Darkest Temptation by Sharie Kohler Page A

did not want him. When Ivo had fallen to darkness. When Danae had chosen his cousin—and darkness—over Luc.
    “So you do pity me?”
    “What do you expect me to feel for you, Lily? You’re in a shitty situation here.”
    She shook her head. “Couldn’t I just lock myself away every full month? Or sedate myself?”
    “That’s a hell of a burden to carry. If you slip up, innocents die.”
    She jammed her eyes in one tight blink and rolled her head side-to-side against the headrest with a heavy sigh.
    He continued, “You would need one hell of a friend to pull something like that off. Someone to confine you three nights out of every month and then free you. Someone to sedate you if needed. They could never fail. To fail would mean innocents dying.”
    “Innocents?” she bit out. “Like me.”
    He nodded. “Like you were .”
    Her face tightened, the smooth features pinching in distaste at the truth of his words. Her new ugly reality. “Yeah. I don’t have anyone like that in my life.”
    Her words resonated deep inside him. Maybe because he didn’t have anyone, either.
    He glanced to his right. The bright sun struck her hair, bringing out the buried highlights.
    “Even if you did find someone you could trust like that, he wouldn’t live long enough. Not generations like you. The years pass quickly. Sooner than you think, you would need to replace him with someone else.”
    “So what I’m looking for is a keeper who’s reliable, trustworthy, and immortal?” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Great. Can’t be too many of those walking around.”
    She met his gaze. For a long moment, their stares clung. He knew the precise moment when she realized that he was the closest she would ever come to finding that.
    A flush crept over her face. Her voice rushed forth then. “Don’t think I’m expecting you to do that for me. I don’t need you to be my savior.”
    He looked back to the road, biting back the mad urge to say he would do that for her. To put an end to his lonely existence… would it be such a sacrifice? As long as he could have her every night. As long as he could keep her with him forever. His hands tightened on the wheel.Impossible. He couldn’t keep her. She was a lycan, not a pet. As long as she lived, she was a danger. To the world. To her immortal soul… to him .
    Besides—she didn’t want him. She wanted her life back. Her freedom.
    “Let’s just hope your hunter comes through.”
    “Yeah,” she murmured. “Let’s hope.”
    *   *   *
    “You can sleep here.”
    Lily peered into the guest bedroom, her feet nudging across the threshold. Either he had changed his mind about their enjoying each other for the reminder of the month, or he’d had his fill of her. For some reason, both possibilities made her feel hollow inside.
    Something had happened to him during the car drive home. He stared at her as if she were a stranger, the gold fire of his gaze banked, remote. “There’s plenty of food downstairs. Help yourself to anything you like.”
    She strolled into the bedroom, dropping her bag on the center of the bed. They had stopped off at her house and gotten a few things to last the month.
    Facing him, she crossed her arms. “No jail cell again?”
    “I trust you won’t run.”
    She smiled, but the curve of her mouth felt brittle. “Do you?”
    He advanced on her, and she forced herself to hold her ground. “You said you wouldn’t. And I don’t think you would be foolish enough to try.” He stopped directly before her, his eyes at a hard glint. “I would hunt you. And find you.”
    This close, he flooded her, their breaths mingling hotly. Her skin tingled, every pore vibrating in awareness of him. His eyes dilated, the white flame back again at the centers as he read her desire, the beast in him waking and responding.
    She felt him, the attraction deep, primal. Beyond her experience. Heady, euphoric. His earthy male scent filled her nose. She tasted him without