Surrender to Darkness Read Online Free PDF Page B

have to consult my journals to investigate.”
    Having shared her every thought with Sora since agreeing to study under him twelve years ago, Kiyoko felt compelled to add, “A jolt of energy shot from his body into mine. I can feel the remnants even now.”
    “Yes,” Sora said. “I saw it enhance your auras immediately.”
    “Do you think this meeting is significant?”
    “Well, it does explain the forceful description of the man I divined entering your life, doesn’t it? As to what impact he will have on your future, that remains to be seen. Perhaps it was a solitary alignment of events, never to be repeated.” He sipped his tea.
    “Or?”
    “Or perhaps it is the answer to your prayers. If Murdoch-san indeed contains a rare power within his body, you may be able to leverage it … rekindle your ki and gain the strength to transcend.”
    “We’ll never know the truth if he leaves Japan,” Kiyoko said slowly, excitement stirring in her belly. The thought of seeing Murdoch again was very appealing.
    “True.”
    Kiyoko stood and walked over to the open window. Darkness masked the palette of November browns that painted the valley, but gave a surreal glow to the moonlit river below. “Then we should invite Murdoch-san to the dojo. I’ll send Yoshio and eight of our best warriors to accompany him.”
    Sora smiled. “I hope that’s enough.”

    Murdoch closed the door to the shower stall with a crisp snap.
    What a bloody awful night. He’d lost track of Kiyoko Ashida, drawn far too much public attention, and racked up a whopping bill at the restaurant that he had no spare funds to pay. It could have been worse, though. Had the two warriors not hobbled away at the first bleat of sirens in the distance, he might have kept fighting until the police showed up.
    Killing cops would have brought him to a new low.
    Hands braced on either side of the white ceramic sink, he peered at his face in the foggy bathroom mirror. Not a scratch on him. Not a bruise or a strained muscle anywhere on his body.
    Unfortunately, his two opponents couldn’t say the same. Both had left with a collection of injuries ranging in severity from a gut wound to a broken limb. Exceptionally nimble, they’d lasted longer than most, but judging by the way their feet had begun to drag, their destinies had been about to meet the cold hard ground. Given that their only crime had been protecting a young, defenseless woman, that knowledge didn’t sit well.
    What the hell had happened?
    Sure, his berserker was a tad unruly and taming the beast was a constant battle, but tonight it had beaten him senseless. He’d lost complete control, much as if he’d been thrust into a situation with overwhelmingly poor odds and his berserker had burst free in a last-ditch attempt to survive. But against two puny humans, such a severe reaction didn’t make any sense.
    He rubbed his bare chest with a rough hand.
    The minutes following his descent into full-on berserker rage were a blur of battle moves. But his memory of the moment just before he sank beneath the waves remained clear as spring water: The accidental touch of Kiyoko Ashida’s hand. The sultry hot brush of skin against skin, the sweet burn of desire in his veins, the sudden and very urgent need to possess her.
    In seven hundred years of existence, he’d encountered every type of woman imaginable and enjoyed every delicious facet of physical desire. Hell, he’d long ago lost count of the number of women he’d tupped. But the craving that had risen up inside him tonight could barely be described as desire. It was more like … mindless frenzy. He’d wanted Kiyoko so badly that his knees had gone weak and his wits had fried. Tossing her over his shoulder and absconding with her had seemed a perfectly rational notion.
    Not that rational thought had prevailed. No. Primitive instinct had taken over.
    And that had left the door wide-open for his berserker.
    Murdoch spun on his heel and returned to the main