Free Dark Desire by Lauren Dawes Page A

pair of sweats, pulled his marines tee over his head and slid his arms into a jacket before tying up his shoes. A bit of fresh air was just what he needed.
    “Come on, Soph,” he called gently, grabbing her leash from the hook beside the door and clipping it to her collar. Stepping out of his apartment building, Mason turned towards Boston Common—a place he and Sophie usually went every morning to shake off the nightmares. Sophie was a lot more attentive than normal, sticking close to his side rather than pulling forward eagerly. He let his hand burrow deeply into the fur at the ruff of her neck, feeling the warmth of her body settle him.
    The sun had barely begun to rise when he made it to the fifty-acre gardens, a slight fog hanging about a foot off the ground. There was hardly another soul in sight, and Mason didn’t bother to check either. He liked the silence in his head.
    Making his way towards the Frog Pond, he let the icy breeze blow away the terrors still clinging on stubbornly like leeches bleeding his mind. Stopping, he crouched down to tie up his shoelace when Sophie suddenly started pulling frantically at the lead. Mason tried to peer through the fog to see what had her so riled up, but could barely see more than twenty feet in front of him.
    “Sophie. Sit,” he commanded sternly, returning his attention to his laces. The next thing he knew, he was on his ass, holding onto a leash minus the dog. Jumping up, Mason tried to see where she’d run off to. It was so unlike her to disobey a command from him.
    Panic lanced through him, but this time it had nothing to do with his nightmares. If Sophie ran onto the road, no car would be able to see her with the fog cover until it was too late.
    With a curse, he started jogging, opening himself up to people’s thoughts. Boston seemed to be a big fucking beacon for the creatures of the Nine Worlds, so he was always having to block out the white noise. Per capita, there were more gods and goddesses living there than any other major city in America.
    He’d just come up to the Sailors and Soldiers Monument when he heard the thoughts.
    I’m so sorry I couldn’t save you, Kristy…Oh! What was that?
    Spinning to his left, he started forward again, blindly following the words.
    I wonder where you came from … your owner must be around here somewhere.
    Damn, he wished this fog would lift.
    And then, as if his wish had been granted, the sun burst out, burning the fog away faster than he’d ever seen before. It was so bright that Mason had to shield his eyes for a moment, and when he could see again, he found Sophie sitting at the feet of a gorgeous blonde woman.
    *
    Eir had had her face buried in her hands, trying to contain her tears, when the wet swipe of a tongue made her jerk her head up in surprise. A dog was standing in front of her, its warm brown eyes looking concerned for her.
    “Hello,” she whispered, straightening. The dog was quite large with black around its muzzle, on its ears and over its eyes. Its ears were pointed up, alert and ready. The rest of its body was a caramel color of varying shades, except for its black back.
    Reaching an unsure hand out, Eir added, “What’s your name, handsome?”
    The dog sniffed her outstretched hand, its long, pink tongue darting out to lick her. Surprised, Eir gasped, then laughed out loud. The dog’s tail began to wag then, and it bestowed another long swipe of its wet tongue onto Eir’s face this time.
    “Fuck, Sophie! No!”
    Eir’s eyes shot to the side just as the fog disappeared. A man stood there, and Eir’s stomach did a little flip-flopping motion at the sight of him.
    “I’m so sorry,” the man said, looping what looked like a broken leash through the metal hoop on the dog’s collar. “She doesn’t normally just run off like that,” he added, glaring down at the dog.
    “She?” Eir squeaked.
    The man looked at her again, and Eir’s stomach flip-flopped doubly hard.
    His gaze was fixated on