Page 8 of Protected in Darkness
“Should I take him out?”
Obsidian considered it for a moment. In a perfect world, they would eliminate Perfidious, which would keep hisamsouelotin the clear. Unfortunately, this wasn’t a perfect world, and to take down a demon the likes of Perfidious would require more power than Reidar possessed on his own.
“Just keep him in your sights,” Obsidian told him.
“Fuck. All right, but he’s got a handful ofimpietanssurrounding him. I’ve got Gryffyth with me, so we’ll do our best to distract them.”
Due to the concern in Reidar’s voice, Obsidian dematerialized, taking form in a darkened hallway to shield himself from the humans. A second later, Taayin appeared beside him. With the phone still to his ear, Obsidian strolled out, senses already reaching out to ensure there were no demons lurking nearby.
“Whatever it takes,” Obsidian ordered Reidar before disconnecting and tucking his phone in his pocket.
“I’ll go help Reidar,” Taayin offered. “You make like glue and stick close to her.”
Obsidian nodded.
No sooner had Taayin strolled off than Obsidian turned around…
And came face-to-face with his destiny.
Well, maybe face-to-face was a bit of an overstatement.
MOVINGTHROUGHHERSECTION, PENELOPECALAZANSOFFEREDdrinks to the few customers who’d been lingering for a while.
As it was Monday night during the height of the summer season, they were surprisingly slow, not a lot of people lurking about. Then again, the partiers were back in their own beds, sleeping off the hard-core weekend, while the locals kept on with their day jobs. Or night, as was her case since she’d been lucky enough to get the overnight shift.
“Penelope,” someone called in a singsong voice.
Turning slowly, Penelope scanned the people milling about, smiling when she saw Chelsea moving toward her. She prepared herself to be slammed with her co-worker’s emotions. Wouldn’t matter if Chelsea was happy, sad, or sexually frustrated, Penelope’s senses were so heightened she would feel them with the force of a tsunami.
Thanks to whatever weird curse she’d been born with, her emotional well-being was tied to others, something that had taken her years to come to terms with. Since she was a kid, Penelope had been able to feel the moods and intentions of those around her, their emotions seemingly becoming her own. It was an affliction she’d grown up with and over time had learned to not so much master but endure.
“Hey, Chels.”
The younger woman grinned widely as she held up the tattered paperback Penelope had loaned her last week. “You were right. It was amazing.”
Chelsea’s energy was calm with a hint of excitement. Nothing Penelope couldn’t handle.
“Glad you liked it.”
“I’ll put it in your locker if that’s cool.”
“Yep. Oh, and I’ve got the next book if you want to read it. I can bring it on Wednesday.”
“That would be awesome!”
As soon as Chelsea walked away, Penelope retrieved another empty glass from a slot machine, set it on her tray, then turned to head back in the opposite direction.
She came up short, nearly plowing into a man.
Righting the tipping glass on her tray, Penelope chuckled to hide her surprise. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t watching…”
Her words died in her throat as she peered up at him.Wayup. At close to seven feet tall, he wasn’t so much a man as he was a mountain. A sinfully attractive, rock-solid, muscled mountain.
Wow.
As usual, Penelope waited for the assault of emotions, the baggage that came with every person she encountered. After a few seconds, she realized there was absolutely nothing coming from him. Zip, zero, zilch. Either he was merely a husk or his emotions were blocked from her.
Though his intimidating appearance should’ve had her backing away, Penelope found her feet rooted in place as she studied his striking features. The jet-black hair, the strong, lean line of his jaw, and what had to be the most elegant mouth she’d ever seen on a man. He was, quite simply, scrumptious. Unfortunately, she couldn’t see his eyes because they were hidden behind a pair of sunglasses that should’ve made him look like a douche since it was night, but instead made him look like a badass. Her imagination ran wild, picturing the eyes behind the lenses as a dreamy blue or even a jeweled green.
