Primal Heat 05 - Darkness Reborn

against the emotions that Sarah had brought to life.
    It was like a battle between two demons inside him. The dark. The light. The pain. The salvation. Death. Life. Hell. Sarah. Every cell in Kane's body burned like acid had been bled into his veins, plunging through him and incinerating every tissue in his body. The more he kissed her and the more he immersed himself in her, the greater the pain. Sweat streamed over his brow, and his body shook from the force of the internal battle being waged within him. "Son of a bitch." He broke the kiss, gasping at the surge of agony ripping through him. Bracing himself above Sarah, he threw his head back, bellowing in fury at the darkness eviscerating him. "What the fuck do you want?" he shouted at the blackness trying to take him. "What the hell is it?"
    Kane.
    Sarah's desperate voice broke through the darkness trying to consume Kane, and he jerked his gaze down to the woman beneath him. Her dark hair was tangled across the forest floor, her skin ashen, tears squeezing out beneath her thick lashes. His gut tore as he saw the marks on her throat from her brother, the bruises covering her arms. Her body was trembling beneath his, so vulnerable, so fragile, so desperate.
    Her eyes flickered open, and he saw anguish in those blue depths. There was so much pain and betrayal in them. Fear. Hopelessness. The extent of her suffering tore right through his gut. "No more, Sarah," he growled. "No fucking more."
    Then he lowered himself on top of her and offered every single breath of life he had to give. It wasn't much. Hell, it wasn't much at all, but it had been enough to keep him alive after five hundred years of battle and life-threatening injury. It had to be enough to save her. He was going to make damn sure it was.
    He fisted her hair and kissed her again, and this time, he gave her everything. The kiss was intense and ravaging, and he unleashed every last bit of fury, anger, hope, life and passion he had into their connection.
    Yes, Sarah whispered. More.
    You can have it all. Kane deepened the kiss, thrusting everything he had into it. But the moment he opened himself to her, the darkness inside him roared to life, trying to hold him back, trying to stop him from connecting with the beauty of her spirit. The physical pain was brutal, like knives carving off his skin, but the depths of torment to his soul was a thousand times worse. It felt like something was trying to vacuum his spirit right out of his chest. His breath stuck in his lungs, and he fought for air, even as he deepened his kiss, reaching for Sarah with the very soul that the darkness was trying to tear away from him.
    Come to my light, Kane. Connect us. I can help you.
    A primal scream began to hammer at his mind, the wail of death and darkness trying to overtake him. He knew this was what had been coming for him for so long, and it was trying to take him now. He fought for breath, he fought for sanity, and he fought for his soul, even as he continued to offer himself to Sarah, trying to give her spirit an anchor to hold onto. Their connection wasn't just for her now. It was for him. He felt like her kiss, her touch, her skin were all that was keeping him from being sucked into the void clawing at his ankles, trying to drag him down further and further...
    Sarah flattened her palm across his chest, and white heat leapt from her, knifing right into his chest, splitting the blackness away from his lungs. He sucked in his breath frantically, his heart pounding with the violence trying to take it.
    He knew then that as much as he was her salvation, she was his. She was his only chance, and he was hers. He had no idea what was going on between them, but he knew that neither of them had a chance alone. They needed more. They both needed more. They needed each other. And they needed it now.
    He shoved at her shirt, tearing it over her head. Skin to skin, the rush leapt through him, and Sarah gasped at the contact as he lowered himself back on top of her.
    Yes, Kane. Yes . Sarah ran her fingers through his hair, kissing him as desperately as he was kissing her.
    He kissed her jaw, her throat, her collar bone, her breasts. Frantic, desperate, a race against death for both of them. He fought to reach for her with his mind, but the darkness was like a shield between them. Sarah. I can't reach you.
    You have to! This isn't enough!
    Kane felt the brush of her mind, and he was suddenly hit with an overwhelming sense of