be out there, on the loose, a little monster wreaking havoc—possibly even harming Darby. Unless Darby managed to stop her. And he doubted Darby possessed the strength or cold-blooded nature to finish her off.
“Thinking about leaving us?”
The sound of Darby’s voice startled him, but he showed no sign of it as he turned to study her. She stood in the open door of the motel. Her hazel eyes wise and knowing as she surveyed him with an arched eyebrow several shades darker than her auburn hair.
He said nothing at first, merely held her stare, annoyed at how close she had hit the nail on the head.
Finally, he retorted, “And end this good time we’re having?”
Color surged in her cheeks. “Go ahead and laugh, but this isn’t a joke to me.”
“Oh, it isn’t a joke to me either,” he bit out, advancing on her. He swiped a hand through the air. “Everything about this is wrong.” He looked her up and down where she stood shivering on the covered walk. “But you don’t want to hear that. You won’t.”
“You think I want to be in this situation? That I enjoy forcing myself on you when you so clearly don’t want to help me?” She stormed away from him, her hair whipping behind her like a fiery banner. She was almost to the door to their room before she swung back around. “I wish none of this had happened!” She waved wildly to the room where Aimee slept. “That little girl in there is seven years old! I’m twenty-seven. The same age as my mother when I was seven.” Her eyes shone in the dark like polished glass. “That could be me in there! It was me!”
“Is that what this is about?” he growled, stepping toward her. He reached for her arm, but she yanked free, shaking her head fiercely.
“No! Yes!” She made a sound, part groan, part sob, and buried her face in her hands. Lifting her face, she glared at him. “I don’t know!”
“Don’t confuse yourself here, Darby.” He pointed to the room where Aimee slept. “You’re not that girl in there. And you’re not your mother either,” he bit out.
“My mother did it for me.”
He shook his head, confused. “Did what?”
She continued, “My mother killed herself, removed herself from my life so I’d be safe. Don’t you understand? If something happened to her … if she gave in to a demon, I’d be the one caught in the crossfire. How long before the demon possessing her turned on me? Seconds? Minutes? She killed herself to protect me!”
Her words hit him like a fist. He’d never known how alike they were. “So you’ve appointed yourself Aimee’s protector to play out some sort of weird reenactment?”
Darby looked at him bleakly, the tip of her nose turning pink from the cold. “Aimee has no one.”
He took another sliding step closer. “And what about you? Who has you?”
Her jaw tightened. “I don’t need anyone.” She shook her head and looked away.
For some reason the words created a pang in his chest. He didn’t know why. Since he’d lost his mother—since he’d lost himself—being alone was all he knew. It had never bothered him. Someone else suffering loneliness had especially never bothered him before. He didn’t need anyone. Why should he care that she didn’t either?
He lightly cupped her cheek, forcing her to look at him again. “Yes, you do.”
“And what do you know about needing somebody?” she whispered. “I don’t exactly see you surrounding yourself with people. When was the last time you had anyone in your life?”
He stared at her, unable to speak. He couldn’t even breathe, he wanted her so badly right then. He dropped his hand from her face.
“That’s what I thought,” she finished. “You’re no different from me. You don’t need anyone either.”
She started to move away then, but he couldn’t let her go. Not yet. He snatched hold of her, wrapping a hand around the soft skin at the back of her neck. Her eyes widened for the barest second.
“I wouldn’t say that,” he growled, his gaze roving over her face.
And then he kissed her, smothered her gasp with the searing press of his lips on hers. The cold melted away as fire and heat erupted between them.
She held still for only a moment before coming to life and throwing herself into the kiss, pressing her body against him. He forgot everything in the taste of her, in the sensation of her body melting into his.
His hands slid