Underneath a Dark Moon (Twisted Dark #3)

Chapter Sixteen: Strange Happenings: Part Two

(Dedicated to my namesake for having the strength to fight every day since she was born. Her aunty loves her so much and loves her mama just as. This is for her continuing the fight and making everyone proud! Love you, little Anna!)

He shrugged lazily in response. "He laid claim to you though. In front of me no less." He crossed his arms over his wide chest and looked down at me. I watched him, my cheeks flushing slightly as I remembered how good his hands felt on me. How they slid down my curves, grasping me tightly as he pulled me close. It made me want to shiver, to step closer to feel it once more.

It was hard seeing him and remembering how I liked how he touched me. "Abe?" My mouth went dry as he raised an eyebrow as if acknowledging me. "About last night-"

"You prevented me from killing a jackass who deserved to die and redirected my energy into a much better pursuit." His response was cool and even and to my surprise it stung a little. He sounded so factual about it, like it was a common fact that he had used me, that it was nothing special. I felt my stomach knot and twist at that. It hurt, it was the same thing every other guy had done to me in the Covens and I hated it but for some reason it hurt worse with Abe.

"I just want to let you know that I don't normally do that." Shame and that familiar feeling of being dirty filled me up and I reached up and grabbed the necklace, squeezing it tightly in my hand. I still wore it, it was still a favour from Mercutio. Abe had been right about that. I didn't want him thinking that I stepped out and around because I didn't. I didn't want him thinking I was less because if I found a man who loved me I would be loyal and true to him till the end.

"I should hope not. You would give a lot of males heart failure with how you move. Remembering it makes mine skip a beat." At the slightly amused but heated words I glanced up at him right as his eyes raked over my body in a way that made my skin prickle with awareness and for the first time since the potion wore off, heat seemed to skip along my skin. It warmed me slightly, sinking deep into my muscles and bones.

However the response confused me, I felt like I was getting mixed signals from him. It was like he was hot and cold. "Pardon? I thought that-"

"I don't have time to explain this to you, witchling, but don't take my curtness for me not wanting you because right now I am working. So that means no matter how much I want to drag you off to our motel room to finish what we started last night, I can't." He moved closer, his words heated and damn near sinful as he moved close enough that our chest nearly brushed. He gripped my chin, making me look at him. My knees felt weak at the look of possessiveness in his eyes. My hands dropped to my sides as my mouth went dry at the look he was giving me. He was looking at me like I was everything again and I didn't know how to handle it. "Something deep inside me wants you, Lacey, I don't know what it is but I am not fighting against it because I want you just as much, if not more, than it does."He brushed his thumb along my lips and I inhaled sharply at the touch, remembering how his lips felt against mine.

He dropped his head, his breath mixing with mine as he nearly brushed his lips against mine. "However, now is not the time. We have work to do. We need to figure out what is going on with this job and what the King is doing by lying to you." He tugged on the necklace lightly and my stomach flipped inside of me. Abe stepped closer, pressing his chest to mine and my heart felt like it was going to burst free and fly away it was pounding so hard. He shifted his head, moving it until his breath brushed my ear. "Last night we were interrupted and the next time we won't be. I will make sure of it." He tugged a bit harder on the necklace as his lips brushed over my earlobe. "He shouldn't have sent you with just a necklace, Lacey, because this won't stop me. If he wanted you, he never should have sent you with me because something in time is calling you towards me and I will have you before we are done." The way he said it was almost like an oath, it had me shuddering as desire pulsed weakly through my body and I nearly swayed towards him.

Why the hell did that sound so binding and why the hell did I feel it tug on something deep inside of me that I had never noticed before? Something ancient within me seemed to slowly move and unfurl, touching my bones and sliding through my veins. I blinked as I met his gaze, why did it feel like it knew him, knew that look, that gaze?

"Use one of the healing orbs, witchling. You aren't looking well." He reached around me and into the bag before pulling a spell orb out. He stepped away and held it out for me but when I went to grab it, it slipped from our fingers. The orb fell to the tile floor and I gasped in surprise, stepping back. Glass shattered and turned to dust as a blast of hot air slammed into me as the spell was released. It swirled around me, streaking with red as it did so. My eyes widened, that wasn't what was supposed to happen. It shoved against me and I nearly tipped backwards before it shoved at me again. It streaked with red worse and I felt suddenly scared at how it was acting before it shoved me again and seemed to bound off of me and disappear into thin air.

I blinked rapidly and felt my face pale as the achiness seemed to weigh my limbs down even more. I staggered slightly, feeling drained and weak. "Lacey?" It felt like Abe's voice came from far away as my legs buckled underneath me. "Lacey!" I was barely aware of arms catching me before I hit the tile floor. A sharp coldness prickled underneath my skin in a heavy wave and I closed my eyes, my eyelids feeling too heavy to hold open.

The world felt so far away and that part of me that Abe seemed to touch radiated something similar to fury before I slipped away to where even it couldn't touch me.