Dark Solace by Tara Fox Hall

shiny in the light from the street lamps
above. Devlin and I sat on a fallen tree for a while, just watching
the stars, and the water passing under them. Then Devlin took me by
the hand, led me under the bridge, and left me there. In a moment,
he was back, his arms full. He’d carried an oversized down blanket
and two small pillows in his motorcycle saddlebags, as well as a
silenced explosive bullets handgun. The latter he got out and lay
within reach of the makeshift bed, before helping me unstrap my
armor, and taking my clothes and his off. Devlin made love to me
there under the bridge by the banks of the river. Again, he didn’t
draw it out, using his skill so that when I came, he came with
me.
    We lay afterwards in each other’s arms,
gasping for breath. As our hearts slowed, I clutched him to me,
worried suddenly that something was going to go wrong, as it
usually did when things between he and I were going so well.
    “Why are you anxious?” he whispered, stroking
my hair back from my face. “I can scent your change in mood.”
    “Just worried that forever won’t be long
enough,” I quipped, unwilling to bring heaviness to the
conversation.
    Devlin had no such compunction. “You don’t
live a long time by working hard, being careful, or even being
bold, Love. It’s all luck. There were several times I came close to
dying, and clawed my way back. There were just as many that I
couldn’t stop, that Lash saved me from, or his friend.”
    “What friend?” I asked curiously.
    “There was another guard who was a good
friend to both he and I for many years,” Devlin said, heavy sadness
in his voice. “But let us not mention that tonight. There will be
other nights to tell you of my past. This night is for us to think
about the future, Sar.”
    His use of my name instead of an endearment
got him all of my attention.
    “We’ll do this every year from now on,” Dev
continued softly. “I’ve ridden over this bridge many times, Sar,
sometimes with Lash, and sometimes with some of the bears. It was
just another bridge to cross, and it didn’t matter very much—”
    This wasn’t about bridges at all.
    “— but this is our bridge now,” he said
softly, touching my face gently. “Because I want you to know it
means a great deal to me that you’ll be here with me next year.
That we’ll share nights like this one again, for the rest of
eternity.”
    There was something heartfelt in Devlin’s
tone which brought to mind Danial’s tender words of affection..
Even though his words seemed a little too smooth, I decided to give
him the benefit of the doubt. “It means something to me, too. I
want to be here with you, Dev. I don’t want to ever be without you
again.”
    “You won’t be, Love,” he said softly, kissing
me.
    We lay together for a while after, just
holding each other, enjoying the warm breeze caressing our skin
with feather touches. “We need to get going, Sar,” Devlin said
reluctantly. “The night is passing. In three hours or so, it will
be dawn.”
    Quickly, we dressed, and he helped me strap
the armor back on. With a last look at the river, I let him lead me
back to the bike. After a careful check, Devlin and I got back on.
We were less than halfway back when I felt the tire under me began
to slide.
    I don’t know what happened. Suddenly Devlin
swerved, we were leaning too far left, and all of a sudden the
motorcycle was no longer beneath me, the ground rushing up to meet
us. Devlin twisted in the air, trying to wrap his body around mine
to protect me. As we hit the pavement with a bone-jarring crunch, I
heard something snap in him. Dev let out a hiss of pain through
gritted teeth as we rolled over and over, finally coming to rest on
our backs near some bushes.
    I lay there breathing hard, thanking God to
be alive and promising fervently to never get on a motorcycle
again. Devlin lay partly under me, his body still enfolding
mine.
    “Dev—” I whispered.
    His hand covered my mouth