Free Fall of Darkness (The Chronicles of Darkness) by Elle Bright

the city and her
childhood home.
    She glanced around, admiring the posh
interior of his car for the first time. As shallow as it made her feel, she liked
the car. It fit him, dark, sleek, sexy, and foreign. His movements were fluid
and graceful as he effortlessly shifted and maneuvered through the city
traffic. She could picture him in something even more fast and exotic.
                “This
is a… Porsche?” While she appreciated her Mini’s cute shape and above average
capability for speed, she was far from an auto enthusiast.
                “The
new Porsche 911 Turbo. Do you like it?” He pronounced Porsche differently than
she had, not leaving the ‘e’ on the end of the word silent.
                “Yeah,”
she answered honestly. “Don’t you?”
                “Well
enough, but I have other cars back home that I prefer.”
    Kate’s eyes widened. “What could be
better than a new Porsche?”
                “Ferrari,
Maserati, or Lamborghini, to name a few,” he shrugged.
                “You
own all of those?” Kate gulped. She knew her eyes had to be as large as
saucers, but she didn’t care. As if he wasn’t already sexy as sin, he had to be
rich too. Way to even the playing field. He had to have a flaw somewhere.
                “Them
and a handful of others---I have a serious addiction to cars,” he admitted as
though confessing a weakness for something much less innocent than high priced
automobiles.
                “Oh.”
Way to go, Kate. Next time shoot for multiple syllables.
                “I
take it you don’t share my passion for cars. What about your Mini Cooper?”
                “The
Mini? I love her. She’s small and fast. Her size makes her really easy to park,
which is a major plus for me, especially in the city. I’m parking impaired.
    “I bought her as a graduation gift for
myself when I finished nursing school. She’s my first car without a fatal flaw.
All of my past cars have lacked one unimportant quality or another, you know,
such as air conditioning or the ability to reverse.”
                A
spark of laughter danced in his eyes. “No reverse? How did you manage that?”
                “I
had to be very particular about where I parked,” she chuckled. “The lack of
reverse wasn’t the worst of my problems in that car though. I used to have to
get out at stop signs to gather up whatever pieces my car had decided to shed,
sometimes the rusty fender or broken antennae. Whenever I was late, my
classmates would all take bets on which part of my car I had to stop to pick up
that day.”
                “Sounds
like quite a car.”
                “Oh,
believe me, it was. My little, old beater could give all your fancy cars a run
for their money,” Kate joked.
    “Speaking of,” she said, shifting
conversational gears with quite a bit less agility than he handled those of the
car, “Now that I know you are devastatingly handsome, exorbitantly wealthy, and
dash around rescuing damsels in distress in your spare time… Is there anything
else I need to know to make myself feel even more unworthy of your time?”
    Kate was joking more than anything, but
as Mama Murdock said, ‘behind every joke hides a half truth.’
    A devilish grin spread slowly across Dominic’s
face. “You mean, aside from the fact that I have x-ray vision, dated Gabriela
Dalberg, and speak eight different languages?”
    Kate stared at him in disbelief, her
green eyes gaping.
                “You’re
kidding… right?”
                “Of
course I am. I’m not superman. As much as I could appreciate x-ray vision on
certain occasions,” he added, pausing to rake her curves with a meaningful
look. “I regret I’m sadly without.”
    A rush of color burned her cheeks. The
stark appreciation in his gaze made her question if he really