Taste of Torment

Chapter Eleven

(Jared)

Standing outside the glass cell, having that impenetrable barrier between Sam and I that even my gift of teleporting couldn’t breach, felt so damn wrong that my stomach was twisting painfully. The idea that I couldn’t reach her if I wanted to was like a lead weight in my gut, because I already knew that feeling. It brought back all the fear and panic from the time the Trent brothers had taken her from me – as if I wasn’t panicking enough right now.

She just sat on the mattress with her head resting against the glass and her legs pulled up to her chest with one arm wrapped around them. Her aquamarine eyes were holding mine and pleading with me. Not to help her, but to stop feeling guilty. Maybe she was right and it was dumb to blame myself for this. But if I had just ignored her stupid insistence on waiting for the squad to be out of there before leaving, she’d be fine right now. Of course I knew deep down that putting the squad’s safety before her own was what any commander would have done. Hell, I’d have done it. But I was still angry at both of us.

I had agreed to isolate Sam from everyone while I dealt with Paige West – whenever the hell she arrived – because I knew that Sam needed the peace of mind that she couldn’t harm anyone. Midway through the process of becoming a hybrid, there had been an incident when she had lost all sense of rationality and dived on me, latching onto my throat – much like a newborn vampire would. That loss of control, that knowledge that she had hurt me, had never sat well with her. If she did it again now, she wouldn’t just hurt someone, she would taint them. So, yeah, I definitely understood why she didn’t want to take any chances here. Still, if I hadn’t known that confining her like this was only a temporary measure, I probably wouldn’t have agreed to it.

Movement in the cell beside hers caught my attention: Evan was staggering across the room with the most agonising look on his face. How must it feel to literally starve, to feel as your body withered away? How must it feel to sense you were beginning to lose reason and rationality? Max and Stuart looked in much the same agony. There was nothing left of them there. They were all just shells now. Droning, skeletal, starving shells. It was fucking…Shit, there were no words to describe what it felt like to see the two people that I loved most in the world dying.

I wanted to hit something, smash something, wanted to rage at fate – it truly was a bitch. Instead, I placed the palm of my hand against the glass of Sam’s cell. Reaching over, she splayed her hand over mine. I hated that I couldn’t touch her when it was the one thing I needed right then, hated that I couldn’t comfort her. Whether Sam would admit it aloud or not, she was scared. “You’ll be out of there soon,” I promised her. “Paige’s gift will heal you.”

Her smile was sad. “I hope you’re right.”

I had to be right, otherwise I’d agreed for that female to be brought to The Hollow – thus chancing Luther’s vision coming true – for no damn good reason at all. But Paige coming here didn’t have to mean that the vision would become reality, I mused. The things Luther foresaw didn’t always happen, as I knew perfectly well. If we took precautions by getting the female out of here as quickly as possible, we could prevent anything more from happening. It was hardly likely that she would want to stick around here for long anyway, not if she was so set on being away from the rest of her kind.

Hearing voices, I glanced at the door. Not only was Antonio, Luther, and the guards here, but also the squad, Jude, Ava, Cristiano, and – oh shit – Alora. Evan was going to have my balls for this if – no, when – Paige healed him. As Alora caught sight of Evan, her now horrified eyes instantly watered and she slapped a hand over her mouth. How much she cared for him was flashing on her face like a neon sign. Evan briefly glanced at the crowd, but there was no sign of recognition in his eyes.

Antonio gave me a sympathetic smile. “Sebastian has arrived with Miss West and who seems to be a friend of hers. Apparently Miss West refused to leave without her. They are waiting for you in the piano room. You should know that she has no idea why she has been brought here. Sebastian worried that if he told her what we wanted from her, she would put up a huge fight. He merely told her that she had been sent for by you and he assured her that she would come to no harm whatsoever.”

Dropping my hand from the glass, I told Sam, “I’ll be back soon.”

She nodded, giving me a half-smile.

Leaving her felt wrong, but I forced myself to step away from the cell. I was just about to teleport out of there when I noticed that Cristiano had separated himself from the crowd and was leaning against the back wall; the expression on his face stopped me short. He wasn’t looking at me, but at Sam. Like the others, he was clearly distressed and angered by what had happened to her. But there was so much more to be seen on his face: pain, anguish, yearning, and utter despair. Slowly, I walked over to him. “That’s why you never went to the Binding ceremony. You love her, don’t you?”

My voice seemed to snap him out of whatever zone he had been in. His gaze met mine. As my words filtered through, he sighed and returned his eyes to Sam. “I accepted a long time ago that I’d never have her. Victor hadn’t allowed me or anyone else to touch her. But even if he had, she’d never looked at me that way. Not once. Not even the night I kissed her when she was human. But just because I accepted that I’d never have her didn’t mean I could watch her Bind with someone else.”

Oddly, I felt a twinge of sympathy for him. I wasn’t a particularly sympathetic person, but I knew that if I’d had to see Sam with someone else, it would have destroyed me.

“Do you know what’s strange? The fact that I’ve drank from her actually makes it worse. I know exactly what I’m missing.” His eyes returned to me. “So as much as you think I’m smug that I’ve tasted her, you couldn’t be more wrong. It would be a hell of a lot easier if I didn’t know what I could have had if things had been different.” He swallowed hard. “You make sure you save her. I’d rather watch her with someone else than watch her die.”

“So would I.” And that proved just how important she was to me, because I wasn’t the self-sacrificing type. Without another word to anyone, I teleported to the ground floor of the mansion and appeared outside the piano room. Opening the double doors wide, I strode inside. In addition to Sebastian and three guards were too dark-haired females, but that was where the similarities ended for the two women. One was tall and lithe with blazing green eyes while the other was short and curvy with brown doe eyes.

The tall brunette stood slightly in front of the other female – a protective move. I recalled what Antonio had said about Paige refusing to leave her friend behind, which suggested that the protective vampire was Paige West. I thought the ‘keep the fuck back’ body language was kind of odd. Did she think I wanted her friend for some reason?

“You’re the Heir,” Paige realised. Her protective stance didn’t ease. In fact, it turned aggressive, but she made no move toward me.

“I am.”

“Well if you’re going to hurt me, let’s go,” she dared tauntingly.

“So you can give your injury to me? No thanks. In any case, I have no intention of harming you…or your friend, if that’s your worry.”

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Then why did you have someone track us down?”

“Not both of you, just you. I need your healing skills.”

She blinked in surprise. “I’m not a healer.”

“But your gift does heal, in a sense, doesn’t it?”

“Yes,” she eventually allowed.

“That’s why you’ve been brought here.”

She was silent for a moment. “You just want me to heal someone for you? That’s it?” Her tone was sceptical.

“Not just one, there are four.”

She snickered. “And then you’ll hand me over to my Sire or, worse, execute me for whatever it is that he’s accused me of doing so that people will hunt me down.”

“I have no interest in anything that has happened between you or your Sire.”

“You’re the Heir. It’s part of your job to ensure that justice is found.”

“Right now, I’m not talking to you as the Heir. I’m talking to you as someone whose mate is so badly hurt, she’s dying.” Her friend gasped. “If you can heal her injury and that of the others, your crimes – whatever they are – will be instantly pardoned.”

Paige cocked her head, assessing me carefully. “If I heal them, you’ll let us leave? Both of us?”

“Yes. You have my word that.”

Still seeming suspicious, she let her gaze dance from me to Sebastian and back again. After a moment of silence, she gave a curt nod. “Okay. I’ll help them. But Imani stays with me – I don’t want her leaving my side.”

“Fine.”

My disinterest in separating them appeared to surprise Paige. It also made her relax her stance slightly. “Good. I guess you better take me to them then so we can get this over with.”

I couldn’t have agreed more. The quicker I got everyone healed, the quicker I could get both of these females out of The Hollow before any shit had the chance to hit the fan. Sebastian gently took Paige’s arm, who quickly clasped Imani’s hand, and teleported them away. I immediately followed, appearing outside the row of cells beneath the mansion. Paige was regarding the crowd of people warily while gripping Imani’s hand tightly.

“Everyone, move side,” I ordered. Obediently, the crowd parted, which then allowed Paige a clear view of what was inside the cells.

She gaped. “You said they were injured.”

I jiggled my head. “I may have downplayed the matter slightly.”

“Slightly? These people are tainted with The Call! I can’t help them.”

“Sure you can. If you take away their injury and their pain, you should automatically take away the taint.”

“They’ll attack me the second I go near them. Thanks, but I kind of like being alive.”

I pointed to the three droning males. “See the guy chewing on his mattress? That’s my twin brother, Evan. It’s kind of hard to tell that we’re even related when he looks like that, huh? The other two are members of my squad, Max and Stuart.” Maybe if I made her see them as people, it would help. I walked to where Sam still sat; her aquamarine eyes glimmering with a contradictory mixture of sadness and hope. “And this is my mate, Sam.”

“I’ve heard about her,” Imani said softly. “You were Bound recently, weren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“And if she dies, you die too,” mused Paige. The implication that it was only my own ass I was bothered about saving was clear in her voice.

“That’s right, I do, but it’s her life I’m more interested in saving.”

Paige rested her hands on her hips, blowing out a long breath. “Look, I’m sorry that they’re all sick, okay. I really am. But I can’t”

“We have ways of holding them still so that they can’t hurt you,” I quickly assured her. “All you need to do is touch them.”

“I could be tainted!”

“Only if they bite you. They won’t be able to do that because they’ll be unconscious. And even if they do bite you, you can simply pass that injury back to them.” I took a step toward her, too frantic with worry to keep calm any longer. “Maybe you’re right and you can’t help them, I don’t know. But you have nothing to lose by trying. I have everything to lose by you not trying.”

“You really love her,” whispered Imani, sounding shocked.

Yeah it probably was surprising to see that the big, bad Heir who they had undoubtedly heard plenty of dark shit about actually felt something for another person. “More than anything,” I confirmed.

Imani tugged on Paige’s hand. “Help them.”

Paige was quiet for a minute, seemingly torn. I was pretty sure that everyone was holding their breath. “I have a condition.”

Okay, I could negotiate. “What condition is that?”

“You give Imani and me refuge in The Hollow. Permanently.”

My eyes closed as desolation hit me. If I agreed to her condition, Luther’s vision could come into effect. Through the bond, I felt Sam’s anxiety.

“We’ve been hiding for a long time,” continued Paige. “We want to live again.”

While that was understandable, she truly had no idea what she was asking. Of course I could explain Luther’s vision, but that would likely make Paige demand to leave immediately – especially since she seemed to be so protective of her friend. She was scared of something, and she looked ready to bolt any second.

“It is your choice, Jared,” said Antonio. But it wasn’t really a choice at all. There was no way I could turn Paige down. I’d exhausted every other avenue – she was the only chance we had left to save Sam and the guys.

I sighed inwardly, turning to the crowd. “Harvey, I’ll need you to hold the guys into position while David and Salem put them to sleep.” Swallowing hard, I told Paige, “I’ll grant you refuge if you heal the four of them.”

When Paige hesitated, Antonio spoke. “Jared would never back out of a vow.”

After an encouraging look from Imani, Paige nodded. “I’ll need someone to transfer the taint to.”

Ava clasped her hands together. “Ooh, can we use Collins?” She truly looked excited by the prospect. Salem snickered.

“Unfortunately, no,” replied Antonio. “I have prisoners that have been here for some time who can take on the taint.”

“You haven’t executed them?” Paige asked him.

Antonio’s smile was a little on the evil side. “Why would I do that when it would make their punishment be over quickly?”

“Ah.” There was a wealth of nervousness in that sound. Paige cleared her throat. “Do you have four prisoners?”

“One will not be enough?”

“When I pass on an injury, it’s three times worse. In this case, it’ll mean the taint will be three times more advanced when the vampire gets it. He’ll have to be killed instantly.”

“Well then, it is lucky I have four.”

I could see that she wanted to ask just how many he did have, but she bit her tongue.

Antonio pressed his hand on the imprint that was situated on the glass door of the cell. The door made a hissing sound as it unlocked, but Antonio didn’t open it immediately. “Everyone ready?”

Rolling his shoulders and clearly eager, Harvey said, “Oh yeah.” Salem and David simply nodded.

The second Antonio opened the door wide, the three tainted vampires charged. Harvey stepped inside and used his telekinesis to send all three vampires crashing into the back of the cell. While he held them in place, Salem and David then used their gifts to knock each of them unconscious.

“Harvey, don’t lose your grip on them.” I wasn’t taking any chances. Squeezing past him, I walked into the cell. Paige, Imani, and Antonio came in behind me, and were shortly followed by two guards, who were dragging in an unconscious captive. They placed him beneath where Evan was pinned to the wall. I looked at Paige, who was holding her nose. Yeah, the stench was bad. “Ready?”

She answered by walking to Evan and reaching out to lay her hand on the oozing bite mark, balking at the repugnant sight.

When her hand froze in mid-air, I assured her, “Even if he wakes up, he won’t be able to move.”

Apparently those words satisfied her, because some of the tension left her body and she placed her hand on his throat. What happened next was one of the weirdest things I’d ever seen. It was like something was rippling under her skin, circling her lower arm as it ran from her hand to her elbow. That was when she pulled her hand away and gripped the leg of the unconscious vampire at her feet. The rippling happened again, this time going from her elbow down to her hand and to the now tainted vampire…And it had all happened in a matter of seconds. In a blink, he went from normal to being even more gaunt and skeletal than Evan had been. His eyes snapped open – no rationality there at all – but before he could move, I obliterated him into ashes with a bolt of lightning.

Paige’s eyes widened. “Wow. And I thought my gift was awesome.” Taking the tissue Antonio offered her, she wiped the disgusting ooze from her hand.

Darting to Evan’s side, I could only gawk as I marvelled over the fact that, yep, the bite was gone and the taint had left him. Except for the dark circles under his eyes, he looked totally normal. A lump formed in my throat. Fuck, I’d missed the shithead.

“Is he healed?” Antonio’s voice was dripping with anxiousness.

“Yes, some-the-fuck-how, he’s okay.” Everyone cheered, and I saw Paige flush under the praise that was subsequently thrown at her from the people outside the cell. Knowing that the psychic hit he’d taken to the head would mean Evan would be out cold for a while, I contemplated asking Paige to touch his head and attempt to take away the effects of the hit. But that would mean dragging in a fully aware prisoner to then take on the effects of it – the longer we messed around, the longer Sam would be tainted.

Seemingly reading my mind, Antonio said, “He will be fine in the infirmary until he wakes.” Of course I could teleport him there, but I didn’t want to leave until Sam was okay.

“I will take him,” offered Sebastian as he entered the cell. Flashing Paige a thankful smile, he scooped up Evan and disappeared. The guards then dragged in another two prisoners. Just as with Evan, Paige healed both Max and Stuart by transferring the taint to the unconscious captives, who I then quickly disposed of using my gift. Afterwards, Sebastian teleported both Max and Stuart to the infirmary.

That was when we exited the cell and moved to Sam’s door. She was on her feet now and was leaning against the back wall as if to reassure Paige that she was no threat.

“Sam has only been tainted for a few hours,” Antonio told Paige as he unlocked the cell door. “She is still completely rational.”

Tell her that if she feels more comfortable with Harvey pinning me in place, it’s fine, Sam told me.

“She said that she’s happy for Harvey to hold her still using his gift, if you’d prefer that. I won’t have anyone knock her unconscious, but I’ll agree to her being held in place.”

Paige tilted her head. “You can talk to her through your bond?”

“I’m telepathic.” Panic flashed across her face. I quickly added, “But I can only read thoughts that are directed at me.” She seemed relieved by that, which made me wonder what she was hiding. “Would you rather Sam was held still?”

Paige bit her lip and glimpsed briefly at her friend. I sensed that she was more worried about Imani’s safety than her own. There was clearly a story behind that, but it simply wasn’t important to me right then. All that mattered was getting Sam healed.

“If it’s all the same to you,” began Paige, “I’d rather Harvey did his thing.”

Hesitantly, Harvey came forward, looking awkward. “You sure you’re okay with this, Coach?” It was actually kind of nice that he didn’t want to use his gift on her. She nodded and smiled encouragingly at him. As soon as Antonio opened the door, Harvey used his gift to keep her pinned to the wall.

I then entered the cell. “Hey, baby.” I wanted nothing more than to drag her to me, but that would have to wait a minute.

“They’re all okay? Evan, Max, and Stuart?”

I smiled. “All three of them are now healed and in the infirmary, where they’ll stay until they wake up.” I moved aside to allow the guards to drop an unconscious prisoner at her feet. “Now it’s your turn.”

Sam switched her attention to Paige, who was gaping at her bite mark.

“It healed.” Yep, Paige was totally freaked out.

“The skin healed, but I’m still tainted,” said Sam.

“But…how?” Finally Paige met her eyes.

Sam shrugged. “How can a Sventé vampire be a Feeder? How can a gift as offensive as yours actually do something as amazing as save a person from something that nothing and no one has ever been able to fight? Some things just are.”

After an encouraging nudge from Imani, Paige stepped forward and went to place her hand on the wound. But then she was gaping again. “Um…you have a snake tattoo wriggling toward the bite mark.” No doubt Dexter was downright pissed to know that Sam was tainted by The Call. It wasn’t something that he could protect her from.

“Long story cut short,” began Sam, “Dexter is my…protector. He can become a live snake at my command. He can’t hurt you as a tattoo, so don’t worry.”

Nodding at that, Paige finally touched the wound. The same thing happened as before…apart from one thing. At the same time as the rippling started to travel up Paige’s lower arm, energy began to cling to the surface of Sam’s entire body – it was almost like a protective blanket. Then those silvery-blue trickles all shot to the bite wound, and a light flashed beneath Paige’s hand just as there was a loud crackle.

Paige stumbled backwards, shaking her hand. Not taking her eyes from Sam, she transferred the taint to the unconscious vampire. Only when I’d destroyed the now tainted captive did she speak. “What was that about?” Again she shook her hand. She didn’t seem worried or afraid, just fascinated. “It was like getting a minor electric shock.”

Genuinely baffled, Sam replied vaguely, “Working with energy always brings surprises. Harvey, can you release me now?”

“Oh, sure. Sorry, Coach.”

As she sagged, I pulled Sam to me and held her tight. People piled in the room, surrounding her, telling her that they were glad she was fine and even making jokes – jokes, really? Despite that she was healed, I couldn’t find any humour whatsoever in this situation. I didn’t pay any attention to them; I only had eyes for Sam. “Thank fuck you’re okay.”

She looked at Paige, who was regarding everyone warily. “Paige…Thanks. You don’t need to worry. No one here will hurt you. After what you’ve done for us, I’ll never let them.”

Chico turned to Paige. “You healed four people who are important to me. I owe you for that. The last thing you have to worry about is being harmed here. You and your friend have our protection.”

Paige swallowed hard, looking on the verge of tears. It had clearly been a long time since she had felt safe. “Thanks.”

I pressed my forehead to Sam’s. “I need to be alone with you.” Ignoring the questions coming from the others, I took us to our apartment. Okay, that was kind of selfish but I’d always be that way where Sam was concerned. I brushed her hair aside to frame her face with my hands. “I don’t know what will happen now that Paige is here, but I don’t want to think about it yet.”

“Me neither. I need to shower. I can still smell rotten fish on my skin from when that vampire dived on me.” If the taint had progressed, the same stench would have been wafting from her.

Cupping her ass, I lifted her, and she wrapped her legs around me. Licking and nibbling on her mouth, I carried her to the bathroom. When she went to undress herself, I shook my head. “Let me take care of you.”

What I wanted most was to be buried inside her, wanted to fuck her hard and release all that fear and anger. But she came first, and the last thing she needed was that. So instead, I slowly stripped her naked, placed her under the spray, and gently soaped her body. I had to bite back a groan when she started to return the favour, sliding her soft hands everywhere she could reach. When she went to touch my cock, I gripped her wrist. “Baby, you may have noticed I’m hard as a fucking rock right now. It’s already hard enough to hold back. I can’t have you touching me.”

“Why, exactly, are you holding back?”

“I don’t have the control to go slow, to be careful with you.”

She kissed my chest. “Where did you get the strange idea that I need you to be slow and careful?” Her free hand shot out and curled around my cock – sneaky bitch. Her strokes were firm, sure, and bold. When I wrapped my hand around hers, halting her movements, she sank her teeth hard into my pectoral.

Groaning, I knotted my hand in her hair, intending to yank her away and stop her feeding. Instead, I found myself pressing her closer to me, encouraging her to take more. I was on the verge of coming, thanks to her Sventé saliva, when she suddenly stopped. There was no fucking way I could resist her then. I took her mouth, dominated it, plundered it, loving that it was mine.

I tugged her hand off my cock, backed her against the tiled wall, kicked her legs open wider, and then dropped to my knees. Her whole body jerked as I parted her folds with my thumbs and blew on her clit. “I love how responsive you are.” I began toying with her clit, alternating between suckling on it, flicking it with my tongue, and lightly nibbling on it. Then I tilted my head and slid my tongue between her folds. “Let me hear you, Sam.” The entire time I ate her out, she groaned and moaned and whimpered. Of course she also cursed me to hell and back for keeping her hanging on the edge.

“Enough,” she croaked, trembling.

“It’s never enough, baby.” I got to my feet, slipped my arms underneath her thighs, and elevated her high. Then I dropped her hard on my cock, making her cry out. Fuck, the feel of her muscles pulsing around me was almost too much. “Is that what you wanted?” I ground out.

She groaned in assent and squirmed, tempting me to move. Keeping her legs balanced in the crook of my elbows, I slowly withdrew before slamming back inside, going deeper this time. But it wasn’t deep enough. “I want you to take it all, Sam.” Once more I slowly pulled out and then, with one smooth, fierce stroke, buried myself balls-deep inside her. “That’s it.” I flexed my hips, making sure I was as deep as I could get. Her face was scrunched up in either pleasure or pain, I couldn’t tell. “Too deep? Does it hurt?”

She nodded. “But not in a bad way.”

“Good because I need to be deep inside you right now.” I needed to know, feel, that she was okay.

“Good because I need you there.”

I hitched in a breath. It wasn’t often that Sam ever claimed to need anything. “I’m here. And I’m going to fuck you hard. So hard. And you’re going to love it. And you’re going to explode all over my cock and wring me dry.” Then I was mercilessly punching my cock in and out of her. Her irises were glowing mercury with arousal – so fucking beautiful.

She grappled at the wall for purchase, and tried arching into my thrusts, but I had her pinned exactly as I wanted her. There was only one other thing I wanted. I bit into the juncture of her neck and shoulder, groaning as her blood flowed onto my tongue. The syrupy punch to it was too damn good. I drank deep as I pounded into her, groaning again when I felt her teeth sink into my shoulder. Fuck. My pace became frantic, violent, as she completely overwhelmed every one of my senses. “Come, Sam,” I ordered roughly. “Milk me.” She screamed around my shoulder as she came; her muscles tightened and rippled around my cock, wringing every last drop of come out of me, like her body was determined to have it all.

It was a few minutes before I could speak again. “Shit, I needed that.”

Panting, she breathed, “Me as well.”

As I dried her body with a towel, she remained pliant against me. I couldn’t help but smile since Sam being pliant wasn’t a regular occurrence. She was still limp as a noodle when I positioned her on the bed and came to rest next to her, my head propped on my hand. “You okay?”

Her eyes fluttered open. They were pleasure-drunk but also…baffled. “You really would do anything for me, wouldn’t you?”

“You’re only beginning to realise this now?” I gently ran my finger from the hollow of her throat down between her breasts and further down to circle her belly button. “You should already know that.” My hand splayed possessively over her stomach. “You should feel it here. In your gut.”

“I really didn’t think that you would bring Paige here. Not when it was possible that it would bring trouble to The Hollow and everyone here.”

She thought that I’d ever let her die for any reason? I shook my head, gazing at her with mock sympathy. “I love this place, and I care about some of the people in it, and I consider it my responsibility to keep everyone who resides here safe. But you come before everything and everyone.”

Her brow furrowed as her expression suddenly turned vulnerable. I knew why it was so hard for her to comprehend. No one had ever put Sam first. Not her parents, who had been more interested in running the family business than caring for her. Not her Sire, who had killed someone she cared for and then used her in every sense of the word. Not her nest, who had stood by and watched as she was used that way. Granted, many of them feared Victor and a few of them had tried to help her, but it hadn’t been enough. So even though she could feel how important she was to me, she still couldn’t understand it. She didn’t realise what lengths I’d go to in order to keep her or to protect her.

She snuggled into me and pressed a soft kiss to my chest. “I really am sorry that I put your life in danger.”

I cupped her face, brushing the pad of my thumb along her cheekbone. “Baby, you don’t need to apologise for that. You did your job; you looked out for our squad. I was never angry that my life was threatened. I was only angry that something had happened to you. It wasn’t your fault – I shouldn’t have blamed you.”

“But you could have died.” Her voice was low, pained.

“I was more worried about you.” Confusion flashed across her face. See? She just couldn’t quite grasp that someone would put her first, that they would find her so vital and necessary to them. Making a mental note to try to tell her I loved her more often, I kissed her mouth softly. “Sleep, baby. You’re exhausted.”

“Only if you don’t let me sleep too long. We need to make sure that Evan has the chance to speak to Alora before she leaves.”

“I’ll wake you up in a couple of hours.”

She closed her eyes. “Stay here with me.”

Her plea squeezed my chest. As much as she had tried to hide it, she had been terrified when she’d been bitten – more terrified for me than for herself. I knew from experience that coming extremely close to death had a way of making you realise just exactly how much you had to lose, just exactly what was important and just how important it truly was. It could shake you and your equilibrium in a way that not much else could. And she was shaken. I rested my head on the pillow and practically enveloped her body with mine. “I’ll be right here.”

She drifted to sleep with a smile on her face, and – just like I’d done the time she’d been unconscious after killing her Sire – I stayed where I was and watched her sleep.