Defining Darkness - K E Osborn Page 0,23
her. I don’t know why, but she makes the world an easier place when I’m in her presence.
I sleep better.
See clearer, but I can be completely blind at the same time.
She’s dangerous.
Captivating.
Completely addictive.
She has the potential to be my undoing if the threads to this cord haven’t started to unravel completely already.
To her, I’m her captor.
A man holding her against her will.
The man who let her sister slip away from her grasp into the arms of pure evil.
How can she see me as anything but her captor?
Waking up in my arms the way she did probably freaked her the fuck out. Even though it felt all kinds of right to me, it kind of freaked me out if I’m being completely honest with myself. I don’t sleep with women in my bed. I fuck them, they leave.
Eva isn’t like that.
Sure, I’ve thought about her naked. I’d be a fool not to. She’s sexy as sin, but there’s more to her than her looks. I want to get to know her. I want to save her from everything wicked in the world—that should include myself.
But I want her.
Everything in me craves her.
I’m no good for someone like Eva.
But I will protect her from everything coming our way because she doesn’t deserve the life that was destined for her and Ivy. Neither of them do. I will lay down my life before I see either of them taken into that world.
I simply need to find a way to make sure Eva acknowledges I’m not the bad guy in this scenario.
Even though in every damn aspect, I probably am.
Chapter Ten
EVA
I’m so confused.
I’m not sure what I’m supposed to be feeling, let alone thinking. I fell apart last night in Nycto’s arms. He held me. Rocked me to sleep. I never thought, not for a single second, I would ever be as comfortable in his arms as I was. For some reason, I felt the safest I ever have when he held me. This entire shitstorm has been a whirlwind. A rollercoaster.
But where would I be if he didn’t take me?
Where Ivy is now, I suppose.
My stomach clenches as I sit on the edge of the bed. My mood is falling even more. Nycto left. I went to the bathroom—he left me without a word. I felt like we had made a connection, then just like that, he took that connection away. I read him all wrong. He isn’t here to save me at all. If he were, I’d be out walking free through the clubhouse. The man doesn’t have my best interests at heart. Nycto must have something in store for me.
He’s lulling me into a false sense of security.
Yes, that’s what he’s doing.
He’s trying to manipulate me into thinking he’s a good guy.
Well, I won’t fall for it.
I won’t fall for him.
A jostling noise makes my head snap to the door. It creeks open. I sit taller waiting for Nycto to walk through, but my eyes widen when a tall woman walks in carrying some books. I tense all over. She appears rough around the edges. Her hair is onyx black. She has a cluster of star tattoos on the left side of her temple. Her plump, supple lips are covered in perfect red lipstick. Her arms are lined with black and gray tattoos, even down to her knuckles. She’s hardcore, even down to the black leather pants and skin-tight boob tube she’s wearing. She smiles while closing the door behind her. I don’t miss the sound of it locking from the outside as she struts over to me in her clear platform high heels.
How can she walk in those things?
“Hi, Eva, I’m Trixie.”
Remembering everything Nycto’s told me about her—she’s the Cuban sandwich extraordinaire, head club girl, she goes to culinary School—she doesn’t look anything like the Trixie I was imagining. Though, I guess I didn’t really picture anything when Nycto was talking about her, but this Kat Von D knock-off certainly wasn’t her.
I can’t manage to say anything back.
Her lips turn up in the most gorgeous of ways. Though she appears grunge and punk, she’s still stunning. The way her face lights up like she’s glowing when she beams instantly puts me at ease.
“I see you’re still a little unsettled being here,” she offers as she steps in front of me. “Nycto told me he was concerned about you being bored in here on your own. So, I offered to help.”
“What? So, you’re going to babysit me?”
She giggles. “There’s that feisty