Free Darkness Undone: A Novel of the Marked Souls by Jessa Slade

the backs of her hands and send delightful shivers through her. Then she remembered the rest of his hair, the light sift of curls on his chest, and tighter lower down, and she wondered where else that might tickle her, so she let her fingers trip over his breastbone and down his belly. Ah, rougher than the silk of his hair, but every bit as pleasing to her touch.
    His fingers wrapped around her upper arms. Good, or she might have fallen as her knees weakened. Mouth to mouth, their breath swirled and merged, a close, sultry mingling that promised deeper intimacy if they just—
    He pulled away, and their lips parted. “Wait.” He lockedhis elbows and his grip on her arms kept her from stepping back into his embrace. “Alyce, wait.” His grasp wasn’t really strong enough to stop her—and shook slightly besides—but she waited because he’d asked. “What are we doing?”
    “I know the answer to this one,” she said quickly.
    His laugh was no more steady than his grasp. “How did you stay so innocent with a demon inside you?”
    She froze. “I am not innocent.” The eerie shiver in her voice made her wince. She didn’t want to display more of her oddity to him, but neither did she want him to believe something of her that wasn’t true. “You said we would learn together. You will not hurt me with your trials. And even if you do, I will heal.”
    His fingers tightened reflexively, then slipped slowly down to rest just above her elbows. “Hurt you with my … Alyce. I swear I won’t let that happen. Not to you.”
    He closed his eyes, as if reaching inside himself—for patience, maybe, or tolerance, or another reason to push her away. Whatever he was looking for in there wasn’t about her, because she was out here.
    She rolled her shoulders against his hold, and his eyes popped open. Through the dark depths, his willpower glinted at her, just as a fire-blackened iron, nicked by some harsh blow, revealed bare metal.
    Whatever forces had shaped him were more merciless than mere demons.
    Since he still held her at arm’s length, she raised her hands to grasp his forearms, pressing the pulse points of their wrists together. She scolded herself for taking advantage of him. It had been so long since anyone had spoken kindly to her, she had been selfishly basking in his attention. It was past time she gave some back. “Who was hurt, Sidney, that makes you afraid you will break me?”
    His heartbeat raced against hers. “No one’s going to get hurt. Everything will be okay. We are both here for a reason,you and I, and figuring it out is the only trial we’ll be undergoing.”
    “Maybe we are here for this. To kiss.”
    He did kiss her again, on the forehead this time. It was sweet, but not as sweet as on the mouth.
    Oh, she had never had such a wicked thought. This strange rush through her veins that blushed over her skin—it must be the demon that possessed her.
    For once, she was rather glad of the devil inside.
    She tilted her face up to him, wishing she were taller. She could take him down, as she’d done the devil-man at the gate, but she’d never pitted herself against an opponent she wasn’t trying to incapacitate. Perhaps now was not the time to practice. But maybe soon …
    He gave another low laugh, somewhere between shaky and husky. “Stop looking at me that way.”
    “I am scary,” she reminded him.
    He stared down at her, then gave his spectacles a nudge higher on his nose. The reflected light disguised his eyes. “Right then. Let’s go see who else we can trick or treat.”
    He donned his shirt, and she helped ease the long sleeve over his wounded arm. Though the blue-and-white-striped cotton was finely woven, it was not as soft as his lips. She restrained a sigh to see that lovely warm skin hidden away.
    “It will be okay,” he told her.
    His anxious tone told her he was trying to reassure himself as much as her. “I won’t hurt your friends again,” she said. “I surprised the one