, but he grabs her hair and pulls her back.

My lips kick up in a smile at her futile struggle. She should stop fighting unless it’s her wish to catch his attention. If she were a pliant field mouse, Daemon would get bored within a day, so when she turns around and knees him in the balls, I can’t help but laugh.

She’s no field mouse.

She’s something much fiercer.

And it’s like crack cocaine to Daemon, who straightens up with thunder in his eyes and fisted hands at his sides. “You dare knee me in the fucking balls,little angel?”

She winces at the nickname, and I exchange another look with Alaric. She doesn’t like to be called “little angel.”

No, that’s not true.

It hurts her to be called that.

Very interesting.

“What are we gonna do about the mess in here?” I ask.

Daemon doesn’t look away from the defiant angel as he says, “Leave it. I’ll have someone clean it up.”

“Then let’s go,” Dariana barks, shouldering past me, her heels clicking on the creaky floorboards.

The angel glares at Daemon with her arms crossed over her chest for a brief second longer, then sets off walking. She’s barely made it more than two steps when Daemon picks her up as though she weighs nothing and hauls her over his shoulder. His hand comes down on her ass, making her yelp. “Stop defying me.”

As they walk out, Alaric sidles up next to me. “He’s too blinded by pussy. We need to keep an eye on her.”

“You on the same wavelength as Dari?”

“I don’t know… But I won’t allow us to be blindsided. Daemon nearly got himself killed.”

His words hang in the air—sickly, dark, and ominous.

The truth is, we know nothing about this girl.

And Daemon?

He’s thinking with his dick.

Alaric claps my shoulder, then walks out.

---