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A witch outrunning her past. Five smoldering-hot guardians. And the dark secret that could destroy them all. Dark magic, heart-pounding supernatural suspense, and steamy romance collide in this paranormal romance!
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“I thought you could use a bit of normalcy after… everything.” Killing the engine, Darius leveled me with a piercing gaze, his eyes a bright gold contrast to the black button-down he’d changed into. While his body had quickly healed, the lovely cashmere sweater he’d worn earlier had not.
I already missed the soft feel of it against my cheek.
“I should’ve found a way to de-escalate the situation,” Darius said. “If I hadn’t attacked first—”
“They might’ve killed me. Case closed.” I turned away and looked out the window, trying to pick out the boats docked in the distance. From here they were no more than silhouettes bobbing on the water, moored until someone decided to set them free.
“I wouldn’t have let that happen, Gray. I won’t let that happen. Ever.” Darius laced his fingers through mine and squeezed, but more than his touch, the certainty in his voice sparked something inside me. I turned to face him again, searching his eyes across the dark, intimate space of the car.
“We’re connected,” he said softly. “I care for you. No matter the circumstances that led to our bond, that bond exists. I know you feel it, too.”
My heart rate kicked up in response, but something about his words stung, threatening to dampen my desire. “So this… whatever this is between us. It’s just because of the bond? Like some kind of magical… obligation?”
“Ah, love.” He brought my hand to his mouth, lips brushing my palm. “If you think that’s all this is, you are sorely mistaken.”
He grazed the skin inside my wrist with his teeth, and I gasped as a current of unbidden pleasure rippled through me, stronger and more intense than what I’d felt that night at Black Ruby.
His fingers trailed up my arm, and his mouth followed, lips tracing a light path along my veins.
Just like that, my entire body relaxed, muscles unclenching, bones melting into goo.
He was kissing my arm for God’s sake. How could something so simple feel so utterly amazing?
“I don’t… I don’t know how you… do that,” I breathed, all the stress from tonight’s ambush floating away.
“Do what, love?”
“It’s like you know exactly how to touch me. How to make me feel…” I gasped again as his teeth scraped the sensitive spot just inside my elbow. “Like that.”
“I’ve tasted you,” he said softly, his lips lingering on my arm a moment before moving up to my neck, lightly brushing the spot where he’d bitten me tonight. The memory of that sharp, exquisite pain sent a little thrill down my spine, and I shivered.
“I can smell the blood running through your veins,” he whispered. “Hear the tempo of your heartbeat.” He tapped his fingers gently against my thigh, mimicking the precise beat of my heart, as frantic as a frightened rabbit.
I wasn’t frightened, though. Not of Darius. Not anymore.
Darius leaned close, his scent enveloping me, eyes dark with desire. “I can feel where you ache.”