Page 206 of Of Sins and Sacrifice

I blink, and in the next moment, I find myself in his arms as he twirls me around.

“I missed you,” he whispers against my ear.

“Mine! People will see!”

“So? I don’t care. Let everyone see that you’re mine.”

Heat travels up my cheeks, but I don’t make any effort to push him away, simply melting in his embrace.

“You’re all right? No injuries?”

“None.”

“And your crew?”

“Perfectly fine as well.”

“Good. That is good.”

“It was a good mission. Not too many fallen, and it seems everyone made it back in one piece,” he mentions as he looks around. It dawns on me he’s speaking about the souls of the dead. There aren’t any around.

“Come, I need to speak to you,” he says urgently as he all but drags me away from the commotion on the runway.

We get to the cabin and he locks the door behind him. Hands on my hips, I tilt my head and frown as I wait for him to speak.

“I need you,” he rasps as he wrenches the uniform from his body, shedding his clothing until he remains bare-chested.

TWENTY-NINE

My eyes growto the size of two saucers as I gawk at him.

“What are you doing?” I squeak and jump back.

Once his chest is bare, I note that his scars are an angry red, far worse than before.

“Minnie,” he says my name in a harsh voice.

“What do you need?”

“Blood,” he states simply. “Your blood.”

I don’t need to ask why he needs it because I can see it in the way his scars threaten to split open. They’re raised and jagged, almost like a dress whose seams cannot hold it together any longer.

I grab a knife from the table and press the blade to my forearm. The pain is swift and sharp. I extend my arm to him and he’s in front of me in two strides, fitting his lips to the bleeding wound.

He sucks it in greedily, his throat bobbing up and down.

Warmth spreads through me as I push myself into him, urging him to take more until he’s sated.

With a low, guttural sound, he wrenches himself away from me. He’s breathing hard, but the scars on his body are no longeras threatening as before. The redness has now dulled to a light pink.

He lets out a sigh as if a massive weight’s been lifted off his chest. He takes a few second to compose himself before he moves to his dresser and takes a small box from the top shelf. He quietly wraps a bandage around my arm before laying a kiss to my inner wrist.

“What happened?” I ask

“We were hit hard,” he replies.

“But you said it was a good mission.” I frown.

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