Page 123 of The Darkest Hour

To trace the lines of bone and marrow.

To compare the structure.

The design.

Would they be the same, hers and mine?

Would there be some mark that we were made for each other?

Would there be some indication that we were always meant to find one another, even in this wild, untamed place?

It was a madman’s pondering, but it stuck with me, lodged deep in my mind.

Was it crazy that I wanted proof?

Evidence that what I felt in my heart was real, that our connection was more than just chance, more than just two people thrown together by circumstance.

We were destined.

She was the Eve to my Adam.

She was the one who had been carved from my side, who carried a piece of me within her just as I carried a piece of her within me.

But maybe, I realized, I didn’t need that tangible proof.

Maybe the proof was in the way we moved together, the way our bodies fit when I fucked her last night, the way our souls seemed to resonate on the same frequency as we survived on this island.

Perhaps, it was in the way I couldn’t tell where her scent ended and mine began.

Onyx pulled me out of my thoughts. “What’s on your mind?”

“Adam’s rib.”

She laughed.

The morning air was thick with the scent of rain on the horizon, but I pushed that thought aside too.

I wanted to focus on Onyx—just her—in this moment.

“Stop stalling your breakfast.”

“I’m not stalling, Havoc. I’m just. . .eager to explore and figure all of this out.”

“Be patient.” I picked up a plump strawberry. The deep red skin shone brightly in the soft light filtering through the trees.

I brought the wild strawberry to her face and then held it close to her lips. “You are beautiful.”

A gentle blush spread across Onyx’s cheeks.

“Eat, wildcat.”

She hesitated for a second and then she opened her mouth, taking the berry halfway between her lips.

I watched, fully captivated.

When she bit down, juice spilled over those lips and dripped down her chin.

And without thinking, I leaned all the way in and traced the path of the juice with my tongue.

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