“Do you know who she is? Or why the Institute is so interested in her?” Dash asked, his gaze darkening.

“The Institute isn’t only interested in Charlotte,” Cyan replied. “They want you as well, Darhk. The two of you are in a heap of danger. Every tracker, guard, even the rebels are out looking for the pair of you.”

“I’ve been a wanted man for a year. What is the difference now?”

“Before it was only the Night’s Guard hunting you, but since Charlotte awoke, they’ve sent out notice to every man, woman, and child with an offer of a reward. Not just cash, but a home within Diamond Towers.”

“Who the hell would want that?” I asked in outrage.

“You’d be surprised, Freckles. Not everyone in the Heights has been touched by the darkness of the Institute. They do a good job of hiding what really goes on. And Diamond Towers offers what many people seek: safety, a home, a life most similar to what it once was.”

“Well, this just sucks. Are we safe here?” I asked Cyan, concerned not only for the people inside Hurst, but Dash and me.

“You have my word,” Cyan reassured us. “No one here has forgotten what the Institute did to them.”

Hurst: the place of misfits. It was where the castaways fled to.

“I hope you’re right,” Dash said. “We will only be staying a few nights, but Star won’t be leaving with us.”

Cyan gave a nod. “She is welcome. My daughter could use a friend her age.”

I choked but tried to cover it with a cough.

Star’s eyes twinkled. “I can’t wait to meet her.”

* * *

I took a shower, piled on some clothes, and headed to the little cabin I had stayed at previously, doing my very best not to think about the Institute for one night. It felt as if it had taken a lifetime to get to Hurst, and now that I was here, I wanted to sleep for a month.

Star and Dash were each in neighboring cabins to mine. I got stuck in the middle—story of my life. The cabins had only one room with a teeny bathroom, but I wasn’t complaining. It had a makeshift bed and a roof.

As I sighed blissfully and felt content for the moment, thunder rolled in. At the rumble of it, I glanced out the little window. Clouds blanketed the sky, dark and thick. The rumble became a roar that had me jumping into bed, and I laughed at myself. It is only a storm. Not the Institute or a wild beast.

Tonight was the kind of night you wanted to be snuggled inside. All I needed was a small fire and a good book, but I had neither. I pulled the covers up closer under my chin, and a bolt of lightning lanced across the sky, sizzling blue at the edges. Storms gave me a sense of comfort, but tonight I didn’t want to be alone.

Funnily enough, a night of peace was just what I had sought, but the moment I had what I thought I wanted, it no longer seemed desirable. Go figure. Lying on a pile of furs, I wrestled with the idea of disturbing Star but ultimately decided to suck it up. She had been through so much. The girl deserved a night off from me and my drama.

Wind yowled outside, rattling the window right before the door to the cabin burst open. My gaze flew across the room. Now what? I swore, if someone was going to try to kidnap me tonight, I would fight them until the death. No way was I giving up a bed for the night.

Dash stood in the doorway, soaked to the bone, his dark hair plastered to his fierce face. “What happened?”

A warm tingle danced over my skin. “Um, nothing. I was about to go to sleep. Did something happen to you?”

His eyes clashed with mine in the dark, a muscle in his jaw popping. “No. I saw the lightning and thought …”

“That I was in trouble,” I finished. I shrugged, a naughty idea forming in my head. The whole wet ensemble worked for Dash. “Don’t look at me. This one is all mother nature.”

He frowned at me. “So I ran through the pouring rain for nothing.”

I sat up, swinging my legs over the side of the bed, a glint springing into my eyes. He was in so much trouble. “Well, it doesn’t have to be for nothing.”

“Charlotte, what are you doing?”

I padded over the wooden floor, the wind whipping through my hair as the rain fell in sheets behind him. “Giving you a reason to be in my room.”

He took a step back. “Are you sleepwalking?”

I looped my arms over his damp shoulders and flipped the door shut, caging him in with my body. “You look weirdly adorable right now.” My voice had gone husky and sexy. I was pretty impressed with myself. Sexy didn’t come naturally to me, at least not in this life.

“As usual, you look like trouble.”

“But you like trouble, don’t you?” Good grief. I didn’t know what had gotten into me. Maybe it was the excitement of the storm or the charge in the air whenever he was near, but something had possessed me.

He arched a brow. “Depends. Do you need to be rescued?”

I lifted onto my toes and brushed my lips over his cheek. This was what I’d been waiting for, why I hadn’t wanted to be alone tonight. I just hadn’t admitted it to myself that I needed him. “Definitely.” I kissed the other side of his cheek.

He gave a low, sexy rumble. “Freckles, we might both need rescuing if I stay,” he muttered, but I sensed his surrender. He was as powerless as I was when it came to the persuasions of the heart and the wants of the body. His hands touched the outside of my thighs, slowly sliding up and over the curves of my hips.

I kissed the tip of his nose, weaving my fingers into his wet curls. “If you don’t want to stay, then at least you owe me a goodnight kiss.”

He flicked his tongue out, tracing my bottom lip and causing me to tremble.

Yes. Yes. Yes. This is what I wished for: to feel alive again.

“Tell me you have something else on other than a T-shirt?”

I smiled against his lips. “What fun would that be?”

“Charlotte,” he growled.

“I love when you say my name.” But I wanted to say so much more. I wanted to say that I loved him. It was bursting from me. He had to have felt it. “Tell me you choose me, that you only want me.”

His gaze held mine for a few beats. “Charlotte,” he said again in a guttural and deep voice. “It’s been only you since you opened your eyes, and I’m sorry I let you doubt that for even a second.”

My heart stuttered as I stared up at him. “Stay with me for the night. Please.” There was nothing between us, nothing stopping us. I hadn’t planned for this, but when I saw him darkening my doorway, wet and delicious, I didn’t know when things would ever be calm again. Once we left Hurst, our lives would change. We’d never be safe.

He took so long to answer I thought he would deny my simple request, but then he leaned in, taking my lips with his, and nothing in the world could have stopped me from launching myself into his arms. His hands shifted under my thighs, and with no effort, he yanked me up. My legs automatically went around his waist, hooking at the ankles as he moved us through the room to the bed where he laid me down, and I deliciously absorbed his weight.

The kiss deepened, my fingers edging under his shirt to satisfy my need to be closer than we already were. Dash must have wanted the same. He arched just enough for me to lift the shirt plastered to his chest over his head, and then our lips met again.

I stopped thinking, and it was glorious. It had been forever since my mind wasn’t occupied or my body wasn’t aching. Dash gave me a different, more enjoyable ache.

“Are you sure you want to do this, Freckles?” he murmured against my ear, taking the lobe into his mouth.

My fingers grabbed onto the blanket. “I swear, if you stop, I’ll electrocute you.”

He kissed me again, laughter rumbling through his chest and vibrating against my body. There was no better taste than Dash’s laughter in my mouth. “Duly noted. You should probably lose this for safety precautions.” He tugged at my T-shirt.

I smiled, sitting up and pulling the last barrier over my head. It slipped from my fingers to the floor as Dash’s eyes roamed over me. I was surprised that I didn’t feel the urge to cover up. If anything, I was empowered.

My fingers mapped the hard lines of his chest, dipping to the edge along his waistband. Dash sucked in a hiss. “Your turn.”

“I swear, Freckles, your eyes should be registered as weapons. They can undo a man,” he moaned.

“Then I have something to thank the mist for.” Other than bringing Dash into my life.

We were skin to skin, and my body had never felt so sensitive. Each brush of his hands sent shivers through me. I couldn’t stop touching him, and my body moved of its own accord, knowing what it wanted before I did. The little sounds that escaped my throat, like purrs, should have been mortifying, but they seemed to only encourage Dash.

His body pressed into mine. “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered. And then his lips were kissing me again.

Tension coiled inside me as I moved against him, rolling my hips. All these new and wonderful sensations built. I was filled with love for this dangerous, arrogant guy. He was feared by many and could be ruthless when he needed to be, but with me, he was gentle and protective. I suddenly grasped how lucky I was to have found someone like Dash, considering the current state of the world.

We came together like the storm, charged and magnetic. I lost myself in the magic, my entire body glowing like a million stars bursting inside me. It was the single most mesmerizing thing that had happened to me since I’d awaken… or possibly ever.

Still basking in the aftereffects of what we had just done, I turned over on my side and ran my fingers through his silky hair. Outside, the storm began to quiet down, moving on to other parts of the Heights.

Dash gathered me close. I could feel his heart racing against mine as I rested my face close to his.

I love you.

The words whispered through me, and I wanted to say them, to tell him what beamed through me, but I found I couldn’t.

* * *

A pounding on the door woke us up at the same time. Bleary eyed, I shoved a mass of red curls out of my face.

Dash sat up, staring at the door. “Expecting any visitors?”

I gave him a dry look. “What do you think? This isn’t exactly my house, and I don’t remember Hurst delivering room service.”

“Good point.” He got onto his feet, pulling on his pants and not bothering to button them. Moonlight splashed over his face, and my heart sighed.

I scrambled out of bed as he padded to the door and threw on my T-shirt. From where I lay, I could see Dash turning the knob. A sense of dread sunk in my belly. Nothing good ever came from a knock in the middle of the night. My thoughts quickly ran to Star. Was she okay? Had she been attacked? Had the Institute found us?

Dash whipped open the door and groaned.

Harper stood in the doorway.