Page 198 of Lost in the Dark

And then I was in the woods again. The same woods where he'd almost killed me before. But also, the same woods we were in now. My heart thundered, but everything else sounded like it was under water.

He was coming, and he was going to get me. I just knew it.

"Come on, baby, come out, come out wherever you are." His voice was low, cloying, pressing against me as though it was a physical thing threatening to suffocate me.

I let out a scream and bolted, ignoring how branches snatched at my hair, reached for me like craggy hands.

"There you are," he said, his words a purr. Delight dripped from them.

Karl was on me in a flash. He tossed me to the ground and then flipped me over, pinning my hands above me, beer bittered breath tainting the air between us.

"You're mine. Always." His teeth gleamed in the moonlight.

"No! I don't want you. I left."

"You can never leave me."

I twisted my head to the side, closing my eyes tight as he said the words that I knew were true. He would never let me. It didn't matter how far or fast I ran; he'd always catch up with me.

And then my hands were free, the weight on top of me dragged backwards, followed by a loud thump. I opened my eyes and scrabbled to sitting, only to see Karl crumpled at the base of a tree, the trunk of it dented in his shape.

What the hell…

I scanned around, looking for someone else, something strong enough to have done that to him, feeling my fear spiral and tighten around my throat.

"Please don't hurt me," I whimpered.

The darkness changed then, something deeper black emerging from the night, burning violet orbs for eyes, thin narrow cracks like lightning shifting along what I could only assume was its skin.

This dark creature stepped towards me and I thought my heart might stop until it crouched down and cocked its head to one side, considering me.

"I would never hurt you, innocent one," it said. The voice was low, manly, though I couldn't tell what form it took; the lightning seemed to crack and shift, along with its shape.

If I hadn't been so scared, I'd have laughed. No one would ever think of me as innocent. "Who are you?"

"You may call me Ash."

Ash. It wasn't a threatening name, and I didn't get a threatening vibe off him; despite what he'd done to Karl.

"Will you come with me?"

I nodded, and then before I knew it, we were dancing in a ballroom full of light. His form was still dark and full of shadows, his limbs long, but his body against mine was as firm as any other.

"Do you like this?" he whispered in my ear. His voice was like silk against my skin, caressing me like the most deliciously cool, clean fabric. Nothing like the beer breath of Karl.

No. That man deserved none of my thoughts here. I turned my focus back to the one I was dancing with, if he could even be called a man. And yet, I could feel him solidly. His hand in mine, the other on my hip, his firm chest. I slipped my hand down from his waist and found a very firm ass, which made me wonder what else might be firm as well.

As if in response, he pressed tighter against me to show me. Yet still, we danced, our feet not missing a beat, even as I could think of nothing but this shadow man and the ache growing inside me.

He lay me down on a bed, the mattress sinking just a little. He followed, stalking up my body like a predator. One set on devouring me in the most delicious way. My heart raced, but the tightness in my core told me this was less to do with him and more to do with the ache inside me and the desire I had to get him inside me, to feel something other than pain or grief. I ripped at the buttons on my shirt, pulling each side away to reveal the swell of my breasts.

Ash hissed in desire, his dark tongue moving from between his lips to lap at first one nipple and then the next. His tongue was rough and perfect, and it made me tip my head back in pleasure, drawing a groan from my lips.

I needed him, now, more than anything I'd ever needed before.

And that's when I knew that this was a dream. No one had ever made my body hum like this with so little foreplay. I didn't care how I knew this was a dream, though, just that I wanted more. Needed more.

My fingers skimmed to my waist, and I undid my fly, tilting my body so that I could get my pants over my hips and ass. Ash's mouth moved away from my breast, over my chest to my neck where he sucked hard, sharp teeth grazing against the skin. Somehow, hands were helping to pull my pants off, free me from the awful items of clothing that were getting between me and this glorious creature. He was like no man I'd ever seen, and none that existed as far as I knew.