The Darkening by Robin T. Popp Read Free Book Online Page B

the people pressing against them, pressing them to gether. Determined to ignore Darius and his chauvinistic attitude, Lexi let the throbbing music wash over her. She closed her eyes, raised her arms above her head and surrendered herself to the primal beat.
    Then she felt his hand on her waist, felt it fan up over her ribs until his knuckles lightly skimmed the underside of her breast.
    "You are incredible," he whispered. "Like nothing I've ever seen." The briefest touch of his tongue on the shell of her ear made her body pulse in a way that had nothing to do with the music.
    She tried to put a little space between them, but he refused to allow it, molding his body against hers so close that she could feel the hardness of his erection through his leather pants and the thin Lycra of her dress.
    The room was suddenly too crowded and her emotions too raw. Pulling away, she melded into the crowd without a word. She didn't even bother looking for Mai. They rarely left clubs together.
    Compared to the stuffy warmth inside, the fresh night air was cool and refreshing. It went a long way toward soothing her emotions, but did little to help ease the ache inside her. There was only one cure for that, and she'd walked out on it. So she opted for the next best thing.
    A short cab ride later, she walked into Ricco's bar, made her way to the back rooms and found the party hostess.
    "Hi, Lexi," the woman said. "I'll see if he's in." She knew perfectly well Lexi only showed up when she needed to see Ricco.
    Of course Ricco was in-though he was currently occupied with someone else. Lexi didn't care. When he was finished with his current client, he'd still be able to see to her needs. One of the nice things about vampires-they could literally go all night. They also couldn't contract or spread sexually transmitted diseases. Nor could Ricco ever get her pregnant. And when she'd had enough, she could walk out and not call or see him until she needed to again-in four weeks. In her book, that made him the perfect partner.
    Lexi pointed into the outer room. "I'll wait in the lounge."
    The hostess nodded. "I'll send someone for you when he's ready"
    "Thanks." Lexi walked off. If this had been any other night, she might have gone home. She didn't like waiting and she was tired, but that damn Immortal had her wound so tight, she wanted to scream.
    Walking into the small lounge, she looked around. There was a couch running along the wall where a number of others were sitting. This area wasn't part of the rest of the bar; it was specifically for people waiting for a back room.
    She was searching for a place to sit when she heard a familiar voice. "Hello, Lexi-how are you?"
    "Derrick." She nodded to her brother-in-law, who was sitting on the couch. "What are you doing here?" When he didn't immediately answer, she realized how stupid the question was. "Sorry," she continued. "It's none of my business anyway."
    He made room for her to join him and she sat, feeling very uncomfortable. She'd only seen him a handful of times since her sister's funeral, and it occurred to her how difficult it must be for him to even be near her. She and her sister had been identical twins. Every time he looked at her, he had to see the wife he'd killed.
    She shifted on the seat, unconsciously moving farther away from him. She hadn't meant for him to notice, but he did she heard him sigh.
    "When are you going to stop blaming me for what happened?" he asked under his breath. "If I'd been in a position to stop her, I would have. Bev was the most important person in my life."
    Lexi heard the heartache and bitterness in his voice and vowed-again-to never fall in love.
    A year ago, Derrick had been in a horrible car accident. He'd sustained considerable internal injuries, including the loss of both kidneys. Neither magic nor modern medicine could repair them, but they could be replaced. A new experimental procedure developed by a foreign wizard made it possible to modify the genetic