Crave the Darkness Read Online Free PDF

protecting. You have been assigned that task. End of discussion.”
    I knocked my heel against Xander’s desk, hoping some dried mud clung to the heavy tread of my boot. I heard the dirt drop onto the polished surface of the king’s antique desk and felt a perverse sense of satisfaction. “What makes you think she’s in danger? It’s not like the baby is going to eat its way out of her stomach.” At least, I hoped not. Even for Anya, an
Alien
-style birth wouldn’t be appealing.
    Xander leaned forward, and his voice dropped to little more than a whisper. “There have been threats made.”
    Of course there had. “By who?”
    Xander shrugged his massive shoulders. “She won’t tell me.”
    “And you don’t think that’s a little suspicious?”
    “I think it’s very suspicious. But what do you expect me to do, beat the information out of her?”
    I cocked my head to the side. Couldn’t hurt.
    “You don’t give Anya enough credit, Darian.”
    I wished he’d stop saying my name. The tone carried too much possession. It didn’t appeal to my ears the way it did when Ty said it. “I think you give her too much credit, Xander.”
    “You don’t even know her.”
    “Enough to know I don’t like her.”
    “You don’t have to like her; you must only protect her.”
    Xander regarded me with a wantonness that set my nerves on end. As if he were a starving man and I were a ham sandwich. He made no secret of the fact that he “loved” me, though I suspected he loved the chase more than anything. No one denied Xander, except for me. If I jumped on his bed and spread my legs, he’d lose interest before the sun rose the next morning. But I wasn’t about to try out that theory. “Can’t you please ask someone else?” I didn’t have the energy to fight with him. The warm, solitary comfort of my bed beckoned to me. I wanted to go back to it and sleep until Tyler decided to come home.
    “There is no one else,” Xander said. The worried expression that overrode his lust told me he knew exactly what I’d been thinking, and it didn’t sit well with him. “The job is yours.”
    “I’m not babysitting her for the entire nine months.”
    “Twelve.”
    Twelve? Good lord. Pregnant for a year? That didn’t sound like a picnic. “I’m not going to sit and hold her hand for an entire year.”
    “You don’t have to. Only until we find out who’s threatening her and why. Once the threat is eliminated, you’ll be relieved of duty.”
    Finally, an aspect of this assignment that fit the job description. “And who will be doing the eliminating?”
    Xander grinned like he’d just given me a ten-carat diamond ring. “You, of course.”
    My lips stretched into a smile, and I thought my face would crack; it had been so long since I’d felt any kind of happiness. Funny, how taking out the bad guy can make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
    Xander beamed. It was one of the few times I’d seen him truly pleased. “I’m also assigning a small task force to operate under your direction. I won’t have you working alone. It’s too dangerous.”
    If my smile got any bigger, my cheeks would explode. A task force meant manpower. Manpower meant I wouldn’t have to be secured to Anya at the hip. “I want Raif to pick the team members. And I want this task force kept to a manageable number. I don’t need an army. But when it comes down to neutralization of our mystery target, I go alone.” Assassins don’t work in groups. Kind of negates the stealth factor.
    Xander inclined his head, though his expression soured a bit. “Fine. Raif will pick the team. An intimate grouping of specialized soldiers. I don’t like the idea of you going out on your own, though, but I am aware that you can take care of yourself far better than most.”
    Damn straight. A tightness constricted my chest, and I rubbed at my sternum, the invisible fist squeezing my heart reminding me of the havoc my cavalier attitude had wreaked on my life.