Free Shadows of Darkness by Stephanie Rowe Page A

night alone, and I've never felt isolated. I've never wanted a single moment of bonding with another person. But with you..."
    He kissed her once, softly, his lips so gentle it was almost inconceivable that this brutal assassin was the one delivering such beautiful kisses. "But with you," he whispered against her mouth, "I feel like there's humanity within me. I feel my heart beat. I feel my soul stir. You make me feel alive, Maya, and that's simply you, because I'm too strong to be owned by the bond. I could stop what I feel for you, but I don't want to. I want to experience every single thing you give me, a thousand times over until there's nothing left in this world except how you make me feel."
    Tears filled her eyes at his words. "That's very poetic for an assassin."
    His eyes darkened. "That's how you see me, as an assassin?" He went still, and she felt his withdrawal.
    She put her hands on either side of his face. "Of course I see you as an assassin. It's who you are. Do you really want me to lie to myself about who you are?" When his eyes narrowed, she laughed softly, and kissed his grim mouth. "But that doesn't mean that I don't also see that you're a good man. I see your honor, and I know that I did the right thing in tracking you down to help me. You're the only one I trust, Levi. You. No one else." She put her hand on his heart. "You need to know darkness in order to fight it, and there's so much darkness coming for me. I need you to keep me safe."
    He still didn't move. "That's all this is to you? Keeping you safe? Is that why you want to make love? To cement the bond so you can die?"
    She lifted her chin, refusing to acknowledge the sudden sense of loneliness that washed through her at his harsh tone. "I want you to make love to me because I want one good memory in my life before the bad ones start, and I can't think of anything that would sustain me more than being with you."
    He searched her face, and she felt his presence in her mind, trying to ascertain the honesty of her words. She knew the moment he accepted her words as truth, and he kissed her again, a bruising, claiming kiss that said words he would never articulate.
    She welcomed the kiss, opening herself to him as she felt his erection press against her damp entrance. For a split second, she hesitated. Was she really going to do this with him? Was he the one she'd been waiting for?
    Yes, he was. She absolutely knew it. Make love to me, Levi.
    Maya. His voice was a rush of desire in her mind, and then he sheathed himself inside her in one swift stroke, She gasped as he entered her, her body adjusting to his breadth as he went still, waiting for her to accommodate him.
    Then he began to move, slowly, ever so slowly, each thrust sending tendrils of desire coiling through her. Desire twisted through her more and more fiercely, until it became an overload of sensation, of his body inside hers, of desire and lust and need and passion. All the sensations swirled around into a miasma of emotions that swept her up into the very essence of his being, until she could feel all his darkness and his pain bleeding into her, threatening to overwhelm her with its soulful song of mourning.
    It's okay, Levi. I have you. She clung to him, and yet he held onto her even more tightly, holding her hips still as he drove into her, as a hundred years of captivity and torment spilled free from the prison he'd kept it in, swirling through her like a nightmare that would never end.
    Levi. She grabbed his chin, dragging his face to hers so she could kiss him. His lips were cold, as if all the darkness had sucked the life out of him, but she didn't let go. She just kissed him with everything she had. He consumed her with his kiss, overwhelming her with sensation, thrusting deeper and deeper until the orgasm exploded through her.
    She gasped his name, clinging to him as he bucked against her, dragged violently into her orgasm, eliciting a fierce climax from him, ripping through them