Desire: #4 Brightest Kind of Darkness (23 page)

Ethan’s arm cinches tight around my waist and he gently tugs my chin to press his mouth to mine. I don’t even remember releasing the guitar, but Ethan turns me to gain better access to my mouth, pressing me deeper into the couch. I start to reach around his ribcage to pull him closer when my hand hits something wet.

I pull back. A smear of blood coats my palm. “Oh, God. Ethan you’re hurt.” He glances down when I tug his sweater up to inspect his wound. “That looks like a cut,” I hiss angrily in a low voice, then push his shoulder so I can get up.

He clasps my hand. “I’ll be fine, Nara. It’ll be healed in a couple of days.”

I frown and tug him to his feet. “You didn’t say anything about being sliced up.”

Ethan shrugs like it’s no big deal, but he lets me tug him into the bathroom anyway.

I set the medical kit on the counter and mutter about having to replenish the supplies before Mom gets suspicious. Ethan shuts the bathroom door, then reaches behind his neck to tug his sweater off over his head.

It’s hard not to stare at his ripped body in the mirror. He drops his sweater on the closed toilet, his reflection grinning at me. “This is cozy.”

“Switch places with me and put your hands on the counter,” I say, refusing to be drawn in by his suggestive smile.

Ethan sighs and we side-shuffle in the small space until he’s in front of the sink and I’m by the door.

Once he does as I ask, I can see the wound on his side much better. It’s not as bad as I first thought. The scab that had started to form had broken and is oozing. Ethan’s back muscles and biceps flex while I apply alcohol and an antibiotic salve, then tape a couple squares of gauze over his wound.

“All good?” he says, sounding like he’s ready to be done.

I frown at him. “Stay put for a minute and let me see if there are others that you don’t know about.”

“You won’t be happy until you’ve checked.” Spreading his hands flat on the counter, he holds still so I can inspect.

I lean over and start scanning the left side of his back from his shoulder to his hip. A couple of bruises show under his skin, but nothing ominous looking. Sliding my focus across his lower back, past the sword’s blade, my line of sight traces the muscles covering his ribs with serious scrutiny. I pause on a semi-round reddish spot with a wavy design. It looks familiar, and I touch his skin, trying to place the pattern.

Ethan flexes under my touch but doesn’t move or lift his head. The realization hits me like a kick in the gut…Actually, like a kick delivered by a soccer shoe. That’s the pattern my brain just placed. I close my eyes and try not to cry. It hurts so much to think about him being a constant target. To think of him being cut, kicked or beaten. I know this is his reality, but seeing the physical results really hits home and tears my heart in two. It’s like his dreams have finally come to life. How freaking unfair is that?

Exhaling through my nose to calm my inner anger, I continue to slide my gaze up his back and my eyes stutter on the Corvus symbol at the top of his sword just under the handle. It’s the raven yin-yang design I’ve seen many times, but this time something is different on the white raven’s wing.

I hold my breath and step closer until my chest touches his back, then squint at the symbol because I think my eyes are playing tricks on me. But they’re not.

“Oh, Ethan…” I whisper.

“What?” He jerks his head up, a cocky, devil-may-care smile on his face. “Another wound I didn’t know about?”

I shake my head and stare at the one word written in a fancy script. “When did you get my name tattooed on the white raven?”

Ethan stills and a serious expression settles on his face. “You will always be my light, Nara. The other half of me.” Vulnerability briefly flashes in his eyes. “Do you like it?”

It makes me sad that he sees himself as fully dark, but I adore that he sees me as his other half. “I love it,” I say, then reach up and trace my fingers on my name along the white raven’s wing.

Ethan drops his head and shudders, then groans out my name in a warning tone.

“What?”

His hands curl into fists on the counter. “You need to stop or I won’t apologize for what happens between us in this shoebox of a bathroom.”

“But I’m just touching one small part.” I tease lightly, still surprised how much my touch on his tattoo affects him.

His head snaps up and his darkened gaze narrows, locking with mine in the mirror. “You’re lighting a match, Nara.”

The full force of his burning stare sends heat roaring through me, making me want to see what happens when he loses even a tiny bit of control.

I bite my lip and slowly slide my finger down the black raven’s wing this time.

Chapter Fifteen

Nara

Before my finger reaches the bottom of the black raven’s wing, my back’s against the door, and Ethan’s chest is pressed to mine. Setting his hands flat against the door above my head, Ethan looks down at me, raw intensity shimmering in his eyes. “Last chance to call it quits.”

His heart thumps hard against mine, making my pulse jump even more. I slide my arms around his neck and pull his mouth close to mine, whispering against his lips, “What fun is that?”

Ethan’s mouth crushes mine, and I accept the hard press of his lips with fervor. His hands slide to my butt, gripping tight, and he steps between my legs, pressing his hardness intimately against me. Thrilled, I dig my fingers into his hair and swallow my moan of pleasure that rushes to the surface, keeping it locked inside where I can savor the vibration running through me. Tangling my tongue with his, I suck his bottom lip between mine, then slowly pull back, nipping his lip before I come back for more.

I feel the suppressed rumble in his chest a split second before he breaks our kiss and grips the bottom of my sweater. He yanks it over my head in one swift movement, and I’m lifted in his arms before the sweater hits the floor. We fall against the door once more completely lost in each other.

Excitement zips through me, the heat between us burning hotter than it ever has before. I wrap my legs tight around his hips, then let out a quiet gasp of delight when he rolls his hips and a jolt of desire radiates from my center, splintering all the way to my toes and fingertips. I flatten my palms over his broad shoulders and start to slide them down his back, wanting to explore all of his warm skin.

“Don’t touch my tattoo,” he says in a low warning against my jaw.

“But you just let me. Twice.”

“That’s about all I can handle right now.” He swallows and shakes his head, his body vibrating under me. “It’s so freaking intense, Nara. I can’t describe it. One day, I’ll let you have at it and hope to hell I don’t have a heart attack.”

He sounds so on edge, I cup his face to calm him and whisper, “I love that you added my name to your tattoo. Does that make me a Corvus by proxy now?”

A quick laugh rumbles, and he dips his head to press his lips to the curve of my breast above my bra. When his eyes snap back to mine, blue and black swirl in the depths. “It makes you
everything
to me.”

Emotion clogs my throat and I blink back tears, worrying what the future holds once he finally accepts that he’s the Master Corvus. “You are my rock, my solid foundation, my home. No matter what happens, you always will be.”

“Nothing is going to happen to me,” he rasps against my jaw before nipping at my earlobe. His strong hands grip my hips and he settles my body right where he wants me. Rocking into me, he moves slow and purposefully, setting a seductive pace.

My breathing elevates to the arousing rhythm building between us. “Promise?” I pant in his ear, my desire spiraling.

“I’ve come too far to lose the one thing in my life that matters by something as lame as dying.”

I’m so on edge, I’m going to fly apart any second, but I need to hear him say everything will be okay. I fist a hand in his hair and tug slightly, hissing,
“Promise me, Ethan.”

“Damn, you jack me up.” His fingers dig into my rear and he surges against me. Adding just the right amount of blissful pressure, he groans in my ear, “Cross my heart, Sunshine.”

I grip him tight and cry out his name against his neck. Quivering all over, I absorb the waves of euphoria rolling through me. While my body trembles, Ethan murmurs his love along my jaw and we slide sideways, apparently hitting the light switch.

The tiny room douses in complete darkness, at least for a split second until our eyes adjust. Then a glowing light partially illuminates the room. Just when I vaguely wonder if Mom added a glowing Christmas plug-in to the bathroom, Ethan quickly sets me down, and the room goes dark once more.

“Did you see that?”

He sounds so freaked out, I start to reach for the light switch, but he says, “Don’t turn on the light.”

“Why?”

“Just wait.”

We stand there in the bathroom, breathing heavily for a couple of seconds. Finally I say, “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

“I think it’d be better if I showed you.”

“Okaaaay.” Why is he acting so weird? “Wouldn’t that be easier with the light on?”

“Move in front of me,” he says, sounding calmer, assured.

“I am in front of you.”

“No, stand in front of me facing the mirror.”

I move in front of him. “What am I supposed to see in the dark?”

“Watch,” he says right before he folds his hand over my right shoulder.

“What are you seeing that I can’t?”

“Hmm, something else must cause it…” he mumbles right before his other hand slides down my belly. The second his fingers brush the waistband on my jeans, a low glow lights up around his hand.

“What the—?” I gasp just as Ethan removes his hand and the room goes dark once more.

“I think I know what the trigger is now,” he says next to my ear, his voice confident and seductive. Fingertips trail down my cleavage next, and a burst of warm, glowing light follows their path. Once he moves his hand away, faint fingerprints glow on my skin. “When our touch is intimate, this warm illumination happens.”

“This is crazy. It wasn’t like this before. Why now?” I say, and Ethan quickly turns me to face him.

“Is it crazy?” he asks in the darkness. “We’ve grown closer, our love is stronger. Maybe it’s just…” He slides his hand under my hair, cupping the back of my neck. When he traces his thumb along my jaw, a low light shines against our faces. It remains lit when he reaches my mouth and slides his thumb sensually along my bottom lip. “Us,” he finishes simply, then presses his lips to mine.

I kiss him back, loving this unexpected uniqueness happening between us. Ethan never ceases to amaze me. His charisma is so addicting, he’s like a drug I just can’t get enough of. This new layer only enhances our intimacy. I touch his jaw, expecting glowing warmth to spread under my fingertips. I laugh when nothing happens. “Hmmm, apparently you don’t feel anything when I touch you.”

“It’s indescribable what I feel when you touch me,” he says in a low tone. “The word intimacy doesn’t even begin to define it. The glow aspect must be a ‘me to you’ thing.” A wicked smile flashes. “It’ll make it easier for me to see which parts of you I haven’t touched yet. You’ll be lit up like a Christmas tree by the time I’m done with you.”

The thought warms my cheeks, but then they flame when another realization flashes. How long does it last? And will others be able to see? I glance down to make sure my skin he already touched isn’t still glowing. Thankfully, the effect has already faded.

Ethan chuckles. “Had you going there for a sec, didn’t I?”

I smack his shoulder. “Not funny. Can you imagine my father’s reaction if he saw your glowing handprints all over me?”

He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me close. “I like this idea of branding your body from head to toe with my handprints. Sounds like an awesome plan.”

“I think the feather on my shoulder will have to do.” Giggling, I snake my arm around his waist and glide my other hand down the front of his jeans. “Now, where did we leave off?”

Grinning, he presses his aroused body against my palm. “You were about to show me—”