Page 85 of Sundowners
I didn’t understand exactly how he absorbed energy, but I planned to be there when he woke to make sure he had what he needed, whatever he needed.
If it was blood, so be it.
Around three in the morning,Creed woke me, thrashing in the bed.
“Hey,” I said, pulling him into my arms. “Shhhh, it’s okay, Creed. You’re okay.”
“Muse,” he murmured. “Muse, no. Please!”
He buried his face into my neck, and I held him tightly, our legs intertwined. I stayed awake as long as I could in case he woke once more afraid, but eventually sleep won and pulled me under.
“Roman.”
Creed’s movement dragged me from sleep near dawn.
“I’m here. What do you need?”
He ran his hands up and down my sides, clutched at my back, seemingly desperate to get closer to me.
“Roman,” he said again, and then he kissed my neck.
I moaned and held his lips to my throat, sensation overwhelming me. He tangled his fingers in my hair.
“Goddess help me, Roman, but I need you.”
“Yes, Creed. What can I do, what do you need?”
He pressed his forehead to mine and tried to slow his breathing. “Turn on the light, please.”
I rolled over and turned on the Himalayan salt lamp that I kept next to my bed. I liked to think it helped me sleep better, though it hadn’t helped much lately, as my worry for Creed had kept me awake for hours every night.
I rolled back to him and his haunted eyes were open wide. He was very much awake.
“What’s wrong?” I asked him.
“There’s nothing wrong,” he said, his voice shaky. “But I won’t do this, won’t doanyof this, without your consent. It’s one thing to hear me talk about an Exchange in abstract terms, and another for you to offer yourself to me without fully comprehending what the ritual is about.”
I pulled back slightly and held his hand in mine. Lying next to each other, sharing a pillow, our legs intertwined, I knew I would do whatever he asked, but I wanted to honor him by hearing him out.
“You can tell me anything. I want to understand.”
He blew out a breath and closed his eyes for a moment.
“The gift of your essence is one I don’t take lightly. Your energy has been a blessing since the first time I met you. It has sustained me, but it has also shown me the man you are, how honorable and brave you are. The fact that you trust me so implicitly makes me long for you, makes me want to do right by you in all ways.”
He squeezed my hands and exhaled again.
“Whatever it is, Creed…tell me.”
“What I do, I do to survive. I would never hurt you, Roman.”
“I understand. You take only what you need to survive, give unto others what they require. I heard what you said. I’m not afraid.”
He smiled. “The part that concerns me, with you, is the use of the pheromone.”
My eyebrows rose. “How do you mean?”
He reached up and brushed his fingers over the crook of my neck. “Let’s just say that I haven’t been able to control myself very well with you, and it’s had a physiological effect on you. I want you to know that before I use it.”
