Page 131 of The Darkness is Calling

Explosions detonate inside my head the moment I conquer her mouth, hungry and desperate to feel all of her. My tongue lures her in, and I lick her lower lip. When she gives in and grants me access, I become a god through everything she gives me.

Her lips.

Her tongue.

The sigh that escapes her chest.

The delicate hands gripping the lapels of my jacket.

But I want her heart.

I pull away and put my mask back in place just as the voice in my earpiece – human voice – tells me the teams are in front of the cathedral.

Fortunately, whoever sent all these reinforcements doesn’t seem to have blocked the exit through the underground passage, which we discovered recently while analyzing every inch of this location, even though the door had been sealed for years.

“You need to leave with her right now. We’ll handle things here,” my older brother tells me as one of the brigadiers takes over Oliver.

I hesitate. I don’t want to leave my men behind, least of all my brothers, but Yar puts a hand on my arm, the one still holding Katya close to me.

“Go. We’ll be fine.”

I exhale shortly.

“I want at least one of them alive,” I tell him quickly, then start to leave.

Only she doesn’t move, staring at me with fire in her eyes. I don’t have time for discussions, so I lift her up, throw her over my shoulder, and leave with her despite the protests that explode from her smart mouth a second later.

The dress is fucking enormous, and the feathers cover my mask. I can barely see where I am going, and it’s getting dficult to carry her, especially because she is kicking and punching me in the back, throwing curses at me that are not at all worthy of a delicate woman like her.

Even if I slapped her ass, it would have no effect because of the tulle layers and whatever the fuck else she has under this skirt.

“Put me down!” Katya screams, still fighting me.

I don’t say a word, focused on getting to the car as fast as possible without being intercepted.

Of course, things cannot go that easily.

Out of nowhere, two men appear in front of me, blocking my access just as I am about to exit through the rusty door. The car is only a few yards away, and they prepare to shoot, but I am faster.

With two shots, I hit both their heads, and they drop in a manner that is not graceful at all.

“Oh my God!” she exclaims in horror, her entire body now stiff, no longer thrashing over my shoulder.

I manage to open the door and set her in the passenger seat.

“Do not do anything stupid, Ekaterina. We need to get out of here now.”

She says nothing, probably startled by the sharpness in my voice, but I close the door, knowing I have already set it so it cannot be opened from the inside, and round the car toward the driver’s side.

I cast one last glance at the cathedral, my heart caught by a strange feeling.

Worry for my brothers.

“Status,” I demand as I get into the car, switching the conversation to the vehicle’s speaker.

I speed off, pull off my mask, and throw it into the back, then insist again.

“Status. Someone.”