Page 64 of One Forbidden Moment

"It's not me it wants.It wants you," he said, voice low and rough.

Jillian's fingers dug into his arm."Why?"

He didn't know how to answer.But he knew what Finn had told him.The men who lived in Everstill weren't just trapped there.They were held there, bound by their own darkness until someone loved them enough to pull them free.Love was the one thing Everstill couldn't control, couldn't predict, couldn't cage.And Jillian...she was the kind of door that didn't just let someone pass through.

She was the kind that could redeem a man.The kind Everstill feared.The kind Everstill wanted to break.

The shadow pulsed, a slow, deliberate throb that made the lights flicker.

Jillian whispered, "Moe...I can feel it."

He grabbed her hand, squeezing hard."Don't let it in."

The shadow stretched again, reaching, testing, pressing against the edges of the room like it was trying to find a crack in her.

Moe stepped forward, fury burning through him."You're not touching her."

The darkness froze.

Then it recoiled.It pulled back into the corner, folding itself into a thin line, then snapping out of sight like it had been yanked away.

The air lightened.The lights steadied.The room returned to normal.

Jillian sagged against him, shaking."It wasn't just watching this time."

He held her tight, his arms wrapped around her, his chin resting on her hair."No.It was testing you."

She swallowed hard."Testing...what?"

He pulled back enough to look at her, his hands on her shoulders."Your strength.Your fears.Your breaking point."

She trembled."Moe...I'm not a door like Finn thinks.You kidnapped me and forced me into Everstill.Why would it want me?"

He cupped her face gently, his thumbs brushing her cheeks."Regardless of how I took you, you're the door it wants."

Her eyes filled with fear.

"We are stronger."He leaned his forehead against hers."I'm not letting it take you."

She breathed out shakily."And I'm not letting it takeyou."

Because the darkness had shown its hand, Moe knew one thing with absolute certainty.

The real fight was about to begin.