Wilde Rapture by Taige Crenshaw Read Free Book Online

missed you, Darius,” she said, pulling her foot away.
    She shifted, laying her body on his. He reclined on the couch. Nia kissed him gently. Darius cupped her ass, putting his leg between hers. Nia’s sleep shirt rode up, and she rocked her bare mound against his pants. Her wetness through the fabric made him groan.
    A loud ringing interrupted them. Nia pulled away, sitting up. She grabbed her cell phone off the table and put it to her ear.
    “Hudson. I’ll be right there, Lauren.” She stood and hurried to the bedroom.
    Darius sighed. He was getting used to the interruptions to their time. He didn’t like it, but he was dealing with it. Nia strode back in. She paused by him and kissed his lips.
    “We need to talk,” Darius said, holding on to her.
    Nia’s scowl told him she knew what he was referring to. She pulled away and went to the elevator. She waved briefly as she entered. The door closed. Darius rubbed his fingers through his hair, then stood and went to get ready for bed. He had to decide what to do about their relationship.

Chapter Five

    The sound of the door closing caught his attention. Darius glanced at the time. It was three in the morning. Nia was tiptoeing across the darkened living room. Darius snapped on the light. She squealed, hand going to her gun.
    Nia lowered her hand and frowned. “You know better than startling me. What the hell are you doing sitting in the dark?” She took off her gun and set it on the end table, then strolled towards him.
    Darius stood. “We need to talk,” he said.
    “Christ, Darius. Not now. I’m tired. We can talk tomorrow.” She put her hands on her hips.
    “I’ve been pushing you to show me all of you and introduce me to your friends,” Darius said.
    “Look—”
    He cut her off. “But I can’t expect that if you don’t know about all of me.”
    Nia frowned warily. “What do you mean, ‘all of you’?”
    Darius didn’t reply. He released his power. In a rush, his wings rose behind him to the vaulted ceilings. It was one of the reasons they had such high roofing. He spread his wings behind him, taking up the full span of the spacious room. Nia scrambled back, grabbing her gun. Hand steady and eyes cold, she held it aimed at his head.
    “What the hell are you?” she asked coldly.

    Nia held her gun steady on Darius, the man she had assumed she knew. In her thoughts, the sight of those inky-black wings rising from behind him to touch the ceiling, then spreading to take up the width of the room, replayed in a reel. She’d been sleeping with him, letting him into her life…and now this.
    I’m glad I didn’t introduce him to Gabe and Carmen.

    “That’s the problem. You’ve been keeping me at a distance. Let me in!” he roared.
    “I would keep my voice down, buddy, because I’m not the one who’s a fucking X-Man or some shit like that,” Nia said.
    Darius scoffed. “I’m not an X-Man. I’m a Garlven, from the Quilez clan—in human terms, a gargoyle.”
    “Gargoyles are those stone things, and they don’t look like you.” Nia backed up as he advanced, holding her gun on him.
    “You mean like this?” Stone flowed over his skin.
    One moment he was breathing, the next he was still. His shape was like Darius, and the wings had folded onto his back. Cautiously, Nia lowered her gun and walked to him. She circled him, studying the stone statue from all sides. Suddenly, it moved, wrenched her gun from her and flung it away. Hissing, she yanked away from him. Darius held her effortlessly, his blue eyes furious.
    “I am a Garlven, and to be with me you must deal with that,” he said.
    He released her. She stumbled back. Darius’ wings disappeared, and he strode out onto the terrace. Nia walked woodenly to the chair he had been sitting in. She dropped her hand between her legs and stared out where he had gone. She could clearly see Darius standing at the railing of the terrace, looking out over the city. She replayed the past few months, all