The Dark Places Read Online Free PDF

didn’t.
    I turned and assessed the distance
to the hotel’s entrance, thinking if I left now, I could be back on Marnu’s
portside in under an hour—if I walked fast. Matt’s strong fingers clamped onto
my arm before I sidled away. He pulled me beside him into a patiently waiting
glass elevator. We were alone within the deeply carpeted and mirrored interior.
    After a quick look, I avoided the
stark truth reflected by the mirrors. Neither a comb, nor my fingers had tamed
my hectic dark ringlets in hours, and my dark, slant-angled eyes had faint,
sleep-deprived smudges beneath them. I was small and thin, and my golden skin
was sallow from avoiding Harnaru’s hot sunstar during the day hours as I napped
to rest for late-afternoon-through-evening shifts at the Lilith.
    I couldn’t understand what possible
attraction Matt Lorins could have found in my outward appearance. I imprinted myself upon him, he’d said….
How?
    When we were inside his room, I
questioned my sanity and wondered if I had
tossed back all the Crynishan Dawns and Zyran Kickers instead of Matt. Perhaps
I was stuck inside a mad dream of my own devising. My despairing stare raked
over the room and encountered a small bouquet of ivory and bright red blossoms
on a nearby table, accompanied by a small card engraved with
a simple Congratulations ! in large
silver script. Only then did my distracted senses detect their lingering, sweet
fragrance drifting on the air. A small, dark green wine bottle stood perspiring
in an ice-filled silver bucket, with two sparkling crystal goblets close by.
    No.
This isn’t a dream . I doubted my fantasies would have provided that wine
and bouquet as minor, elaborate details. This
is real . Evidently this fancy
hotel worked small miracles behind the scenes at superfast speeds. I’m certain
they’d only learned of our marriage after Matt’s visit at the front desk.
    Ignoring the tastefully decorated
room’s other luxuries, my stare fastened on the door. Very well,
then. This isn’t a dream. I’ve
got to get away from here—and him. My heart knocked around in my chest. Why
did I feel like a bird caged in with something bigger, stronger, faster ?
    Matt secured additional manual
locks on the door and studied me with a slow smile. “We have only a few hours
here, doll, before we have to get you to your place to pack up before we leave
Harnaru.”
    I started to say something—probably
something witless or combative—but Matt pulled me into his arms. His lips
sought mine while his hand roved with possessive assurance over my body. I
couldn’t form a single lucid thought. Frost crept along my skin, and the
shivering returned. Matt pressed me closer to his body, and I grew very
conscious of his arousal. I no longer thought about escape. If this was a dream, I willed it to continue.
    His caresses stroked along my lower
back, continuing to soothe away my inhibitions. My shivering subsided, but the
deep chill didn’t go away. Despite that, my arms encircled Matt’s hard waist,
and I burrowed my body into his solid frame, determined to pursue my attraction
to this puzzling but compelling man.
    Why
did he marry me?
    The thought haunted me as my mouth
opened beneath his insistent pressure. Our tongues touched in silken
sensuousness that pulled at my core and left me breathless. His tongue slipped
across mine and overrode my doubts about the immediate future. I wanted him to
claim more of me. Our heated kisses created melting dampness between my legs.
But the nagging chill chasing through me and along my skin persisted, though
his arms crushed me close to his warmth.
    Matt scooped me up in his arms and
carried me to the wide, waiting bed, with its dark maroon satin coverlet. I
submitted to the sublime experience of an attractive man undressing me. He
patiently peeled away my boots, sockettes, and coveralls with minimum
assistance from me, leaving me clad only in a dark blue silken camisole and
very scanty matching briefs.
    I’d