Crave the Darkness Read Online Free Page A

said. His voice was like expensive velvet: rich and luxurious. It’s his most winsome quality in my opinion. I could only imagine how many women had gladly dropped on their backs from nothing more than a few words.
    Not this girl, though. “Get out,” I said, fighting to keep my voice from quavering.
    He smiled. “No.”
    “Xander.” My throat burned with emotion.
Jesus, Darian, get your shit together
. I held the knife up, straightened my arm. “I’m not going to tell you again.”
    So fast that he caught me off guard, Xander batted the knife out of my hand. It didn’t take much effort; I wasn’t holding it like I was planning to use it. It rang as it bounced off the hardwood floor and I shrunk back into my pillow. Christ, why couldn’t he just leave me alone? I didn’t want to talk to him, or anybody else. I wanted to be
alone
.
    “You
will
stop this childish behavior. Now. I’ve allowed you these months to mourn the loss of your Jinn. But that time is over. I have work for you and expect you to snap out of this depression and get to it.”
    Xander’s words had me rankled. If I’d been feeling more like myself I would have shown him how much with my fist. I was
not
mourning the loss of Tyler. That would indicate that he wasn’t coming back. Like he’d died or something. Tears stung behind my eyes, and I bit down hard on the inside of my cheek to stem the traitorous flow that would betray my emotions. Tyler wouldn’t leave me. Not f Cavees, orever. He was coming back. He had to. If he didn’t . . . well, let’s just say I didn’t want to think about what I’d do if he stayed away for good.
    “I want you cleaned up, properly dressed, and at my house in an hour.” He turned on a heel and headed for the door.
    I didn’t take my eyes off his broad back as I tried to keep myself from committing an act of violence. Xander’s steps grew silent and he paused, shouting from the elevator, “Don’t make me come back here for you, Darian. It’ll be more than a cordial visit if I do.
One
hour.”
    The gate slid closed with a rasping of metal, and the gears once again whirred to life, taking the Shaede King from my apartment. I guessed going back to bed was out of the question.

Chapter 3
     
    I glanced down at my black boots. I’d dressed and armed myself, ready to go, without even realizing I’d done it. I held out my arms, kicked up a leg, taking stock. Ran my fingers through my damp curls. I didn’t appear any different. Showered—sure. Clean—yep, April fresh. Clothes—my standard black. But on the inside, I was a different person. I didn’t feel like the cold, ruthless killer I used to be. Though I could still do some heavy-duty collateral damage, I felt . . . empty. Alone. One half of a whole. “Come home, Tyler,” I whispered, praying that he’d hear me. “Please.”
    Sunlight melded with my skin as I left my corporeal form, obeying Xander’s orders lest he come back for a fresh round of torture. It’s not that I was anxious to get out of the apartment. The idea of leaving actually made me break into a cold sweat. But I knew Xander. He’d come back. Again, and again, and again. He’d annoy me to the point that my life would become even more hellish than it already was. Besides, going back to work may actually help distract me from the pain. Because the bourbon sure as hell didn’t.
    I let myself into Xander’s house. Why not barge in? He’d barged in to my place easy enough. The usual sounds of daily hustle and bustle seemed absent as I walked past the foyer and down the long hallway to Xander’s office. I was just a little over five minutes late. Not enough to encourage his high-and-mighty reproof, but hopefully just enough to rattle his chain a bit. The king’s office door was half-closed and I walked right in, unsurprised to find him sitting as his desk, going through a stack of papers as usual. Being a monarch struck me as incredibly boring, but at least he was safe, holed