Dark Hunter 00 - Dark Bites (Novellas) Read Online Free PDF Page A

“Most of the time.”
    “But not all?”
    “No.” He hesitated and cleared his throat before he spoke again. “That part of a man swells whenever he’s… aroused.”
    There was something she’d never considered or known. “I arouse you?”
    He turned even redder. “Forgive me if it insults you, my lady. I have no control over it. But don’t worry, I respect your status and birthright, and I will never touch you inappropriately. I swear it.”
    A peculiar sensation struck her chest like a blow. Was it pain?
    She wasn’t sure.
    And she was fascinated by the bulge beneath his chiton. “Have you done this before?”
    His deep blue gaze burned into hers. “Every time you’re near me, goddess. Or anytime I smell your scent.”
    Her eyes widened. “But I’ve never felt you… not until now.”
    He averted his gaze and shifted uncomfortably again. “I normally bind myself so that you won’t.”
    “Does that not hurt you, too?”
    By his expression, she knew he felt awkward and embarrassed. Yet, as always, he was patiently trying to explain the matter to her so that she could understand it. “A great deal. Yet I’d rather be in pain than insult you.”
    “But you can’t insult me. I don’t have feelings for you to hurt.”
    A tiny smile played at the edges of his lips. “I forget that, my lady.”
    “How can you?”
    “Because you don’t seem to be without them all the time. Like now… your brow is creased as if you’re puzzled or confused, and those are emotions. You seem to be very caring and extremely inquisitive. All of those are emotions, too.”
    Were they?
    “I have emotion?”
    “You seem to, yes.”
    Could it be that she’d had emotion all along and never knew it? Her body did react to things, but she’d written them off as automatic responses she couldn’t control.
    Like his bulge.
    Was it possible that those physical reactions were emotions she’d disregarded?
    “Ari? What do feelings feel like?”
    He set the pole aside and turned her to face him while they talked. “They’re hard to define. But I shall try for you.” His handsome brow furrowed as he considered it. “Well… sometimes I have an ache in my chest when my brother appears sad or is hurt about something. That’s sympathy pain because I want him to be happy and healthy.”
    “What does love feel like?”
    Aricles fell silent as he looked at the childlike wonder on her face. The way the sunlight made those incredible hazel eyes glow with her fire and beauty. In his heart, he knew he was already in love with her, had been for weeks now. Ever since she’d started joining him for his peaceful afternoons.
    But how could he explain what he felt?
    “There are different kinds of love.” That seemed like the best starting point.
    “Such as?”
    “Well, I love my father, but that’s more obligatory. He cared for me when I was a boy and I care for him now that he’s older.”
    “But you said he didn’t care for you when you were young.”
    Aricles licked his lips as he tried to explain a very complicated relationship that often left him as confused as she was. While he did love his father and would die for him, a part of him hated and resented his father, too. “He took care of us until the death of our mother. He was a great father when we were small. Then the loss of the woman he loved, crippled him until he could no longer support us emotionally.” Or even financially. Rather, his father had given up on life for a long time. “Without my mother, he didn’t want to live either, and so he crawled into his cups and stayed there. So someone had to take care of him and the farm.” Aricles tried not to remember those first years after his mother’s death. They’d been hard and harsh as he struggled with his own grief while trying to care for his brothers and father, as well as their farm.
    “So love is obligatory?”
    “Not exactly. I mean… yes, it is, but it’s not.”
    She rubbed at her forehead. “I don’t