Primal Heat 05 - Darkness Reborn

given him the strength to do the impossible and break the bond. "You make me a better warrior," he said. He felt drained and exhausted, and Thano weighed heavily on his soul, so heavily he could feel it almost crushing him. His body hurt, a sharp, throbbing pain that never seemed to cease, and even his soul seemed to be laced with acid, burning him with every breath he took. But somehow, despite all that, simply being in Sarah's presence made it all seem to fade into a throbbing ache. "You give me respite from who I am."
    Sarah hugged the blanket tighter around her and smiled. Her gentle, endearing expression softened her eyes and made something tug in his heart. "You are not so bad yourself, Kane Santiago."
    He smiled then, something twisting in his gut. A need to protect, to care for her, to be the man that Mason had never been. "You need to sleep."
    "You do, too."
    "Ten minutes and I'll be fine." He gripped the doorframe and hauled himself to his feet, surprised at how much his legs were aching. He looked down and saw black stains around his legs, the remnants of the tendrils that had been holding him, keeping him from using his powers. He frowned, surprised to see them. He'd felt something snap when he'd erupted, and he'd felt the distinct release of being freed from the bonds of something...but he didn't know what.
    But the black was there still, and so were the scars. What had Luc felt so triumphant about? What had Kane missed?
    Sarah walked over to the couch, drawing his attention. She was moving gingerly, as if her body was on the verge of crumbling. "I'll help you make up the couch—"
    "No." He caught her arm. "We're sleeping together in the bedroom."
    Sarah stiffened, but he didn't miss the surge of desire in her eyes. "Kane, that's not smart."
    "Why not?" He let his blanket drop to the floor and grasped her hips, pulling her toward him.
    Sarah put her hand on his forearm, bracing herself against him. "Because there's so much going on. I don't know what is happening, or who you are or what—"
    "I'm me." He pressed his lips to the side of her neck and smiled when she sucked in her breath. But even as he spoke, visions of what Luc had showed him flashed through his mind. Kane immediately swore and dropped his hands from her. Sweat beaded across his brow, and he stepped back. "Shit."
    "No!" Sarah came after him. "Don't think about that—"
    He met her gaze. "That's what you were talking about, wasn't it? That I could have really murdered my own sheva and son, right? That I could be Mason all over again?" He held her arm, showing both of them the marks. "That these don't protect you from me." He gripped her shoulders, suddenly filled with revulsion for who he was. How could he even think about seducing Sarah, when he could be the very creature that she feared the most?
    Sarah's eyes glowed luminous, and he saw in them the answer she didn't want to give. That she was afraid of that, too.
    And how could she not be? They'd both be fools if they didn't acknowledge that as a real truth, as a real possibility, especially when he could feel that same darkness still swirling through him. Something had happened to him when he'd snapped in the air, and he didn't know what it was. Not yet. But something was changing inside him. "Can't you feel that, Sarah?" He took her hand and pressed it to his chest. "There's something happening inside me."
    Sarah closed her eyes, shuddering at the rightness of what it felt like to have Kane's bare chest beneath her palm. How could he feel so right and be so dangerous? What was he? A part of her wanted to trust him so badly, but she'd been so wrong before. How did she know this time was right?
    Sarah. Kane's voice drifted through her mind. Desperate. Dangerous. Tell me what you see inside me. You were in there before when we made love. You saw parts of me I can't. Tell me what I am. Tell me what you see.
    She was suddenly filled with the power of his being as he opened the barriers between them. She tumbled into his aura, and this time, it was like a raging inferno. So many colors and emotions. So much black and red, and other angry colors. The icy chill of cold death hit her, and she froze, shocked by what she was sensing inside him. She could feel the pulsating gloom of death and pain, torture, violence, the raw need to destroy. It was so strong and powerful in him, rushing through him like a violent tidal wave of destruction. She instinctively jerked back, breaking their