Free Demon Day by Penelope Fletcher Page B

hair that
grew. It seemed his hair grew as fast as mine, and I could not wait
to see it longer. Would it be jet black like his eyebrows or be
shot through with streaks so dark they absorbed the light entirely
and glowed silver?
    Yes. Yes, I wanted this. I was unsure
of everything else, but this. I wanted to lie in his arms and to
love him. I wanted him to hold onto me and to love me.
    My fingertips traced the lines of his
nose and mouth. I kissed him. His eyes were open and bored into
mine as he kissed me back. Then my mouth parted and his tongue
slipped out to slide across the seam of my lips. I tingled all over
and my eyes drifted closed. His tongue was slow, explorative and
tasted sweet. Running his hands down the length of my body, he
sighed, and I gripped his shoulders. I waited for the next kiss …
but nothing happened. Opening my eyes – drunk on lust – reality
filtered through my happy haze. Breandan was looking at me
strangely, his mouth pulled into a thin line. Sliding me away from
him, he jumped up gracefully, turning away so I got a tantalizing
view of his bare shoulders and broad back.
    The marks on this side of his body
were bolder, more ominous in design. If I had to sum them up in a
word, I would have chosen ‘nefarious’. I shivered slightly, and not
from the sensations he ignited under my skin with his touch. Why
did Breandan – the one person in the entire world I was sure had no
darkness – have tattoos like that?
    Confused as to why we were no longer
touching I surged up, stood on my tail, and then sunk to my knees
rubbing it. Tears pricking the corner of my eyes for it hurt, and a
faint echo of the pain shot up my spine.
    Breandan spared me a glance and shook
his head. He paced the floor in front of me. Eventually after
pondering gods knows what he settled for stalking back over and
yanking my head back. The pressure of his mouth crushing mine
almost hurt.
    “ Let’s go see if we can
help Conall pick up the trail,” he said and left me there, already
a silvery blur in the distance.
    Watching his retreating back
irrational rage replaced desire.
    Was I supposed to understand what had
just happened?
    I jumped up and stumbled behind him.
He sprinted across the Pride green, the waist length grass crushed
beneath his boots. I chased him, as fast as he, and my rage was
powerful. I sped up until he was at arm’s length. Before I had the
thought, I was pushing off the ground and soaring, latching myself
onto his back. I dug my fingers into his bare shoulders, dragging
my nails across his skin until I drew blood. He snagged one of my
legs and hauled me off him, throwing me to the mossy ground. He
pinned me, leaning his weight. He loomed over me; skin pulsing and
eyes sparking like an avenging angel. I would have felt the need to
prostrate myself on the ground before him if I did not feel so
pissed off. Too angry to be shocked at my feral actions I bared my
teeth.
    Face a mask of rage he leaned down
further. “Behave!”
    “ If you’re disgusted with
the way I behave why don’t you just say it?” I tried to push him
off. “I’m not proud of how I react when I’m with you but I can’t
help it.”
    He let go of my wrists and paced away,
his hands clasped behind his head. I sat up – my knees bent – and
wiped the leaves and dirt from my hair and clothes in forceful
sweeps. It ground into my dress, and the rubbing made it worse. I
was a bloody mess.
    Breandan spun, fists clenched. “Why
can’t you see how I feel?” His voice drifted over to me soft-as-ash
and filled with longing. “I have left my home and turned my back on
my family. Everything I have done I’ve done for you.” Stunned I
stared at him. My eyes were wide and my mouth open. He half smiled
at the look on my face. “The moment I revealed myself to you I made
peace with what I was to do, of what I would be giving up. I belong
to you. I choose you, I always will, but you have to understand
that everything is not what it seems.