Page 10 of Craving Darkness

“They are all demons.”

There was the slightest slur to her words, making me chuckle. Unfortunately, the sound was foreign to me and came out more like a snarl. I was grateful she was too busy draining the last of her beer bottle to have noticed.

“They are almost all demons. Some either don’t exist, or vampires are responsible for the stories.”

She squinted at me and slumped over in her seat, tucking one hand under her head and the other between her thighs, showing off the mating brand. The shirt she was wearing had ridden up so high it was barely covering her ass anymore, and it was taking all my self-restraint not to give in and take a long look. “And what are you?”

At her question, I decided I was done explaining for the night. I stood up quickly, downing my own beer in one large swallow. I picked up her bottle from where it rested against the floor. Before I walked away, I stopped and looked down at her. She looked sleepy, and as much as I hated to leave her on the small couch to sleep all night, she was small enough to fit somewhat comfortably, even if her feet would hang off a little. She was far safer there than in the bed.

“No one knows what I am, babe.”

She blinked slowly up at me. “But you are a demon. I know you are.”

“Yeah? How do you know that?”

“Because I’ve been waiting for you to come to me from the shadows since I was a little girl.”

I jerked, my spine going stiff at her soft, barely coherent words. But as I stared down at her, she let out a quiet snore, sound asleep. I backed away slowly, then turned and headed toward the kitchen, quietly setting the bottles down on the counter.

Before I got ready for bed, I went to the chest at the foot of the bed, opened it, and pulled out a folded blanket. There were always extra supplies in my homes, just in case I ever decided I wanted to stay longer than just a few days.

I carried the blanket over to the woman who fate had apparently decided should be my mate, and carefully laid the blanket over her, cautious not to touch her body in any way.

When I was finally lying in bed after a long, cold shower, I reflected on everything I had done wrong in my life, and wondered how I had been offered someone so perfect. I lay staring at the industrial ceiling tiles and wondered how I could make myself walk away.

Chapter 7

Kallista

The inside of my mouth tasted like a dirty gym sock, and I felt like I hadn’t had a drop of water in a year. With a groan, I rolled over in the small bed that barely fit inside my studio apartment. With a muffled oof, I found myself on the floor and staring up at a ceiling I didn’t recognize. Luckily, it only took me about three seconds for my brain cells to start firing and remember the events of last night.

Instead of untangling myself from the blanket that had somehow wrapped around me like an anaconda, I continued to lay there as I replayed the conversation we’d been having before I must have passed out. Parts of it were a bit foggy, but the majority came clear enough. Humans didn’t rule the universe the way we liked to pretend. Honestly, that was probably a good thing since we were well on our way to destroying it with our antics.

I thought about all the mythological monsters I had learned about throughout my life. I wasn’t sure if the swirling in my belly meant I was giddy with excitement or if I was feeling trepidation that I might have been in contact with a Banshee or a Cthulhu.

“Are there demons who are Wendigos?” I called out, wondering if they really needed to eat human flesh because… eww. A chuckle, sounding like rocks being ground together, came from the other side of the converted warehouse.

“Perhaps.”

I let out a huff. I needed to know, damn it. What was I supposed to do if I came across one? I wasn’t going to offer up a finger or a slice of thigh to get it to go away.

I continued to stare up at the drop ceiling tiles until something else occurred to me. “What’s your name?”

Rustling of bed sheets sounded before feet hit the cold concrete floor and started walking in the general direction of the kitchen area. I was beginning to think he wasn’t going to answer me as I started to smell the rich aroma of coffee brewing. My stomach gave an unhappy gurgling sound as I hoped his hospitality would extend to offering me a cup.

His heavy footsteps began to walk in my direction until he was standing over me, wearing nothing but the pair of gray sweatpants I hadn’t been able to wear last night since the legs would have reached my armpits if it wasn’t for the crotch. Then there was the waist. I wasn’t even going to attempt to roll it enough to make them stay up. He held out a black ceramic mug and I gratefully scrambled to a sitting position, leaning my back against the sofa I had slept on.

“Thanks,” I muttered, my nose buried in the heavenly aroma wafting from the coffee. He sat down on the seat with a heavy sigh, and I tried not to think about how his thigh brushed against my shoulder.

“My name is Valen. And we need to have a talk.”

“Another one, huh? I’m Kallista, by the way. Please don’t call me Kallie.” I inwardly shivered at the memories that surfaced as I thought of the nickname my adoptive father had always called me. I once thought it was because he loved me. What a joke. I hated that nickname, and for some reason, every person I met wanted to call me that.

Before he could say anything further to start the new, ominous conversation, though, the sound of a motor came from the direction of the elevator. Valen was on his feet, and seconds later, the door next to the lift was being banged on harshly.

“Open up, Val! I know you’re in there!”

Valen let out a growl that was actually kind of adorable and held out his cup for me to hold without looking at me. As soon as I had a tight grasp on it, he stormed over to the door. I could tell it was my boss. The fact that she knew where he lived had jealousy swirling in my gut. I didn’t know how I could have forgotten she had taken him into her office last night. It was where she always took her conquests.

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