Darkyn's Mate

Her attention shifted to the hand over his heart. He felt too real. She hadn't been able to break up with a boyfriend she was sick of for fear of hurting his feelings. She couldn't kill anyone.

She shook her head.

"You turn down a chance to kill the Dark One?"

She almost screamed at herself. He wasn't a man. He was the creature who trapped her in Hell. The thought of hurting him made the hand she pressed to his heart tremble. It wasn't anger she felt towards him but … hunger.

He smelled like a heady mix of male musk and something so faint and sweet, it made her want to press her face to the skin of his chest for a better smell. It was this compulsion that was like a drug weighing down her thoughts and making her hungry, like walking past a bakery first thing in the morning and trying not to look at what was in the window. His solid frame and heat were creeping into her senses, tugging at her resolve to resist.

He stood at ease before her, unconcerned with teaching her to kill then exposing himself to death at her hands. She couldn't bring herself to try, just like she couldn't remove her hand. His body was covered with faded scars that fascinated her, made her want to trace the lengths of them with her fingers then her tongue.

She'd experienced one night with an Immortal mate, and it was the most incredible night of her life. What would it be like to run her hands over Darkyn's lean frame the way she had Gabriel's, to feel his sharp teeth nip the delicate skin of her inner thighs and breasts? What pleasure would it bring if he drank from her while making love to her?

The erotic visions in her head made heat bloom in her lower belly and the fire of desire spread in her blood.

Deidre struggled against the sensations. She needed control of her own mind back, but the feverish fog was too thick.

Was what she felt for Gabriel nothing more than destiny and Immortal laws she knew nothing about? Was she destined to feel that for Darkyn, despite knowing what he was? Was there no choice in who she loved?

"No," she said out loud. "It can't be true."

"The laws from the time-before-time are absolute. They are the only ones," Darkyn's growl was unusually soft, almost a purr. "Past-Death fucked you over by letting you experience another mate first, when you were meant for me alone."

"No," she said. "This is…this is temporary." She dropped her hand and prayed the sensations within her left.