Dark Obsession: Shadow Destroyers #4

I find myself still craving Severn's presence. I raced through Cast In Chaos because I couldn't bear to put it down. Also, because it was rather like a band-aid. That series always carries a bit of pain for me and I just wanted it over with. Quick and clean, you know?

So with Dark Obsession, I took things slow. Savored the emotions and complexities. And wow, did it have them. Sydney Somers is one of those authors where the reader can truly see the growth of her writing. Each new character introduced burrowed a bit further into my skin.

Rae has been there since the beginning as the head of the field office, in charge of the other destroyers. It was only a matter of time until her story was told.

In the last book, Parker found himself transferred to Rae's office. Ex-boyfriend Parker, that is. They have a history. And it's dark. And it's deep.

When Parker's mother murdered his sister and then took her own life, Parker himself began to spiral out of control in search of the truth. He has quite the Mulder-ish quality about him. I love that!

Before long, Rae had had enough trying to keep it all together. She became convinced she wasn't enough to save him and forced herself to leave.

Near the end, they barely spoke. Because Parker was initiated into the Destroyers by a Lust Demon, his addiction to sex became the only thing that had held them together. She never refused him. She always let him ride out his need. So when Rae finally found the strength to walk away, Parker realized how deep his carnal need for her went, and because of his love for her, suffered what he had to to let her go.

It's great they have a past. It enables both Parker and Rae to truly be infatuated with each other but still focus their mind on their work... with occasional fantasy day dreams by Parker though... always good for a laugh.

They know each other very well. They know the buttons to press. The skeletons in the closets. The ghosts of their pasts. They can go from riling one another one second to being the only person in the world capable of empathizing the next.

Yes, I'm truly into this characters. =)

Notes To Self (Destroyers, and the the type of Demon that initiated them)

• Gage-War(?) & Jordan-War(?)
• Braxton-Telepathic & Quinn-War
• Drew-Stealth & Blair (Brax's sister)-Storm
• Raelan-War & Parker-Lust
• Darcy-Telepathic & Linc (Jordan's brother; mythical Gatekeeper)- Stealth(?)