Page 68 of The Darkness Within Us

Still nothing.

“Is there fur on your tail?”

His eyes phase to amber, and he crosses his arms over his chest, as though that will keep the truth contained within him.

I reach out and poke his knee.

“Stop that,” he says.

“Or what?” I poke him again.

He captures my wrist in one hand. So I use my free hand, this time jabbing him in the chest. His other hand shoots out, immobilizing my arms.

I kick him.

When he lets out a grunt, I see the flash of his elongated canines. He steps atop my feet, pushing his knees into my own so I cannot rile him any further.

Or so he thinks.

I blow a stream of air into his eyes, puffing up a strand of hair that’s fallen onto his forehead.

And then out come his horns. They sprout from the top of his forehead, just like in the dream. He snarls at me.

“There you are,” I say, taking in every detail I can see, as though it is wondrous. On some level, I suppose it is.

“What is the matter with you?” he asks, his voice going deadly. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?” He leans forward and pins my arms above my head on the wall of the carriage.

“You’re not going to kill me.”

“You overestimate my control.”

He’s so close, those teeth so close, and yet, I don’t feel afraid. Quite the opposite. I feel… in control. Because I brought out exactly what Imeant to. The proof of what he is. I can bring this monster out as easily as breathing.

And it isterriblyexciting.

“You’re not going to kill me,” I say again, this time sharper.

“So sure of yourself?” He smiles. It is a wicked smile. A seductive smile. Adeadlysmile.

And then he strikes.

He goes right for my throat, and I brace myself as my stomach sinks. I’m certain that I’ve miscalculated him, and I might very well be about to die.

But pain doesn’t come. There’s a pressure, oh yes, but nothing more. Two points of contact, his lower canines, I realize a moment later, touch the base of my throat. The pressure isn’t gentle, but neither is it bruising.

I don’t have time to blink before he starts raking his teeth up the side of my throat. Something like a whimper comes out of me when he finally gets to the edge of my jaw, and that is what makes him pull back.

Glowing eyes fix on me before he finally releases me and returns to his side of the carriage.

Only then does a true sense of horror set in.

Because that sound I made, that whimper?

It wasn’t one of fear. And that is more terrifying than anything else.

CHAPTER 15

Clearly I need to get myself a new lover. If my body is finding Eryx appealing, then it’s definitely been too long.

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