Defining Darkness - K E Osborn Page 0,66

I feel it in my bones, but I need to let her have this moment, a moment of freedom. I don’t know when she’ll get another one. So, I move in behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist, holding her to me. I’m unsure if she’ll fight me on it, but when she cuddles into me, her head falling back on my shoulder, I take every ounce of this I can get.

My lips gently kiss under her ear. “I never meant to hurt you.”

Eva’s eyes are still closed, basking in the setting sun. “I understand. Problem is, you did, but I don’t want to hate you for the sake of it. Not when my body doesn’t hate you… At. All.”

Exhaling, I hold her tighter. “I can’t promise there will be many moments like this, Chiquita. I can’t promise you excursions to fancy places, or to give you the world. Not until I find a way to fix the fact you’re meant to be dead.”

Her eyes open watching the sunset slowly fade in the distance. “I’m not sure how you will fix it, Nycto, but you will find a way. It may not be today or tomorrow. Hell, it might take a year… but I can wait. Being here, now, seeing this will tide me over. It’s worth it just to be here with you.”

“We’ll stay to watch the sun go down, but then we need to get back. We can’t be out in the open like this for too long, Chiquita. It’s dangerous.”

“Thank you. Thank you for bringing me. I reacted when I found out—”

“You had every right to—”

“You’re damn right I did. What I was saying was I reacted. I’m not sorry about how I reacted, Nycto, but I am sorry I did it in front of everyone. I never want to put your presidency in jeopardy or make your brothers think less of you because of me.”

Hearing her words means more than she could ever understand. “Being president means a lot to me. It shows those asshole kids I’m worth something, that I’m more than they thought of me growing up, but I’m making bad choices when it comes to you. You blind me, Eva.”

She exhales, turning in my grip to face me. Her arms loop around my neck as she stares in my eyes. “I make bad choices when it comes to you, too. Maybe we blind each other. Maybe we’re not good for each other?” she asks, her eyes drooping.

I bring my hand up to caress her cheek. “Maybe we’re not, but I never was one to follow the rules. Eva. I’d break every damn rule if it meant being with you.”

Her bottom lip trembles, then she leans forward pressing her lips to mine. My skin comes alive, bursting with energy as she kisses me. As her tongue collides with mine, my hand grabs a handful of hair holding her to me as we kiss, with the sun slowly fading out in the distance sending the sky into the dull hue of night.

I lose track of how long we stand next to my ride kissing, but the sunset fades to twilight, which turns to nightfall. When I finally pull back from her, her eyes are brighter than the twinkling stars above. She might be angry at me, but we’ll work through this together. It will take some time, but we’re going to be okay.

“I need to get you back. The guys will send out a fucking search party. We have a forty-five-minute ride home.”

She glimpses over her shoulder at the beach one more then inhales. “I love the smell of the ocean… I hope we get to come here again sometime.”

My fingers tighten around hers. “I promise, Chiquita, I’ll bring you back one day.”

She dips her chin, then slides past me to grab hold of her helmet. I help Eva secure it properly, then I jump on my ride. She moves in behind me, and I take one last look over Clearwater Beach. I start my engine, duck walking out of the parking space. Revving the engine, Eva grips hold of me tighter as I take off toward home.

As I exit the Pier 60 parking lot, a couple of cars follow behind us. I take off quickly to get to the roundabout to take me back over the Memorial Causeway. One car turns off down Mandalay Avenue, the other follows behind me. While this isn’t a strange occurrence, I’m keeping an eye firmly on my