Insatiable (The Edge of Darkness, #1)

by Leigh Rivers

“There are so many things I want to do to you right now. I don’t think I can wait until we get back to the room.”

“What are you going to do to me?” Kade looks at me with a dark, hooded gaze. “Everything.”

“Kiss me,” he says. “If you want me to beg, then I’ll fucking beg you to kiss me, Stacey. Please.” The last word is a whisper.

“I’ve put you in so much danger. I’m sorry.”

The only things that held me together were the moments I’d see her true smile, hear her laugh when I tapped into the manor’s security system and she was with Luciella. Watch the way she’d move in the dance studio, unaware of my prying eyes.

Barry thinks this obsession with my ex is unhealthy. I disagree. It’s the only thing keeping me sane in my world.

rubbing her thigh over mine, trying to comfort her at the same time as holding her dress down.

Whether she’s mad, confused, happy, aroused or sad, Stacey is the definition of beautiful.

If I bring her closer to me, I’ll see each shade, the little clusters of gold circling her pupils. I remember when we found out we were going to have a kid, I wanted them to have her eyes. I wanted them to have everything that made Stacey who she was. Smart. Brave. Confident. Beautiful.

“We can try again, okay? We were supposed to be parents. We were supposed to have a family. I love you, Freckles. I love you so much.”

I want to take in everything about her while I can. Because I’m certain this might be the last time I see her.

Having her so close to me is cruel, even for a man like me.

I swallow, but when I feel wetness on my neck from her tears, I wrap one of my arms around the small of her back, fisting her hair.

I fill my lungs with her scent, wishing I could stay here forever.

I massage my fingers into her hair, trying to keep my emotions in check. “Please don’t cry.”

“You weren’t supposed to have this life.” She’s shaking in my arms. “We should have moved away when we planned to. When I found out I was pregnant, we should have left and never turned back.” There’s a tug against my heart. “I know.” I rub her back in small circles. No one has hugged me like this in so long. She was the only person I ever let get close to me, and I need to savour this while I can.

“Breathe,” I say, and she blinks, looking up at me. “I’m scared.” I stare at her: the freckles dusting her skin – which is turning paler by the second – the still windswept hair, the forest-green eyes I’ve pictured an unhealthy number of times. “You’ll be fine.”

When she falls asleep, I lace our fingers, my other hand playing with her hair. “You should have stayed out of my life,” I whisper. “But you’ve always been there. Always.”

When Stacey takes a step back, ready to leave, I snatch her wrist and pull her to me, crashing my mouth down on hers with my hands on each side of her face. It’s not deep or passionate but enough that I won’t regret watching her walk away without kissing her. And fuck me, feeling her lips on mine is a dream, especially when she kisses me back and the world ceases to exist. I’m no longer standing in the airfield. I’m playing dares in a tent with the girl I’ve fancied since I was fifteen. Her lips are on mine, and I’m no longer in darkness, swallowed by the shadows of my wrongdoings. The butterflies are still there. The nerves and the shake of my hands.

Time stands still as our mouths collide in a deep, desperate kiss as she throws herself into my arms. I pull her to me as her lips move, part, and we open to each other, letting our tongues finally taste. I lift her off her feet and walk towards the steps. Her legs wrap around me, and I revel in the softness of her mouth.

But I want to steal her and bring her to my chaos, set fucking fire to her world and keep her in mine.

Instead, I’m tasting her tears, swallowing her inconsolable sobs as she begs me to come on the plane with her.

“I’ll tell you everything,” she says. “I promise I’ll tell you everything.”

My nose nudges hers. “It’s over. It’s been over for two years. If we keep doing this, you’ll be killed.”

I press my mouth to hers again as I lower her to her feet. “I can’t be selfish.”

in the past week or so, I became that teenager again, who had no idea how to use a gun or the deep horrors of the underworld. Just the nervous kid who fancied his sister’s best friend.

At least I got to kiss her.

POR FAVORRRRRR