In Darkness Lost by Ariel Paiement Read Free Book Online Page A

what I was thinking and feeling. My stomach churned with anxiety.
    The entire moonlit scene was too romantic. It was bringing up feelings I wanted to keep buried. Worse yet, it was causing me to wish that I could actually have Dairdra. I hadn’t even realized the extent of my love for her until now. If I let go of my rigid denial of my feelings for her, it would be a raging fire.
    I can’t let that happen. I have to keep myself distant from her to protect both of us. I need leave now.
    “Dairdra, I shouldn’t be here.”
    She gazed at her hands, and then she tilted her face up so that she could see my face. The moonlight lit her exquisite face. I wanted more than anything to kiss her right then, but I couldn’t. Kissing her might cause me to waver on my decision to shove all passion for her aside. It could destroy everything.
    It turned out I didn’t get an option.
    “Crypt?” Dairdra whispered.
    “What?”
    She took a deep breath, and then she gave me a quick, hesitant kiss full on the mouth. I jerked back, breathing hard. My heart raced.
    “You shouldn’t have done that,” I said darkly.
    A blush rose to her ivory cheeks. “I know.” She gazed at her hands, fiddling with a spray of lace on her dress. “You might not feel that way about me, and it was wrong of me to do that. Please, don’t feel any obligation to feel that way about me if you don’t. We can be just friends if you want.”
    I gave her a bemused smile.
    Her face went crimson. “I know, I was awful, and I never should’ve done that. Just…Forget I ever kissed you.”
    I laughed. “I will not! And you weren’t awful.”
    She gazed at me, cheeks flaming. “I… You yanked away, so I thought…”
    Her gaze fell to her lap, and her shimmering veil of silken black hair fell over her bare shoulders. She had excited something within me that I had kept buried for too long. Suddenly I didn’t care what happened. I wanted her to know I loved her. Even if we might never marry or have a family together, I wanted her to know that I cared. That she wasn’t alone in her love for me. Maybe, just maybe, if I could find a way to get my sister to safety, I could avoid betraying her.
    Gently, I cupped her chin in my hand. I lifted her face to mine and kissed her fearlessly. She didn’t yank away like I had thought she would. Instead, she returned the kiss, wrapping her arms around my neck. I broke away from her, breathless. I felt giddy as though I was drunk.
    “I should really go,” I whispered.
    “Don’t. Not yet. Let’s stay and look at the stars for a little while. I’ll have nightmares tonight, at any rate. I’d like to enjoy this little bit of time with you before I have to deal with that.” She was breathing hard, and her heart thumped rapidly as she leaned against me.
    “Why?” I asked suddenly.
    She looked up at me, sea-blue eyes glittering. “Why what?”
    “You’ve never indicated that you felt that way about me before. So why show it now?”
    She ducked her head, black tresses covering her face so I couldn’t see it. “I don’t know. I guess I’ve been hiding it for months on end, and I haven’t admitted it to myself. I buried it without even realizing it, and now… Well, everything’s been so traumatic, and I had to be honest with myself, Crypt. Every single feeling I’ve ever hidden concerning you suddenly started crashing into me tonight when we were coming back to my room. I couldn’t handle it. It was like… it was an overload of feelings! I had to do something with it, let you know how I felt. Not telling you… It felt like I would be lying to you if I didn’t tell you…” She trailed off.
    My arms were still around her, and I felt her trembling in my embrace. I tightened my embrace.
    “It’s fine. I…” I paused, uncertain. “I appreciate that you were level with me. I needed you to be that way so that I could let you know how I feel, I guess. I wanted to tell you.”
    She laughed softly. “How long have