A Strange Hymn (The Bargainer, #2)

by Laura Thalassa

“Wait, wait—” the messenger says as the creature nears him. “Don’t go.” This makes Des’s lips quirk, though his eyes are as hard as ever. Cruel Des. Dark Des. I’m catching an elusive glimpse of the beast behind the man.

“You were everything I never knew I wanted. You were chaos. You were desperation. You were the most mysterious secret I’d ever come across. Everything about you drew me in—your innocence, your vulnerability, hell, even your tragic life. You were the most captivating creature I’d ever met.”

In the darkness, I see him staring back down at me. “You are magic, love.”

If Des were a city, he’d be Barbos. The lights, the chaos, the criminality, the sexuality, the excitement. It’s all part of who he is.

I am the darkness, his eyes seem to say, and you are my lovely nightmare. And no one will take this away from us.

I tighten my grip on his hair. “I don’t want slow,” I say, glamour entering my voice. “I want everything the King of the Night can give me—and then I want more.” With a growl, Des gives me exactly that. Again, and again, and again.

“From flame to ashes, dawn to dusk, for the rest of our lives, be mine always, Desmond Flynn,”

I am someone’s nightmare, I tell myself. Sure, that someone is probably the next macaron I come across, but hey, we all start somewhere.

“What you did…” He searches my face. “No one will forget it. Not that woman you protected, not the room full of fairies, not the Flora Queen and her consort—and not me. Mara might wear a crown, but everyone in that room saw who the true queen was today.”

“My brave mate, my fierce mate. No fairy has ever been prouder of his woman.”

“When I close my eyes, all I see is the shape of your face and the brightness of your smile. You are the stars in my dark sky, cherub.”