In The Dark — Vladimir Duran

In the dark there are no secrets, no lies or evasions. Whit is the reason Vlad found any kind of faith in humanity. And he’s been lying to her for years. Not the truth is coming out. The truth of who he is and why he is and why he shouldn’t be. Love binds these two together. Love will tear them apart.Includes Bonus SceneExcerptYou’re not human. Whit nuzzled into his collarbone. Her body lay half sprawled over his in a delicious blanket of sticky, sweaty heat. Streetlight ran in a long thin bar from right to left across their bare bodies. Furniture and decorations were indistinct shapes in the darkness beyond the soft glow laying over the two of them. Spring was still young but they'd stirred up enough heat to find even a thin blanket too much to take. She never changed the pace of her foot's slow journey up and down his calf. A note of seriousness threaded through her clear soprano voice.Why, thank you for the compliment, my dear. I think you're pretty great too. Especially at the end there with the hips. Vlad inhaled the clean sweat smell of her hair deeply in his lungs and gathered the soft curves of her body just a little closer. His body reveled in feeling her pressed close while his mind tried to figure out what she knew. The worm twisting his gut for weeks now twisted some more. Soon, he would have to hurt her soon.You know that’s not what I meant. Despite Vlad’s whimper of protest, Whit drew herself up with one hand on his chest so they were face to face. Long brown hair spilled over her shoulder to tickle his chest. Eyes like emeralds seemed to shine in the light striking her face. If he had been human they would have been lost in shadow. Serious or not, he couldn't help but drink them in. You aren’t human. Not homo-sapient.After a while lost tracing the line of freckles running across the bridge of her nose he looked back into her eyes. Gods, hells and bloody kings but those eyes were beautiful. What could he tell those eyes when they asked a question like that?No, I'm not.