Page 141 of The Darkest Chase

She’s tense now, her body rigid, and she jerks her head up, staring at me with wide eyes.

“It’s him, look!” she whispers, thrusting the binoculars back at me. “Joseph Peters. He’s the one driving the car.”

The car’s pulling away as we speak.

I’ve only got a few seconds before the view through the front windshield vanishes through the trees.

I snatch the binoculars and look, squinting at the driver’s seat. Sure enough, there’s a man. Trim, neat, with short brown hair and a tired look on his face.

“You’re sure? You’re positive it’s him?”

She nods quickly. “We’ve talked several times. I know his face.”

“Jackpot,” I whisper, lowering the binoculars with a grim realization. I’m about to blow Redhaven apart, and possibly Talia’s life, too.

“Micah? What now?”

“Now, I need to have a good, long talk with Mr. Peters.”

15

DARKER DAYS (TALIA)

Ican’t help wondering what I did wrong.

I watch Micah sleep, white as moonlight against the dark sheets. His glasses are on the nightstand.

I know now if he opens his eyes, I’ll be nothing but a blur of color until he fumbles the lenses onto his face. The lack of pigment in his eyes means he’s almost blind without assistance—and a little sensitive about it.

After the first time he told me while I watched him poke those little lenses into his eyes, I’ve never mentioned it again.

I’ve found myself avoiding a lot of things lately.

His bed is enormous and increasingly familiar. I’ve spent almost every night here since our last stakeout in the woods.

I thought we were starting something, I guess.

Maybe I was just being naïve.

This starry-eyed girl who’s never been in love before.

So wrapped up in my fantasies that I didn’t realize he wasn’t really there with me, thinking about the future.

Still, as long as I’m naked with Micah’s teeth on my skin and his cock inside me, there’s no shortage of intimacy.

Raw, vulnerable, he lets me see this wild thing inside him, lets me see how there’s some wounded part of him that needs to take it out on someone else.

It doesn’t scare me.

Not at all.

It feels divine.

The burn of his teeth, the feeling of being willingly powerless while this beast devours my body, mind, and soul. It really is like having my own vampire, ready to play the darkest fantasy.

But as soon as we’re sweaty and tangled up and done, he goes quiet.

Yes, he holds me close, kissing my hair and checking to make sure he hasn’t done any lasting damage. Sometimes, he pulls me into a steaming shower and cleans me with a reverent touch.

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