Page 97 of A Wild Darkness

Irritation whips at my back. “I can’t.”

Stevie rises to her feet. “Come to bed with me,” she demands.

“Stevie,” I say her name with exasperation.

“I need to be next to you. And it looks like you need to be next to me, too.”

I wipe a hand down the front of my face. “Fine.”

Then she walks away, expecting me to follow.

While rising to my feet, I give myself a pep talk on how to keep my hands to myself. I enter the dark room with only the light from a high moon shining through the curtains. It casts a beautiful glow on her face, and I can’t help but smile.

As I approach the opposite side of the bed, she flips back the comforter, gesturing for me to get in. I take one last look at the safety of the living room before sliding into the bed.

Stevie stays on her side until I’m covered, and then she slides over to me. Without a thought, I open my arm for her to tuck herself into. And she does.

I squeeze my eyes shut and think about everything else we have to do, but the smoothness of her skin and the sweetness of her lips.

It’s going to be a long fucking night.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

SEBASTIAN

Loud banging on the hotel door startles me awake. Stevie is out cold, her leg wrapped around my waist, and her hair is strewn over the pillow.

Another loud knock. She doesn’t stir.

Carefully, I gently move my left leg off the bed, then push myself up and gently lift her leg, softly setting it on the bed. As the knocking continues, I feel a rush of urgency.

I close the door behind me once I leave the bedroom, then I sprint to the door and swing it open.

“Yeah?” I answer and come face to face with Silas.

His expression shows concern. “Sorry to disturb you, but have you seen our member Larry at all today?”

Not expecting him to discover Larry’s disappearance so quickly, my back straightens, preparing to respond to him. “I haven’t. Annabel and I haven’t left the room all morning.”

His forehead furrows. “Huh.”

“What’s wrong?”

“He and Bob are sharing a suite this weekend, and Bob said he never came back to their room last night.” Didn’t see that one coming.

I twist my face, showing shock. “That’s strange. He was checking out those dancers pretty heavily.” I plant the thought in his mind. “Maybe he left with one of them?”

“Yeah, maybe. I thought I’d check in with everyone to see if they’ve seen him. So far no one has,” Silas says.

“I’ll ask Annabel when she wakes up,” I offer, trying to sound as troubled with the situation as he is.

“That’s great, thank you. And we’ll see you this evening for a check-in before everyone is released to do as they wish.” His eyes darkened, telling me exactly what he’s referring to.

“Tonight is the last night, isn’t it?” I say.

“These weekends go by so fast.” Then he suddenly dips his head toward mine. “But we all know the most anticipated part of this event is your free rein in this little unsuspecting town.”

Anger whips at my back. The only killing that will be done this weekend is by me.