Primal Heat 05 - Darkness Reborn

himself to look inside, to see if it fit him.
    It didn't.
    He opened his eyes and looked at Sarah. "I'm not Los Muerte. It's impossible."
    "Your scars match the talismans carved all over the village," she said. She touched his chest. "I can feel the darkness inside you, Kane. The violence. The evil. And that void—it felt like death, like your soul was dying. That could have been from the talismans keeping your true self buried. Maybe they were killing your soul."
    "And it's coming back to life because of you? That's the darkness and the pain, my true self trying to come back to life?" He swore, pressing his hand over hers, knowing exactly what she was talking about. His need to attack Ryland. The darkness swirling inside him that had been getting worse and worse. The restlessness. "Shit."
    Sarah moved closer, the water rippling between them as it streamed past them. "But I also feel the goodness inside you. I feel both, Kane." She looked up at him, and there was wariness in her eyes, but also warmth and acceptance. "I don't know what you are. I don't know how you can be Los Muerte and still be the man who averted his weapon so quickly when I moved in front of it."
    Kane braced his hands on either side of Sarah's neck, pulled her close, needing to feel her against him. "Shit, Sarah, of course I'd move my weapon away from you—"
    "No." She touched his mouth again. "There's one more thing about Los Muerte, Kane."
    Kane slid his hands over her hips, drawing her tighter against him. "What?"
    "He was created to wipe out the angels in the village." She raised her chin to meet his gaze. "I'm the last one left, Kane. If you're Los Muerte, then you've come back to this town to kill me."
    Kane stared at her, and for a split second, a vision flashed in his mind of Sarah dead, her body floating on the river, eyes closed, stretched out like the angel of death had wiped her out. Panic hit him, raw uncontrolled fear at the thought of her dying, and he yanked her close. She barely had time to yelp before he slammed his mouth down onto hers and kissed her.
    * * *
    Kane's kiss was frantic and desperate, almost violent, nearly consuming Sarah from the intensity of it. It was nothing like the kiss the night they'd met, which had been about emotional connection and trying to uplift each other's souls.
    This was raw, untamed possession. Desperation. And it crashed through all the shields she'd been trying to hold so tightly to protect herself from him. With a frantic moan, Sarah threw her arms around him and kissed him back, just as desperate as he was for the kiss, for the connection, for the feel of his mouth on hers.
    She didn't know how he could affect her this way, how she could dig her fingers into his scars and not feel unbridled terror, but she didn't. She just felt the raw strength of his body surrounding her, the steel of his arms as he locked her down against his solid frame, and the burning need of his soul for hers.
    His hands gripped her hips and he pushed her against the rock wall, his body pinning her against the rough earth. He was so dominant, so powerful, and her entire being wanted more. She wanted to feel his mind the way she had before. She wanted that connection. She wanted to feel him burning his way into her soul and igniting the light buried within her—
    "God, Sarah," Kane whispered against her mouth. "You're like this burst of white light into my soul."
    She laughed softly. Well, I am an angel—
    Kane broke the kiss suddenly, slamming her against the wall. He loomed over her, his eyes dark and turbulent. "I'm not here to destroy you," he ground out. "When I see you, I'm consumed by the need to protect you. These last two weeks have been hell, wondering where you were, terrified that those bastards had found you and I hadn't been there to protect you." He gripped her hair, his voice fierce and raw. "My only mission for the last five hundred years has been to find out who I am, until I met you, and then it became you." He tightened his grip and lowered his mouth to hers, almost touching, not quite. "I need to breathe the air you breathe. I need to feel your skin against mine. I need to feel your mind in my head. I burn to make love to you until the very earth itself explodes from the intensity of our passion." He lifted his gaze, his eyes blazing with fire. "Those are not the words of a man brought into this life to destroy you, Sarah. I will never, ever believe that I'm meant to destroy you. Never. "
    And