Free The Darkest Secret by Gena Showalter Page A

him. And desired.
    Yes, he’d desired her before. But that desire had been tempered with a bit of hesitation. Now, nothing would stop this man from getting what he wanted. If she rebuffed him, she thought he might help her see the silliness of that. In a good way, of course. His protective instincts were too honed for anything else. Look how tenderly he had caressed her cheeks.
    And there were physical differences, too, she realized. His lips seemed fuller, but of course, that could be from the swelling. His lashes were definitely longer, his eyes now so black you couldn’t distinguish pupil from iris. His shoulders were wider, the ropes of muscle in his stomach more numerous.
    She knew the Lords had branded him with their butterfly, but what if they’d done more than that? What if they’d somehow possessed him with a demon and that’s why hecarried the mark? The moisture in her mouth dried as she recognized the possibility for what it was: likely.
    Galen, leader of the Hunters, had found a way to pair a human with a demon. Maybe the Lords had, too.
    Haidee.
    She blinked as that husky voice penetrated her thoughts, then forced her suspicions to the back of her mind. Scaring a man in this condition wouldn’t be wise. Or maybe he already knew, but didn’t know how to tell her. Did he fear she would turn away from him if she learned of his possession?
    Haidee, he repeated.
    â€œSorry. My mind wandered. Twice.” She slid closer to him, not stopping until her hip met his.
    He grimaced as he pulled himself into a sitting position. This close, she could feel the heat of his skin. So much heat she’d never encountered its like. Another difference. He’d never been this warm before. Otherwise, she would have finally given in and slept with him, even without the sizzle; she wouldn’t have been able to help herself. Nothing was more delicious than the sweet burn of him.
    Haidee, he snapped again.
    Again she blinked into focus. She had to stop traveling these unwanted mental paths. “Sorry. What do you need, baby?”
    To touch you. He managed to raise his hands on his own this time and cup her temples.
    More of his heat enveloped her, his skin like a live wire against hers. She shivered and leaned into his grip, practically purring. Surprise flashed through his eyes—eyes now flickering with sparks of red. Oh, yes, she thought, hopes plummeting completely. He had been possessed. He knew. And he hadn’t expected her to desire him.
    Poor darling. As if she would ever betray him. He couldn’t help what had happened, and she wouldn’t rejecthim for it. Besides, her war with the Lords had never been about their demons, but about their actions.
    Micah hadn’t infected her. He hadn’t killed her family.
    Blood, a river between her mother and her father. Both helpless…dead.
    She shook off the memory before it could tug her into a pit of despair.
    â€œIf they did something to you, something…evil, I’ll help you through it,” she told him gently, flattening her hands over his. Touching him was definitely a need. “I won’t turn you in to Galen or Stefano. I won’t betray you. No matter what. And if you start to…do things, bad things—” like lashing out, killing indiscriminately “—well, I’ll take care of you myself.” Mercifully. And only after she’d done everything in her power to purge him of the demon.
    She’d loathe herself, would probably replay the act again and again with every new lifetime she experienced, but she would do whatever was necessary to save innocent families from the blood-fate hers had received. Even destroy herself and the only source of her happiness.
    â€œDo you understand what I’m telling you?” she asked gently.
    Again surprise flashed in his eyes, adding tiny pinpricks of amber light to the dark irises. Thankfully, the red was gone. Something evil.