Read Into the Darkness for Free Online Page B

past him without
    crumbling, but a shiver racked her body as her hand closed
    around the knob. The soft sob caught her by surprise.
    His hands settled on her shoulders, and he drew her back
    against his chest. “It’s not that I don’t want you,” he whispered into her ear.
    She tore from his hold and pushed open the French door.
    “Just leave me alone.”
    “Natalie—”
    Grasping the edge of the door, she faced him, letting him
    see the tears falling on her cheeks to mingle with raindrops.
    “I’ve never made love with a man—hardly ever kissed before.” She drew a jagged breath and the words spilled from
    her. “Now, I’m being hunted by someone who wants me dead.
    And you can’t protect me. Not really. He can reach me anywhere.
    into the darkness
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    I just wanted something beautiful . . . just once. Something
    just for me.”
    Blinded by tears, she started to shut the door, but he
    pushed back and entered the room. Then his arms closed
    around her.
    She sagged against him, hating her tears, and the weakness
    that made her grateful for the warmth beneath her cheek and
    the strength of the arms supporting her trembling body. She
    clung to him, pressing her wet face against his skin.
    “It’s all right. Don’t cry.”
    Silence closed around them, a watchful, pregnant quiet
    that grew while he stroked her hair and back.
    His fingers lifted her chin. Their gazes met for a long moment. Natalie noted a pulse throbbing at his temple and felt
    the tightening of his arms around her. Her breath caught.
    “These jeans stay on,” he said, his whisper harsh.
    She nodded as hope and excitement stirred again. She’d
    promise anything to prolong his embrace.
    His hand slid along her hip and gathered her nightgown in
    his fist, drawing it up.
    She leaned away from him and raised her arms. The silk caressed her skin, teased over her belly, dragged across her nipples, then was gone—and she was naked beneath his heated
    stare.
    His eyelids lowered as his glance lingered on her breasts
    and dropped to the ruff of hair between her legs.
    Shyness fled at the sight of his chest rising and falling
    faster. His face hardened, the skin drawing taut over the sharp
    blades of his cheekbones, his lips tightening.
    His arousal was apparent to even her unschooled eyes.
    42 delilah
    devlin
    The outline of his hard cock pressed against the front of his
    jeans.
    She stood still as a statue, waiting for him to make the next
    move.
    “Climb onto the bed,” he bit out.
    She turned, aware of his gaze on her back and ass, and
    crawled across the satiny coverlet. Her heart sped up as his
    feet padded across the carpet behind her. The bed dipped beneath his weight, and she lay down and rolled onto her back.
    With only a golden shard of light from a distant street lamp
    beyond the balcony door, she watched him edge closer on his
    knees. His shadow blocked out the light, looming over her,
    large and dark as the sensual thrill building in her womb. Then
    he winced and straightened, and reached down to unbutton
    the snap at the top of his jeans. “This is gonna be hell.”
    She almost told him she had no objection to him shucking
    his pants, but she held her tongue, not wanting him to hesitate again. She couldn’t bear it if he left her now.
    He climbed over her, his denim-clad legs bracketing the
    tops of her thighs.
    Lying beneath him, Natalie catalogued every sensation so
    that she’d never forget what being with him felt like. The
    moment felt . . . important. Beyond the fact this was her first
    time.
    He leaned down, settling over her, his palms cupping her
    cheeks. His lips dragged over her forehead, her eyes, her nose,
    before sliding over her mouth.
    The caress drugged her senses, setting her heart thumping
    loudly. Her hands cupped his rain-slick shoulders, urging him
    closer, but he slid down her body, nuzzling her neck, slanting
    into the darkness
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    over the tops of her breasts, until at last, he took a turgid
    nipple into his