Page 72 of To Crave Darkly
Chapter 27
ORION
I stood at the foot of her bed and stared down at the beautiful figure nestled deeply into the sheets. Well, imagined I stood. I was currently incorporeal, part of the curse of being an Angel. I couldn’t be seen by humans, but Iwaspowerful enough to give myself form. Perhaps that was His way of dehumanizing me. Not being able to be my true self on Earth meant I was stuck to the shadows, invisible to the human eye.
But that was beside the point. I wasn’t here to ponder my existence on the mortal plane.
I was here to see her.
Lori. My precious little dove.
Manifesting on the mortal plane always drained me. It required a lot of energy to form solid mass, but I wanted to see Lori. I wanted to touch her. So, I stood there, levitating, watching her sleep as my corporal form took shape. As the seconds ticked by, I felt the soft cushion of the carpet materialise beneath my feet. It was a strange sensation going from not knowing where your limbs were to suddenly being able to see them before you. I was going to pay for this dearly tomorrow, but I knew this was worth it.
The mark pulsed warmly on my chest. Its presence was now a constant reminder of her. When I wasn’t with her, I felt her. I felt everything she did. I knew when she laughed, when she was angry, or when she was hurt.
Poor little dove. So scared of the world she had been thrown into. I tried to feel guilty about that, but I couldn’t. I needed her in my world. In the darkness. I wanted to terrorise her some more and I planned to do just that. But these games had to be played gradually. Step by little step. I wasn’t a patient creature, but for her I’d wait until the end of the world to get what I wanted.
I didn’t want to scare her away. I needed her to walk the path that I had laid out for her not run screaming for the hills. But oh, how I would love to her hear scream my name. Maybe there was time for that…
I grinned at the wicked thoughts now running rampant in my mind. In her sleeping state she let out a soft little moan. She could feel my desire. It thrilled me that she wanted me. She might not want me as darkly as I craved her, but there was time.
I took a step closer to the bed, the threads of the carpet soft against the underside of my feet. Excitement surged through me. I could feel that. Not long before I could do more.
I wondered if she knew how beautiful she was. I didn’t think she did. She certainly didn’t carry herself like someone who had been showered with praise. There was something dark beneath the surface, something she kept locked away. Something hidden and it came out for me. I had tasted it when she kissed me. Her darkness called to me and my entire body had hummed. I was going to enjoy breaking her. I would pull her apart and then rebuild her withallthe pieces that made her, not just the ones she wanted to show the world.
The mattress dipped as I settled my weight onto it. Lori didn’t even stir. I reached out my hand and stroked her hair away from her face. She was so beautiful.
I brushed my lips against her cheek, placing a slow kiss there. If I had doubted my intentions before, I certainly didn’t doubt them now. I was determined to make her mine. She didn’t know it yet, but I had set her traipsing happily on a path that would bring her to me. She wouldn’t realise until it was too late. My fingers found the delicate column of her neck. I nearly moaned at how she felt under my fingers. The noose was already tied. It was just going to get tighter with every step she took.
My hand skimmed across her shoulder and along the length of her arm. A pleasurable little sigh escaped her mouth. What I wouldn’t give to taste that sound. In her sleep she rolled over, turning her face away from me and curling up on her other side. Her bed looked so warm and she looked so tempting.
I couldn’t resist. Self-restraint was not one of my strongest qualities and I wasn’t going to waste this opportunity. I slid beneath the sheets and curled up behind her. She let out a little murmur but didn’t stir from her slumber. My form become more solid as the moments passed and I felt more of her body pressed up against me as the minutes ticked by.
She burrowed deeper into my embrace and my arms curled possessively around her waist. She fit perfectly against me. Like she was made just for me. I buried my nose in her hair, trying to commit every part of her to memory. Fresh lavender surrounded me, and it was my downfall. I should leave, but I couldn’t resist the lure of staying wrapped in her embrace. I knew I would fade with the morning light and that I would have something akin to the worst hangover ever, but I couldn’t let her go.
Oh, my sweet little dove. I wasn’t ever going to be able to let you go.
She rolled back over and nuzzled her head in the crook of my shoulder. Oh goodness, if my heart could still beat it would be all aflutter. She smiled contently in her sleep and I weaved my fingers through her hair. She was so blissfully unaware of how close to death she was. Her sleep was so peaceful, and a wave of pleasure wound its way through me.
I stayed there all night, just listening to the soft rise and fall of her chest. I stayed there until the first light of dawn shone through the window and I felt myself start to fade. I placed a lingering kiss on the top of her head and whispered four little words that I hoped would ingrain on her soul.
Four words that might torment and excite her.
Four little words that would make hermine.
“I’m coming for you.”
Chapter 28
LORI
I woke up and honestly felt like I had just had the best night’s sleep ever. I couldn’t remember when I had slept so well. Maybe it was all the training the team had been putting me through that had made me so tired that I slept without dreaming. I hadn’t been haunted by that night in the alley. I had slept peacefully, from the moment I closed my eyes last night, to now. It was strange but I had felt safe and protected in my sleep, which was odd because no one else had been here.
I rolled over and looked at the spot of the bed next to me. The sheets were rumpled, depressed like someone had been there. I placed my hand in the empty spot and found it warm. No…it couldn’t be. Had someone been there? Must be my imagination. It wasn’t possible. I would have known if someone had been in bed with me.
I stretched and jumped out of bed with a surprising amount of energy. I really had slept well. And that was great. I was going to need all the energy I could get because today was my first time going out on patrol as an actual member of the team. Jasper had finally decided I was ready. The idea still scared the crap out of me, but I was looking forward to being useful. I had spent the last week feeling like a spare part, and now I was finally going to have some purpose. Yes. I still had to come to terms with being the potential destroyer of the world, but until then, I had something I could focus on, and I was actually getting good at this shit. I could hold my own in a fight and I even managed to get a few shots past Cassian’s defence. I could handle my scythe with grace and precision and my reaper and I werealmostin sync.
I still didn’t know who I was going to be partnered with for my first patrol, but I knew it wouldn’t be Jasper. I figured that would just be a disaster, what with the whole constantly wanting to tear each other’s clothes off as soon as we saw each other. And I prayed to God that it wasn’t Cassian. We still hadn’t really spoken to each other since that little heart-to-heart the other day. We still trained and he still beat my ass, but we didn’t talk. We just eyeballed each other across the room and quite successfully managed to go through the days without seeing each other unless we had to.
