Page 8 of Darkness Rising
“Not stalking. Not trying to make this weird,” he says with an awkward nod.
I stop in my tracks as I realize where I go he goes.
I’m only a few yards away from the others. I don’t have anywhere to go anyway. Dinner will be ready in an hour.
Slowly, I take a seat on the curb of the road, letting the wet ground seep into my dark jeans.
“Your name,” he pauses and takes a seat at my side, our thighs not quite brushing, “it’s pretty.”
My eyes narrow on him.
Violence is most definitely not a pretty name.
“Of all the things you could have said, you decided to lead with that?”
A smile pulls at the corner of his lips and I almost want to mirror the happiness creeping over his face.
“What? It is.” He shrugs slightly, his arm skimming mine.
“No. It’s not.”
“The term itself is not. But the sound is. It sounds pretty.”
The feel of him, the happiness and life that he holds within him, it’s alluring. I want that. I want to be near him. In a sick way, I wish I had stolen him from the living worldyearsago.
“You’re not the least bit upset that I stole your life?”
A silence drifts between us as he tips his head up at the white shining stars.
“This wasn’t the first time I’ve stolen. I’m not a thief, but I suppose I’m not a gentleman either. It’s kind of starting to catch up with me. Tonight, a beautiful woman fell into my lap and I didn’t have a clue what it meant. I don’t think the reality of it has really set in just yet.” His gaze drifts across my features, and for a second, I can’t find my breath. “I’m not going to lie, I’ll probably have a nervous breakdown at some point.” A quiet laugh shakes through me as his smile widens. He has a smile that makes him look even sweeter. “But right now, being a lap dog to a beautiful—slightly deadly—Princess is an okay gig.”
His shoulder bumps mine, sending a burst of warmth into me.
“Let’s go do this dinner before Jeriko tries to shove his fist down my throat again.” His light and careless demeanor is intriguing.
It’s astounding really.
With reluctance, I stand. As I trail back to the Wild Hunt, they look at me in a new light. The men watch me carefully. They look at me like I’m a real woman instead of a broken girl.
And they look at Cameron like he’s a dead man walking.
Chapter Five
To Love a Huntress
The dinner is filled with unspoken words and half lies.
“How have you been, dear?” A glass of red wine presses to my mother’s eternally smiling lips as she gazes at me with hope-filled eyes.
“Great. I’ve been really great, Mom.” A mimicking smile forms tightly against my mouth.
My eldest sister, Amandria, holds nothing but shining happiness in her gaze. You’d think she was actually happy if you didn’t know her. She sits at my father’s right-hand side with that manic smile of hers. I’d hate to see what dark thoughts swarm her pretty little head. Perfect posture steels her spine and she can’t seem to take her eyes off of me. I meet her gaze every so often but she doesn’t say a word to me.
Nollix’s leg brushes mine as he shifts in the high-backed chair for the third time in half an hour. I peek at him from beneath my lashes, but he eats with his head down, silence clinging to him.
To my other side, Cameron taps his foot anxiously in rhythm with the beats of my heart. Without drawing any attention to myself, I slam the heel of my boot hard onto his restless toes.
A low groan shakes through him.
