"Kenyon, Sherrilyn - Dark-Hunter 05 - Night Embrace" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kenyon Sherrilyn)

He liked this woman. In spite of her peculiarities, there was something very refreshing and pure about her.
"I'm going to go get Talon clothes." She left, then came back a few seconds later. "Keys," she said, heading to a pink canister on the kitchen counter. "Need keys for car." She left only to return again. "Purse. Money for clothes."
Talon raked his hand through his wet hair as she left one more time and wondered if she'd forgotten anything else.
She had.
"Shoes," she said the next time. "Must have shoes to shop and keep feet warm." She slid her feet into a pair of mules by the door.
"What about a coat?" Talon asked as he noticed she was heading out again. "It is wintertime."
"Coats are good in the winter," she said, going to a rack by the door he assumed was her closet. She pulled on an old brown overcoat that seemed completely not her style. "Be back shortly."
"Wait."

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She paused to look at him.
Talon quirked his lips as he crossed the room and undid her misbuttoned coat. Straightening it, he buttoned it correctly.
"Thank you," she said, smiling a smile that did the oddest things to his groin and stomach.
All Talon could do was nod, especially since what he really wanted to do was pick her up in his arms and carry her to the bed and make love to her for the rest of the afternoon.
"I'll be back," she said, heading out.
After she was gone, he finally allowed himself to smile broadly. She was definitely something else.
Something that reminded him of a warm spring day after a harsh winter. It had been a long time since anyone had touched him the way she did. A long time since someone had stayed in his thoughts.
"You like her."
He turned his head to look over his shoulder at the spirit that flickered there. "She's interesting," he said to Ceara.
Ceara moved forward to stand by his side. Her pale cheeks held an ethereal blush as she shimmered between this plane of existence and the next.
She should have crossed completely over to her eternal rest or rebirth centuries before, but she had refused to leave him alone.
And though it was terribly selfish, Talon had been grateful for her company. Especially back in the days when he'd been unable to stay in touch with his Dark-Hunter brethren via modern technology.
Back then, his isolation had been hellish. He'd spent days alone, never daring to let any human near him for fear of his curse. Never daring to reach out to anyone for anything.
The only relief he'd known was his sister's infrequent visits.
But every time he looked at Ceara, he was painfully reminded of how badly he had failed her. He should have

Night Embrace 53
been able to help her the day she died. Had he not been a fool, she would have lived out the life she deserved. A life filled with a husband and children.
Instead, she'd been sacrificed because he had been a stupid, arrogant ass.
The first time she'd come to him after their deaths had shattered him. There had been no accusations from her, no hatred, even though he deserved it.
She had shown him only compassion and love.
"/ promised you I would never leave you alone, my brathair. And 1 won't. I will always be here for you."
Over the centuries, her presence had been the only thing that kept him grounded and allowed him to function. Her friendship and love had always meant everything in the world to him.
Ceara brushed a sisterly hand over the bruise on his right thigh. He couldn't feel it like a real touch, but the gesture caused his skin to tingle. "It no longer bothers you?"
"No. I'm fine."
"Speirr," she said, speaking his name in their native Celt. "You know to be honest with me, brathair."
He reached to brush a tendril of blond hair from her cheek, only to remember he couldn't touch her.
He closed his eyes as he remembered the past.
Their clan had slain her just days before her sixteenth birthday.
"She will be our sacrifice to the gods and they shall forgive us for the transgressions of our leader..."
Talon clenched his teeth against the grief and guilt that swelled inside him. Her death had been his fault. He had killed her as surely as if he'd been the one holding the knife.
But he pushed those thoughts away and found the numbness he needed to function.
I'm no longer human and there is no past. Acheron's litany ran through his mind, allowing him to suppress everything.
There was only now and the future. His human life far

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behind him, he was a Dark-Hunter whose entire existence was to seek out and destroy the evil that preyed on the humans who had no knowledge of what lay in the darkness waiting for them.
"My leg"-unlike his heart-"only hurts a little."
She shook her head at him. 'This is not a safe place for you, Speirr. There is too much light. I don't like for you to be here."
"I know. I'm leaving as soon as I can."