Burn (Dark in You 1)

Harper rolled her eyes. “We’ll use the office,” she told Knox. She headed straight for the back of the studio, hearing his confident footsteps following her. Finally inside, Harper thought about standing behind the desk to put some space between them, but that stank too much of fear. So instead, she remained in front of it, arms folded across her chest.

He stalked towards her, but didn’t invade her personal space. His unflappable confidence was apparent in the way he just stood there looking like he owned every inch of the space around him. His power and strength radiated from him, impressing her demon and drumming at Harper’s skin. “I won’t ask how you know where I work.” He’d probably done some research on her the moment he realized she was his anchor.

Knox almost smiled at her defensive posture. Apparently his little sphinx wasn’t entirely comfortable with the anchor situation. Initially, he’d also been a little uneasy. As a Prime, he was always surrounded by people. He was used to being responsible for others. Used to supporting and protecting them. But it wasn’t intimate, there was still personal distance between him and his demons – even between him and his sentinels.

A relationship with an anchor, however, wouldn’t allow much distance. They would be intimate on a psychic level, and they would most likely play a large part in each other’s lives. With the exception of his sentinels, Knox didn’t have people in his life. Existing around his life, yes. But not part of it. He knew by the force and depth of the protectiveness and possessiveness that hit him hard on realizing she was his anchor that it would be different with Harper.

Knox hadn’t known if he was ready for ‘different.’ Unlike most demons, he hadn’t been eager to find his anchor. He didn’t believe he needed one. Didn’t see how having one would improve his life. But as their minds had briefly touched and he’d realized what she was to him he’d thought…Mine. Simple. Primal. Instinctual. And the feeling didn’t seem to be going anywhere.

After taking some time to consider it all and become accustomed to the idea, he was no longer uneasy. It was as simple for him as it was for his demon. This female belonged to him, was meant for him, and it was his role to protect her. Harper, on the other hand, didn’t appear so agreeable. “You’re hesitant to bond.”

“So should you be. For someone like you, I’ll be a total pain in the ass.”

“Someone like me?”

“And be honest, I’m not at all what you imagined your anchor would be like, am I?” They couldn’t be more different, had totally different lifestyles.

She was definitely unexpected, but that wasn’t at all relevant to Knox. “I’m probably not what you expected either, but it doesn’t change anything.” As he studied her manic, brown eyes, his enhanced vision picked up something that immediately agitated him. “You’re wearing contact lenses.” He wanted to look into her unusual eyes, watch them change color.

“Obviously. I have to hide my eyes from humans. Anyway, back to this anchor thing. You’re powerful enough all on your own. You don’t need me or anyone else to make you stronger.”

“Oh, little sphinx, do you really think I can’t sense how powerful you are? In any case, that doesn’t matter. I don’t want you for power. Or even to stop me from turning rogue.”

“Then why?”

“Because you’re mine. I don’t walk away from what’s mine.”

Filled with restless energy thanks to the pressure in her head that was swelling and becoming painful, Harper began to pace. “Look, it wouldn’t work out.”

The comment vexed his demon, but Knox decided to be patient with her – sensing that any bulldozing would make her more determined to keep him at bay. He’d let her list her issues and then he’d address them, because there wasn’t a chance he’d leave her alone. “Why do you think that?”

“I don’t know you, granted, but I can sense that you like control and having your own way all the time. You’ll try that with me.”

It was true that Knox liked control. A long time ago, every minute of his waking time had been controlled. He’d been told what to wear, what to eat, where and when to sleep, and even how long he was permitted to sleep. He hadn’t been allowed any individual possessions, hadn’t been allowed to make any decisions for himself. When he’d finally gotten free, he’d seized control of his life and taken everything he’d been deprived of: power, control, possessions, independence, knowledge, and freedom.

He needed to keep those things – particularly control. Especially since without it he might not keep his abilities and demon in check. “I’m controlling,” he conceded. “And I won’t deny that I’ll interfere in your life in an effort to make it better, and you naturally won’t like that. You’ll push back. It’ll be hard, so it means we just have to learn to compromise and find a balance.”

Why did he have to sound all calm, mature, and reasonable? It made her complaints and reluctance seem dumb. The reality was, though, that this wasn’t dumb, because there was something else. Halting, she said, “There’s another thing that would make this hard.”

“What’s that?”

“You’re protective of your demons, you’re loyal to them and would choose them over an outsider. Right?”

Knox narrowed his eyes. “Where are you going with this?”