Free A Gift of the Darkest Magic by Ashlynn Monroe

arms. Clarissa fell asleep, forgetting the danger of letting down her guard in the lair of a predator. The last thing her mind registered was his cool kiss upon her brow.

    A Gift of the Darkest Magic

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    Chapter 9

    Clarissa’s eyes opened. She gasped loudly. The room was dark, and she struggled to
    remember where she was. She fought with an abundance of blankets, sitting up with alarm.
    “You’ve been asleep for ten hours, sweet Clarissa. I’m afraid you slept most of our time
    away, but fear not, your gift was more than satisfactory. You’re safe and free to go, unless you’d accept one more gift from me.” He was suddenly kneeling beside the bed. “Stay.” The pleading
    agony in his voice barely registered as her mind seized from the horror of his request.
    Looking around, desperately trying to focus, she battled the claustrophobia of the dark
    underground room. Her mind wasn’t fully awake. “No, please don’t kill me,” she murmured with
    terror.
    His eyes flared red in the darkness, and she scooted away from him.
    “Disappointing.” The pleading desperation left his voice and he was once more the suave,
    timeless creature she’d first met. His eyes returned to their surreal normal. “You may go, but if you ever need me, all you have to do is call to me and I’ll find you.” He whispered the words into the darkness. She could tell he wasn’t looking at her.
    “Thanks.” She didn’t know what to say to his claim. “You don’t mean call you on the
    phone, do you?”
    He gave a dry laugh. “I’ve tasted you, we are linked. If you need me, you just need to
    think it and I will find you.”
    “Okay,” she said lamely, feeling awkward. He’d forced her into adultery, but she’d come
    willingly in his arms. Knowing that she’d never felt like he’d made her feel before, not even with Matt, was a strange, bittersweet realization. Her husband was good in bed, but Braden was
    supernatural. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes, the room
    appeared dimly illuminated again.
    “I took the liberty of seeing you had fresh new clothing. It is folded and ready in the
    washroom. There is a shower and clean towels if you’d like to cleanse yourself.”
    She nodded, sliding out of the enormous bed across from where he stood. She followed
    the direction he indicated and walked into a large bathroom. Washroom. She smiled at his antiquated term, and as she was already naked, she quickly stood under a steamy hot spray from the large silver showerhead. It felt wonderful, but when she reached for the soap, his scent filled A Gift of the Darkest Magic

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    her nose and she shivered, realizing she’d leave smelling like him. She used the products
    anyway, washing her hair twice and rinsing the scent of sex from her body. She noticed the bite on her breast had left a crescent moon shaped scar. It looked old and long healed, not as fresh as she knew the injury should be. Clarissa laid her head against the tile shower wall and cried
    silently for a few minutes until she finally pulled herself together and turned off the water.
    Stepping out, gooseflesh rose on her arms from the chilly air and she hurried to dry off
    and dress. A new toothbrush and toothpaste sat on the sink, and she brushed her teeth. She also opened the new, long toothcomb and worked the tangles out of her damp hair. Standing in the
    light from the vanity, she looked at her reflection, not recognizing the pale, sad face looking back at her. To her relief, the bite on her neck was completely gone without a single trace. If she had to have a scar, at least the one just above her breast would be easy to hide. She could hide it from everyone except Matt. Matt. The name reverberated in her brain like a shotgun blast. She hurried from the room.
    “Franz is waiting to take you to the hospital.”
    “Thank you.” She didn’t know what else to say to him.
    His face looked drawn and he nodded stiffly. She grabbed her