Page 105 of The Dark Before Light

I blink fast against tears. “Liar. You are a poet.”

He chuckles and draws me back into his arms. “Only for you.”

My heart starts pounding. This is it.

“Kieran, there’s something I’ve been meaning to?—”

“Kier!” Dylan’s voice floats across the beach. “Phone call from Limerick!”

He releases me with a huff of annoyance. “I’m sorry. It’s the lab. Tell me later?”

I nod.

I find the book Kieran referenced, Rilke and Benvenuta: An Intimate Correspondence, on a shelf in his bedroom and curl up on his bed. I fall asleep; he wakes me up by pulling my shirt over my head. We make love and nap until the sun begins to set, then have dinner courtesy of his chef, a cheery, rail-thin man who grills the most incredible salmon I’ve ever tasted.

Before long, it’s time for me to get ready for my lecture at Crossroads. Kieran lounges in a chair by the fireplace as I apply my makeup and dress, his mood growing progressively darker the closer I get to leaving. He doesn’t ask me to stay. A good thing because I’m not confident I’d be able to deny him.

I didn’t lie to him—I’ve never known emotional intensity like this and it’s as frightening as it is thrilling. Being close to him is starting to feel as necessary as breathing. Like inhaling him is the first oxygen my heart has ever had and without him, I’ll suffocate.

At the front door, he kisses me with a quiet desperation, then hugs me tightly. “I hope the event goes well,” he murmurs. “I’ll be waiting up. I love you.”

I wonder if I’ll ever get used to hearing him say those words. Somehow, I doubt it.

I fill my lungs—my very self—with him. “I love you, too. I’ll be back soon.”

Every step away from him is physically painful. Gabe escorts me to the car and joins me in the back seat. Bo and Elian greet me with nods and smiles, which I return distractedly. As the car pulls down the drive, I look back to see Kieran one more time. He’s standing where I left him, arms crossed, expression withdrawn. Sven stands beside him.

A tree obstructs my view of them, and I sigh as I face forward.

After the Q&A, I ride the wave of energy and mingle with the crowd, but within twenty minutes, my urge to see Kieran overwhelms my ability to stay focused on conversations. I catch Gabe’s eye and nod; he nods back and quickly excuses himself from a woman in a mesh top that displays multiple piercings in each nipple. He stays in my periphery as I make my way across the club, saying goodbye to Nate, Charlie, and several others in the process.

We slip into the employee hallway. I retrieve my purse from Charlie’s office, then rejoin Gabe and wait for him to finish a text.

When he looks up, I ask, “So? What did Mistress Marian offer you?”

A telling blush stains his cheeks as he shakes his head slowly. “I’d really, really rather not say.”

Resisting the urge to smile, I ask lightly, “I take it BDSM isn’t for you?”

He shudders. “Affirmative.”

I grin. “I’ll spread the word that you’re off-limits, if you’d like.”

“Please. Thank you.” The sheer relief in his voice makes me laugh.

I’m still smiling as he opens the back door and cool air flows around us. Gabe steps outside first, his gaze scanning the shadowed employee and VIP parking lot. Headlights flash halfway down the row of cars, and an engine starts.

He makes an irritated noise. “I texted—they should be pulling up by now.”

I step from carpet to pavement, from light to darkness. The door swings closed behind me. “Reception is spotty in the hallway. It’s okay, though. The air feels nice.”

Gabe takes a step forward and freezes. I follow his gaze and see two figures walking into the parking lot from the street. Fifteen feet away and closing fast. They’re wearing balaclavas, only their eyes and mouths visible. Each of them holds something dark and long in their right hands.

Guns.

My lungs atrophy; I can’t draw a breath.

“Back inside,” Gabe snaps. “Now.”

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