Page 117 of The Darkness Within Us

I take his face in my hands and pull it down to my level. His lips are still as stone as I press a kiss to them. I keep my hands cupping his cheeks as I wait for him to open his eyes and look at me.

“I do not care one whit that you’re half demon. You could have told me that youwerea demon now living on this plane, and I wouldn’t care. That monstrous form is just a part of who you are, and I like it, too. I like all of it. Eryx Demos, liar, murderer, thief, demon. I don’t care.

“This,” I say, and I reach out to touch the skin of his wrist with my fingers. Electric heat flows through me at the contact, just as I knew it would. “This is what I care about. This connection. This understanding. You were made for me.”

Eryx sweeps me off my feet and carries me about twenty feet away from the dock, where the grass has grown thick and green. He lowers himself to the ground, crossing his legs beneath him, and holds megently in his lap. He adjusts my hurt arm, ensuring it is not in danger of being crushed between us.

Only then does he capture my lips with his own.

The kiss isn’t soft or hesitant. No, Eryx knows what he’s doing now. He plays with my lips, tugging and nipping at them. When I feel a sharp canine brush the tip of my lip, I let out a gasp. Eryx tries to pull away, but I move my hands to the back of his head, pulling him closer instead.

A low hum rumbles up from deep in his chest, something not quite human, and I love the sound of it. I reach out with my tongue, trace his upper lip. When his mouth opens in surprise, I explore the inside of his mouth, too.

Then I’m not in his lap anymore. No, I’m lying on the grass with his body spread over the top of me. With his hands supporting his weight, he leans down to taste me. My fingers are in his hair, and when I feel the smooth hardness of one of his horns, I grip it in a fist. My free hand goes to the other one.

And I roll us.

Straddling him now, I can feel his excitement. Looking down at his face, I can see so clearly his amber eyes, his elongated canines, the deep violet horns.

I bring out the demon in him.

Oh, and he undoubtedly brings out the demon in me.

I do a sweep of the area, ensuring no one is around to see his shift. When my eyes return to Eryx, he swallows.

“You’ve no sense, woman. Are you sure I’m what you want? You still ought to be afraid of me.”

“All this time, I’ve been trying to tell you. It’s you who should be afraid of me.”

My hands go to his vest, making quick work of the buttons, and he freezes beneath me. My eyes meet his, and he doesn’t utter a word of protest, so I continue, moving on to the shirt beneath. It’s comeuntucked from his pants, and I splay it wide, so my greedy eyes can take in the expanse of his muscled chest. For once I get to see it not in a dream but in the real world.

When I reach down to touch him, his eyes flutter closed. But then his forehead crinkles in concentration, and every muscle in his body goes taut.

“What is it?”

“The beast. I’m trying to keep him contained.”

Those words send a smile to my lips. I bend down to his ear. “Why? Let him out. He doesn’t scare me.”

A choking sound comes from Eryx. “You don’t know what you’re saying. Just pause for a moment while I calm him down.”

Instead, I bend over his body and bite his neck.

His eyes shoot open, glowing brighter than I’ve ever seen before.

“Chrysantha,” he snarls, and before I know it, I’m flipped onto my back once more. Eryx doesn’t hold his weight off me like last time, and I love every inch of him pressed against me.

“Yes?” I ask innocently, but he doesn’t respond.

No, his hands go to the front of my dress, ready to rip it right down the middle.

A breath of air releases from somewhere behind Eryx, and he turns, horns and eyes and teeth still on display.

Kyros stares in horror at the duke, and I can do no more than stare between the two men, waiting to see what will happen.

Eryx stands in one motion, then proceeds to stalk toward Kyros. Because the beast does not retreat, I run after him and throw myself in front of Eryx.

“Get a hold of yourself,” I say.

---