Page 83 of Dark Surrender

Is this what normal people do with their spare time?

If it is, I don’t know how you do it.

Sleep in a normal bed with air conditioning night after night. There are no critters here. No men to kill. No open fire to boil my morning coffee. My bathroom is nice. Not just a little nice, but nice, nice. With tile and a fan. It’s not temporary or owned by someone else. It’s mine.

My bathroom in my house.

My grass in my backyard.

My ugly-ass couch, a hot biker is sitting on. Putting his butt print on the cushions. Making the fabric smell of him.

“Iris?” Dark calls from my back door, sounding unsure, eh…hurt? Something I can’t quite put my finger on.

Focusing on the grass, I ignore his presence and don’t respond.

A moment later, air wafts past my shoulder, and the sound of feet on hard ground tells me he’s near. I open and close my fists at my sides and count my steps.

A shoulder brushes mine.

“Where’d you learn to ground?” he asks, following alongside me, step for step. His bare feet cut into the edge of my vision. Nice. Clean. Strong. Just like the rest of him. He could be a model. Feet modeling is a thing. He’d make good money at it.

I snort quietly at the thought.

Dark, a foot model.

From one side of my yard to the other, Dark keeps pace with me. His breathwork is oddly soothing as we move together. When the back of his hand brushes mine, heat pools low in my gut, and those silly flutters swarm my chest.

The second time it happens on a turn, I trip, but only a little. Not enough for him to notice.

Fire consumes my cheeks as I quicken my step and sweat beads on my head. At least I was smart enough not to put on a wig today.

There’s a mumble, and for a third time, the back of Dark’s hand touches mine, only he slips in beneath my palm and fastens our fingers together.

He doesn’t ask if it’s okay, and for some silly reason, I don’t pull away.

We hold hands. Step for step.

One. Two. Tree.

I count in my head to stay on track. Not focused on him.

“I’ve been visiting you at night,” Dark whispers as if he’s in confession. “Standing in your room, watching you sleep.”

I hold my breath.

Why would he do such a thing?

Watching me sleep? Invade my new home?

When I don’t respond, he continues. “Unless you tell me to fuck off…I’m gonna crawl into bed with you tonight.”

Dark’s statement rings with strong conviction as he slowly relaxes his fingers between mine and pulls away. Without another word, he slips on his boots and leaves me to walk through my backyard, lost in this new world… with his words playing on repeat in my head.

I’m gonna crawl into bed with you tonight.

Will he?

And if he does… What will I do?