The Darkest Corner

by Liliana Hart

  “What do you want to do?” she asked.

  “I want to marry you,” he said. “We’ve waited long enough. You’ve won that bet at the Clip n’ Curl a hundred times by now.”

  “I’ve already told you I’d marry you,” she said, looking at the ring on her finger. “Set a date and find a preacher. I’ll be there.”

  “You’ve been planning this wedding for the last six months,” he grumbled. “You made me buy a suit.”

  Tess rolled her eyes. Men. “Then maybe you should just wait until Saturday and show up at the church on time. It’ll be here before you know it.”

  “Smart-ass,” he said, smacking her behind.

  “Do you want to leave?” she asked, seriously now. “Do you believe we’ll be safe?”

  “I don’t know,” he said, pulling her down to sit on the bed next to him. “I’ve learned from experience to never take anyone at their word. It’s too dangerous. Would I risk leaving if I felt it was the right thing to do? I don’t know that either. I worry about your safety. I wouldn’t forgive myself if anything ever happened to you.”

  “So our options are to stay, to make this our home and continue doing the work you’ve done all these years. To use the funeral home as a front for everything else. Or we can pack our things and start over. New names and backgrounds. A new country. We’ll be together and be able to live a life free of the dangers of covert life. But we’ll always be looking over our shoulders.”

  “That pretty much sums it up,” he said, his smile wry. “Do you regret loving me?”

  “Not ever,” Tess said firmly. “I’d do it all again. Deacon, don’t try to second-guess yourself or do what you think would be safest. I know you love what you do. It’s been your life. It’s important. And you’re good at it.”

  His lips twitched and he squeezed her hand. “I want to stay here,” he said.

  “I know,” she said. “This is our home. We’ll never have a normal life, but we can make the best of an abnormal life. We have each other.”

  “Always,” he said. “And plenty of room for children on the second floor.”

  Her smile was radiant. “You want children? That’s the first time you’ve ever said so.”

  “Yes. I especially want to make children,” he said, rolling her to her back and kissing her senseless. “As long as we never leave them alone with your mother.”

  “She seems very happy and mostly stable for the moment.”

  “That’s because you moved her into one of those retirement villages. She’s got no choice but to be happy and mostly stable. She can cut hair at the little salon on-site and she’s got plenty of new people to charm and steal stuff from. It seems like a match made in heaven to me.”

  “And best of all, she’s a thirty-minute drive from here,” Tess said, no longer feeling guilty for having peace.

  “I promise I’ll be at the church on time,” he said, nuzzling her ear and working his hand beneath her shirt. He stripped her quickly and settled between her thighs, nudging at her silky folds. “I especially promise not to be late for the honeymoon.”

  He pushed into her, and her ankles pressed into the small of his back. It never took long for the first orgasm to build.

  “Ohmigod, yes!” she cried out and clung to him.

  “I’m glad you stopped telling me no,” he said into her ear. “Yes is so much better.” And then he followed after her into oblivion.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Thanks to Lauren McKenna, Elana Cohen, and the entire team at Pocket for making the transition from indie to traditional an exceptional experience.

  Thanks to Scott Silverii for being an excellent brainstormer, an awesome kid taxi driver, and an extremely patient husband.

  Keep reading for a sneak peek excerpt from the next mysterious, riveting installment in the Gravediggers series

  Gone to Dust

  Available Summer 2017 from Pocket Books!

  CHAPTER ONE

  She’d captured his heart.

  This woman of noble birth—a queen—who’d traveled across vast lands to bring him gifts—to seek his wisdom and knowledge. But it was she who was wise, and her intelligence and cunning enticed him. Never had he met a match such as she. Her presence was greater than any gift she’d laid at his feet.

  “You’re quiet, my Lord,” she said.

  He lay on a pile of furs, his chest bare, and a soft breeze stirred the air and cooled his overheated skin. The thin linen sheet couldn’t hide his desire as she walked through the shadows of his chambers and came to stand before him, bathed in the soft glow of lantern light.

  Her beauty stole his breath—her skin dark and smooth—her eyes black as the rare diamonds she’d presented to his kingdom. The white silk of her robes was tied at each shoulder and plunged deeply—displaying the fullness of her bosom—the material so thin he could see the jeweled adornments covering her nipples. The silk was slit up each side so every step she took gave him a glimpse of the heaven he knew was hidden beneath. Her hair was her glory, rich and full, and she’d unpinned the crown of curls so it flowed almost to her feet.

  “You leave on the morrow,” he said, his heart pierced with sorrow.

  His body was rigid and stiff with pride. He was king. And he would beg for no woman to stay. But he wanted to.

  “I am queen,” she said, her smile sad. “My kingdom needs me. My people need me.”

  “I need you,” he rasped, his hand knotted in a fist at his side.

  “And you shall have me,” she said, moving toward him.

  She released the ties at her shoulders and the white silk slithered down the length of her body, leaving her bared before him. His phallus throbbed and his chest burned with desire. She was exquisite. Never had he wanted another woman as he’d wanted her.

  The days had turned to weeks, and the weeks to months since her arrival in his lands. But never had she offered herself. The desire had burned between them, the flames fanning hotter and higher as time passed, but he’d respected her wishes to remain chaste in her own bed, though he could have taken her, as was his right as king. And now she honored him by giving him her body.

  “You are more beautiful than all the treasures in my kingdom,” he said, his gaze lingering on her full breasts, the lantern light reflecting off the diamond adornments that sent fractals of light glittering across the floor.

  “I am your greatest treasure. Long will you remember me. Long will you love me.”

  He knew the words she spoke were truth. She knelt next to the bed and bowed her head, submitting herself to him. And then she said two words that made him rage at the injustice their positions had wrought.

  “My king,” she whispered.

  “As you are my queen,” he said, voice hoarse with sorrow and desire. “We could rule together, combine our lands.”

  She looked up at him, knowledge and wisdom in her eyes, and his hand moved to her cheek, stroking it softly. “Do you forget the lands between us?” she asked. “That which is ruled by another?”

  “I do not forget,” he said with a sigh. “And I know you are right. Those are lands not ours to take. To conquer would bring wars that we cannot fathom.”

  “Then tonight we will give our bodies to each other. And when dawn comes and I take my leave, you shall know you are well loved.”

  She took his hand and kissed it softly, and then she joined him on the bed, sliding the sheet from his body and moving over him, so she was poised to take him into her. Their hands clasped and their gazes met, and he knew this would be a spiritual experience, that they would truly meld—mind, body, and soul—with their union.

  His jaw clenched and sweat beaded on his skin as her heat enveloped him. And then her head fell back with a moan as she sank down on him. The world spun away as pleasure unlike he’d ever known surrounded him.

  His vision dimmed and the incessant chime of a doorbell chimed in his ears.

  “A doorbell?” Miller Darling said, shaking herself out of the scene sh
e’d been writing. “What the hell?”

  She narrowed her eyes and tried to put herself back into the world she’d created, but a familiar, atonal chime echoed through the house. She snarled and her head snapped up at the interruption. She was going to kill someone. No jury would convict her. The sign on the front door clearly said Do Not Disturb.

  She hit save on her keyboard and headed out of her second-story office, stubbing her toe on a box of books she didn’t remember putting directly in the walkway. The pain was fleeting. Her anger was too great.

  Her footsteps pounded heavy against the stairs as she raced toward the front door and the unsuspecting victim who continued to ring the bell.

  The click of the deadbolt seemed unusually loud as she unlocked it with indignant righteousness and jerked the door open, only to have it catch on the chain. She closed it again and undid the chain, muttering under her breath at the wasted opportunity to make a real impact on the intruder.

  Miller stared into the startled eyes of the UPS man, ready to flay him alive. He was tall, thin, and pale, his sandy hair thinning on top, and his cheeks were red from the blistery wind and cold. He held a package and an electronic clipboard in his hands.

  She was pretty sure she growled at him. The last week of a deadline was the wrong time to disobey the instructions on the door.

  “Geez, lady,” he said, eyes wide. He took a step back and beads of sweat broke out over his upper lip. “Are you sick or something?”

  “Or something,” she said, eyes narrowed.

  She wasn’t sure when she’d showered last, but she was pretty sure she’d been wearing the same clothes for at least three days. Maybe longer. Her gray sweats had coffee stains on them and what might have been a smear of jelly from a PB&J she’d slapped together—minus the peanut butter because she hadn’t had time to go to the store.

  She wasn’t wearing a bra, but it was hardly noticeable beneath the fuzzy red bathrobe her best friend Tess had gotten her for Christmas about a dozen years before. There was a small package of Kleenex in one of the pockets of the robe and a mega-size box of Milk Duds in the other.

  “The sign says Do Not Disturb,” she said.

  “You’ve got to sign for the package.” He shrugged as if he hadn’t just ruined her entire day, and then he held out the package and clipboard for her to sign.

  She ignored the gesture and took a step forward. He took another step back. “I’m not sure you understand what I’m saying. I don’t care if you’re delivering gold bullion or the electric pencil sharpener I ordered three months ago and never received. The sign says Do Not Disturb. Do you know how long it’s going to take me to get back in the mood?”

  His eyebrows rose and his mouth opened and closed a couple of times. “No?” he said, phrasing it like a question. He was starting to look scared. Good.

  “That’s right. You don’t know,” she said. “Lovemaking like that can’t just be performed on a whim. It takes preparation and the right frame of mind. I had the candles lit and the music playing, and she was about to ride him like a stallion. You’ve set me back hours at least. How would you like it if someone kept ringing the doorbell right before you were about to have an orgasm?”

  He swallowed hard and dropped his clipboard. “I . . . I wouldn’t.” He bent down to pick it up and then shoved it and the box at her once more. “I’m sorry for interrupting. But you’re the last house on my route. I’ve got to get it delivered and signed for so I can go home.”

  She sighed and scribbled her name in the little box and then took the package. “Next time do us both a favor and sign it for me and put it on the rocking chair. I won’t tell anyone if you don’t. And I also won’t want to kill you, which is what I want to do now.”

  “I appreciate your restraint,” he said, swallowing again. “Sorry about that. I guess I’ll uh . . . let you get back to . . .” He gestured with his hand, and she realized what he thought she’d been doing and what she’d actually been doing were two very different things.

  “I’m a writer,” she said by way of explanation.

  “Right,” he said, looking skeptical.

  She ran her fingers through the rat’s nest on her head and two pencils fell on the porch. Her shoulder slumped in defeat and she turned back into the house, leaving the pencils on the ground and dead-bolting the door behind her. The UPS man was still standing there. He was probably reevaluating his career choices.

  There was no point trying to get back to work. The moment was broken and the mood was gone. Besides, she’d had the opportunity to smell herself and feel the rumble in her stomach. A shower was in order, followed by whatever she could find to eat in her kitchen. Writing wasn’t a pretty profession. When she was in the trenches of a story she often forgot to tend to day-to-day life. Sometimes, the story took hold of her and wouldn’t let go, and that’s where she’d been the last several days.

  She tossed the package on her entryway table on top of the mail that had been accumulating for the past week. Her housekeeper, Julia, came in every Tuesday and Friday, but she knew better than to knock on her office door and disturb her, so she put the mail on the table and cleaned around her office. She also made sure Miller didn’t leave the coffeepot or stove on and burn the house down.

  The mail was the least of her worries. The bills were all done automatically online, so she assumed anything in the stack wasn’t urgent. She caught her reflection in the mirror as she headed back up the stairs and had to do a double-take because she thought a stranger was following behind her.

  “Yikes,” she said, grimacing.

  She looked bad, even by her usual definition of deadline-crazy. She needed desperately to get her roots done and have her color touched up. It was rare she kept it the same color for a long stretch of time, and it was currently black with bright blue highlights. She looked like a cross between the Cookie Monster and Don King.

  Her face was pale and there were dark circles under her eyes. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been out in the sun or to the gym. And Lord, her eyebrows needed a pair of tweezers.

  Since work was over for the moment, she decided to do damage control and transition back to human again. When she was writing, she could stay cooped up and alone for days without noticing, but eventually she’d feel the loss of human interaction. She was a people person. Watching them and being around their energy always filled her with ideas and creativity. And maybe that was just what she needed to get back into the groove of things and not leave her poor characters on the verge of orgasm. She’d been there. It wasn’t a fun place to be.

  Maybe that’s what she needed to get back in the mood. It had been weeks since Elias Cole had left her high and dry, and her pity party had lasted long enough. Sex was sex. It was a natural human function, and she could always call up an old boyfriend or two and see if someone would be willing to scratch her itch.

  It didn’t matter that the only person who came to mind was Elias. She knew her own ego well enough to understand that the reason she couldn’t get him out of her head was probably because they’d never done the naked tango. Fine. He’d changed his mind and it was time for her to move on.

  She hurried the rest of the way up the stairs, her mind on him instead of the work she was abandoning, despite the mental pep talk she’d just given herself. The majority of her adult life had been spent writing the romances women dreamed about, but Miller was more practical than that. The kind of love she wrote about—that soul-deep connection to another person—wasn’t something she expected to find for herself. It wasn’t something she wanted to find. That depth of love could be devastating, and it wasn’t worth taking the chance. She much preferred for her relationships to be fun while they lasted, for the sex to be great, and to part as friends in the end. She’d never had her heart broken, and she had no plans to.

  Her parents had loved each other with the same focused obsession that they’d loved the treasures they’d sought their entire married life. From her earliest memorie
s, the stories of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba were part of their daily conversations. Her bedtime stories had been filled with tales of adventure and temples of treasure. And of the love of two people who spent their earthly lives knowing they could never be together.

  It had broken her heart as a child to think of what it must have felt like to know a part of their soul had been missing. Her father had always told her that’s how he’d feel if he had to go through life without her mother, and Miller had decided as a young child to never subject herself to that kind of heartbreak.

  Her parents had spent their marriage traveling the world, searching for the lost temple and piecing together a history that the greatest books in the world hadn’t achieved. And it was her older brother who’d been burdened with the responsibility of taking care of her. He was four years older, and probably the last thing he wanted to do was babysit his younger sister, but that’s exactly what he’d done. He’d been her only stability as a child, an adult long before he should’ve been, and they’d always been close. He’d never resented the fact he’d been stuck home with her when he’d wanted to be hunting treasure alongside their parents.

  After a few weeks, her parents would come back full of excitement and stories of their adventures. And more often than not they’d have some trinket that had supposedly been housed in the temple where King Solomon kept his treasures. She had a box full of them in her office. It was sad to think her best memories of her parents all rested in that box.

  Her brother had eventually left home and joined the military, much like her father had at his age, but the obsession with a three-thousand-year-old king and the queen who would never be his must’ve been hereditary, because Justin had taken up the search, and it had only intensified after their parents were killed when their small plane went down.