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An
Excerpt From: DARKLING
Copyright
© EM PETROVA, 2012
All
Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave Publishing, Inc.
Niles
leaned against the doorframe between the living room and kitchen of his
apartment and stared at the sleeping woman on his sofa. In repose, her face
was more striking than ever.
Who was she and where had she come from? For
two full days she’d been sleeping and downing glasses of water. After so
many hours of this behavior, he was starting to get alarmed and wondered if
he should call medical personnel.
He
crossed the room to the sofa and attempted to shake her awake.
She
flung out an arm and twisted her head hard to the side, but didn’t open her
eyes.
“Vega,
wake up!”
Her
full lips worked as if she were trying to speak.
He laid
his palm on her forehead, relieved to find she wasn’t hot. At some point
during the night, she’d stripped off the outer layer of clothes, leaving
her in only a thin chemise. It clung damply to the outer curve of her
breast and the slope of her hip.
He tore
his gaze away. “You’ve got to wake up and talk to me, Vega. I’m worried.”
“Pollux
from Gemini. Earth is too hot, but I’ll grow accustomed to it. More water
please…”
He
straightened with surprise. What the—? Chafing a hand over his face, he
bumped his glasses. He yanked them off and massaged his eyes. What the hell
was he doing? There was something seriously wrong with her. The best thing
to do was call the shelter and fight to secure a space for her. He’d been
wrong to bring her here. He couldn’t start harboring the homeless in his
apartment.
Sure
you don’t need her to leave because you want her, Niles?
His
body hummed at the sight of her curves. In fact, every long glance and
touch he’d exchanged with her loomed up in his mind, as sweet and soft as a
day in the country. Wiping her tears and holding her as she cried did
things to his insides he hadn’t felt…well, ever.
He
stared at her again without his glasses. Besides the facts that she wasn’t
from this country and was searching for something, he knew little about
her. When he’d gotten her into the apartment, she’d fallen instantly asleep
and had awakened only to drink or to stumble to the bathroom.
Reaching
down, he brushed a glossy raven lock from her velvety cheek. A lone wave
pooled in the hollow of her collarbone and he longed to follow the length
and learn the feel of her flesh. In fact, he fought to keep from gathering
up that glossy lock and dipping his tongue into the delicious depression at
the base of her throat.
Get a
grip, man. Find out where she’s come from and what she needs, then turn her
loose on the world.
Bold
thoughts for a man who collected down-and-outs as if they were stray
kittens.
He
jammed his glasses back on his face and spun toward the kitchen. The tile
floor cooled his bare feet but he was still hot. The inadequate
air-conditioning in his apartment didn’t help his already impassioned
state.
Reaching
into a high cupboard, he pulled down a glass and filled it with iced tea.
His apartment was his refuge from the sometimes depressing outside world,
and now he’d brought one of the sad situations home with him. For two days,
he’d been passing the bulk of his caseload off on Brady. Except for Mischa.
In her delicate state, Niles couldn’t afford to upset the balance of their relationship.
Their talks might mean the difference between life and death for this
special young girl.
But he
had to get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding the sleeping woman on
his sofa before he broke down and touched her the way he longed to.
For the
fiftieth time, his mind raced with questions. Who was she? Where had she
come from? What did she need help finding, and how was he going to get any
information from her?
Between their obvious communication problems and her
heavy sleep, he wasn’t likely to learn what she needed soon.
He
braced his feet wide and sipped the cold brew, wishing she was awake so he
could talk to her. The faster he figured out how to help her, the faster
he’d be able to return to his life.
Tiptoeing around a heart-stopping woman
asleep on his sofa and keeping his racing thoughts in check was putting
enormous pressure on him. In the two days she’d been there, he’d done
little more than gaze at her. He’d even missed his boxing practices.
She
needs help finding something. What? A person?
A
sliver of dread sliced through his chest as he realized she might have
followed someone to this country. Someone she may be in love with.
Not
your business, guy. Focus. She didn’t shed all those tears because she’s
all right. It was his job to uncover her troubles and help her solve
them.
Just
like he should be doing with Mischa right now.
He
flipped his wrist and checked the time. She’d be arriving at the office in
half an hour. A street kid with little love in her raw existence, it was no
wonder she’d given in to her debilitating depression and bipolar tendencies
and tried to take her life.
But it
gutted him that she had. If only she’d called him.
A quiet
noise in the other room yanked him from his melancholy thoughts. He set
down his glass and strode to the door. Peeking into the living area, he
fixed his gaze on the stunning beauty on the sofa. She was curled on one
side. One slender forearm hung over the side of the sofa, her knuckles
almost brushing the floor.
She
drew a snorting, hitching breath and released it in a
wheezing gasp.
A
rumble of laughter threatened to burst out of his chest. He pressed a fist
to his lips to suppress it. His goddess was snoring.
Quickly
his struggle to keep from laughing gave way to a battle over his emotions.
A deep need to protect her overwhelmed him. Maybe the intimacy of watching
her sleep hour after hour or her guile-free gaze fed his need to shelter
her.
It’s
probably the tender point of her chin driving these passions in you, Niles.
Get hold of yourself.
Still,
he couldn’t tear his gaze away. With each snoring breath, the soft upper
bow of her lip fluttered in and out. Her lashes were long and curling and
lay against her smooth cheeks. He longed to stroke them with a fingertip to
discover if they were as unbelievably soft as they appeared.
His
cock throbbed heavily in the confines of his pants. Yeah, this idea was
turning out worse than he imagined. His regular caseload was
stressful, but throw in a hot illegal sprawled on his sofa for two days
plus the fact that his morals didn’t allow him to hook up with just anyone,
and he hadn’t had sex in close to a year, and he was ready to hit
something. Literally.
In a
few hours, he hoped to have made some decisions in regards to her welfare.
He needed to sneak away to the gym to get a few rounds in with his opponent
Darien. He was expected in the ring at seven o’clock for a big fight, but
if Vega didn’t wake up, he couldn’t exactly leave her here alone. She might
be frightened.
He
flexed his fingers into fists and then released them. If you miss that
fight, you’ll manage. You’ll do what’s best.
He went
back to the kitchen and retrieved his iced tea, then returned to take up
the chair across from Vega. The old cushions sank beneath his weight. As
his head filled with her natural perfume, he relaxed back with a sigh.
He’d
drawn the curtains to keep the room cool. A single piercing sliver of light
escaped the thick cloth and fell across the arm of the sofa. It didn’t
touch the sleeping woman, yet she seemed to glow. For long minutes he
watched the odd golden lights play over her skin, thinking it one of the
most beautiful tricks of the eye he’d ever experienced.
Quiet
snores became lulling music and pretty soon his body tuned into it. The
knot between his shoulder blades loosened and some of the constant ache
behind his eyes ebbed away. He removed his glasses and rested them on his
knee.
Man,
you’ve got it bad.
As he
watched the rise and fall of her chest beneath the thin gown she wore, he
knew beyond a doubt something wasn’t right with her. After more than a
decade of working with the needy, he’d developed a sixth sense. And it told
him Vega harbored a deeper secret.
Determination
filled him. When she awakened, he was going to ask her some very hard
questions. If he was to help her, she’d need to confide in him. By
nightfall, he would have those answers.
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1 comment:
Great excerpt. I am a cusp person myself and so I gave up on astrology because it would depend on the paper.
debby236 at gmail dot com
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