The Company of Darkness Read Online Free PDF

mind turning over the conversation, weighing Rikard’s tone and word choice, the hesitation and glibness of his responses.  Finally, he rose and shut all the blinds, taking one last precaution, even though he was fairly certain they were in the clear. 
    The text that chimed an hour later brought a smile to his lips, not because it came from Cady as he’d expected, but because it was the Company with a new date for offloading.  Finally things were back on track. 
    Nervous as hell as the time clicked closer to her arrival, Ethan started to worry that maybe he should’ve planned things out better.  Did she expect a romantic dinner?  Flowers?  Those things weren’t in his usual arsenal.  His fridge was stocked with beer and munchies, and he had a condom tucked away in his pocket in case things went the way he hoped they would.  But what did she want to talk about? 
    His stomach tightened when her knock came, soft and hesitant.  If he hadn’t been listening for it, he might’ve missed it all together.  Out of habit he checked the peep hole first, the gun not too far away in case she had company, but Cady stood out in the hall all by her lonesome, shifting from one foot to the other in impatience. 
    The second he opened the door, she pushed her way in, smiling once she leaned against the inside wall.  “Hi.”
    “Hi,” he smiled, knocked for a loop at the sight of her plump bottom lip caught between her teeth.  He resisted the urge to lean in and bite it himself.  Her waist length hair was pulled into a conservative twist, the slim fitting navy skirt and polka dotted blouse being her version of office chic, he supposed.  For some reason he found the strappy thing around her ankles sexy, the shoes old fashioned, but appealing. 
    “Are you sure it’s alright for me to be here?” she asked, looking around as if she expected to find him not alone. 
    “Yep, it’s completely fine,” he said, gesturing to the windows.  “I’ve had the blinds closed all day.”
    “Smart,” she beamed, leaning up to drape her arms around his shoulders. 
    The press of her lips dissolved the knot in his stomach.  There was just as much longing in her kiss as he’d been feeling.  Whatever it was she wanted to talk about, he felt confident it had nothing to do with how things were between them.  In fact, the way she pressed against him made it plain to see she was as tired of waiting as he was. 
    Still, he couldn’t keep the niggling doubt from demanding to be heard.  “I thought you wanted to talk?” he said, taking a step backward before he lost his good intentions. 
    Cady followed right after him, not allowing for so much as an inch of space between them.  “Can we do that after?  I’ve been waiting to kiss you for a week.”
    Ethan couldn’t argue with that logic.  He kissed her good and hard, backing her up against the wall to feel her exquisite softness along the entire length of his body, showing her how much he’d wanted her too.  She made that sound… the sound that drove him wild and he almost lost his mind with need.  But instead of giving in to that need, he broke the kiss, calling on all his discipline and skill to remember they had something to discuss before things got out of control.
    “Now, tell me what happened today,” he said when he could speak again. 
    “Huh?”  Cady blinked back at him, her lips rosy and swollen from his kisses, and utterly adorable in her distracted state.  But her head soon cleared and the light of intelligence he admired snapped on.  “Oh right.  Detective Lucas came to see me at work.”
    That proved as good as cold water for his burning libido and Ethan stepped back, his brows drawing together into a deep frown.  “What for?”
    “To harass me mostly, about you.  I tried telling him we weren’t a thing anymore, but he kept following me.”
    “He’s been following you?”  Damn it, if it wasn’t one thing, it was another.  Just as he’d