Read Six for Free Online Page B

position. I wince at the sharp pain that razes up my arm. He is unaware I like pain. It grounds me to my humanness.
    “Do not ever mistake me for a kind person. That will be your first and last mistake. Let’s just say the dark witches are even less kind.” He realizes how tightly he is gripping me and lets go. He takes a calculated step backward. In return I step toward him. He holds his breath, his back straightens, his eyes suddenly wary.
    I grab his wrist gently. “Fine,” I whisper, urging my voice to take on a newly taught tone. “Will you help me with something?” Finn does not move, does not breathe.
    “Depends on what you need help with,” he finally grates. He takes a step in my direction. Now, I step backward. He does it again—then again. My back presses against a black, cold tree. I forget the next step in the acting lessons Bec and Lana taught me. Finn trips me up. I panic. I bite my lip in a last ditch effort to gain some control. He watches my mouth hungrily and greedily. Savagely .
    “I need my book from my house. Can you help me get it back?” I ask, proud I come up with something I actually need help with. My book is the one thing that connects me to my mother and a life that seems almost dreamlike. The memories have faded, but her high voice lulling me to sleep with the familiar words forces me to remember her face. A heart shaped face, rosy cheeks, and beautifully twinkling light eyes—human eyes, always steadfast, always the same. “I need to remember her,” I say, my voice hitching.
    His intense gaze shatters at the mention of my book and my desire to get it back. He backs up a pace and his body heat vanishes. He tilts his head to the side, his eyebrows furrowing. “Why do you want a book? Out of all the things you had, you want a book back?”
    “I realize the silliness in wanting a book. It is the only tale I have ever had.”
    He pulls a knife out of one of his cargo pockets on his pants. He shakes his head and mutters something quietly to himself. Then he speaks loudly.
    “It’s not silly. It’s human. I’m surprised you want for it, that’s all. Here,” he says as he hands me the knife, handle first. The weight of it in my hand shocks me. Even more shocking is that he offers the word human in reference to me, and I like it.
    “That it may be. You heard Lana. I can still feel. You should not be surprised.” I test the knife by stabbing it in the air to my side, jabbing as quickly as I am able. He watches with amusement, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
    “What do you feel though? If I had to guess, you don’t feel anything more than the occasional blip of fear or anger.” He is right. He smiles widely exposing gleaming teeth. He knows it too.
    Lifting the bottom of his shirt up, he raises it to wipe his face. Chest glistening, muscles bulging–I find myself staring.
    Lowering his shirt, he finds my gaze glued to his body. He smirks. “You think for one second I bought the seduction act? To be capable of real seduction you need to feel lust and, for the most part, lust is coupled with love.” Finn turns away from me to finish assembling our campsite. He works deftly with his hands assembling a tiny stove that will boil water. Everything about the male darkling fascinates me, stirs something inside me—makes me want more.
    “How can I feel lust?” His whole body stills. He does not turn to face me when he speaks.
    “You’ll know it when you feel it,” he says. I can tell he is smiling even though I cannot see his face. “It won’t be with me, I can tell you that.” He starts working again, distracting me by merely moving. For the first time, I know I want to feel the sensation he speaks of because it is one I have never felt. Ever.
    “Why not? Is it because of the decree with the dark witches?” I ask.
    Finn stands in one fluid motion and wipes his hands down the sides of his pants. “Oh, let’s not get it twisted, darkling. There is a pact I’ve sworn to