Page 71 of Hunted
I huffed.“Ruining the apology kiss mood here.”I puckered up my lips and made a ridiculous smacking sound.
Josh huffed another laugh, but he leaned in, gently pressing his lips to mine.I could feel the tension in him as he waited to see what would happen, waited for Acacia to take over.But he was wearing his amulet, and I knew that was at least some buffer between him and Acacia.I lifted a hand and ran my fingers through his soft hair, opening to him, urging him to relax.The fangs were a new addition, but I was used to that thanks to Sadavir, and Robin...and Martina...even Yukio had sharp canines...actually, fangs might just be my thing.
When Josh pulled back, he let out a shaky breath.“Oh.I’ve missed that.Missedyou.Both of you.”
I lay back as Sadavir leaned over me to steal a kiss of his own.Josh groaned as his friend and lover showed him just how unafraid he was of a little vampire possession.My whole body warmed, something tense uncoiling and settling inside me like a cat purring in the sunshine.Eventually, Josh spoke again, a bit of laughter lacing his voice.“Okay, okay.Enough.Acacia could decide to make an appearance at any time.”
“Amulet,” Sadavir voiced.
I nodded agreement.“You’ve got your protection amulet on.I know it’s not perfect, but it’s something.And Sadavir is strong enough to fight you off if you go crazy.”Pausing, I decided to just lean into the ridiculousness of our natures.“And now that he and I are bonded, I’m pretty sure the big, bad naga alpha wouldn’t let you hurt his omega mate.Which means he’ll actually stand up to you if you lose control.”
Sadavir hummed in agreement.Josh sighed.But he slowly moved closer again, kissing me softly on the lips, then trailing kisses over my cheeks, my eyelids, down the side of my neck.I sighed and leaned into him, gentle, easy pleasure unfurling through my body at his closeness.
He froze, and his hand which had been softly caressing my upper arm suddenly gripped hard instead.He sucked in a breath.“No.I.I need to go.”
I reached for him as he moved to get off the bed.“Josh?What’s wrong?Is Acacia—”
He laughed bitterly.“No.It’s not Acacia.This time it’s all me.I might not be entirely at fault, but the truth is, I’m still a monster, Ruya.”
I frowned.Sadavir moved and I followed his urging so we all sat over the edge of the bed.“What do you mean?”I said, honestly confused.
“You smell so good,” Josh said softly.His voice dropped again, doing that sultry vampire thing, and the sound settled right between my legs.“I can hear your heartbeat.Feel your pulse under your skin, calling to me.I almostbityou, Ruya.Without even thinking.”
I just sat there for a second or two, processing.Then I smiled in relief.I couldn’t help it.I’d thought there was something much worse going on.“You think you’re a monster because you wanted to feed from me?”
At his stubborn silence, I nudged my shoulder against his.“Josh.I’ve fed Martina plenty of times.Do you think she’s a monster?”
“That’s not the same thing,” he said, voice going a bit petulant.“It’s not funny.”
I tried not to be too flippant about his concern, I really did.But of all the things for him to be concerned about.“I’ve fed you before.I donated blood when you were first turned, when you were recovering.And I allowed a direct bite before that, when you were still in and out of consciousness.So has Sadavir.It didn’t harm us in any way.”
I caught myself squirming a bit in my seat, and forced myself to stop.Didn’t harm mewas a very mild way of putting it.But I knew how Josh felt about sex—I wasn’t sure now was the time to share with him how arousing it apparently was to feed a vampire...
“That’s not the same thing,” Josh said, clearly not knowing where my mind had gone.“Feeding me because I was newly changed and in need of sustenance, or feeding Martina now and then to fill a basic need.”His voice grew closer as he paced by the bed, the tone filled with shame.“Ruya, I don’tneedblood right now.I’m not starving or newly awoken from my change.I justwantit.Do you understand?I don’t want to be the kind of creature who feeds off others just for fun.What kind of monster takesjoyin hurting others?”
Acacia probably did.And that was the point, wasn’t it?He didn’t want to be like the other vampires he’d met, cruel and selfish, living only for his own pleasure, his own depraved enjoyment.But...given my previous reaction to his bite, I had the feeling it didn’thaveto be that way.
“Josh, a true monster wouldn’t be worried about this,” I said with a little smile, urging him to stop being so hard on himself all the time.“The mere fact that you are thinking about our wellbeing is proof you are still the caring, loving beta you always were.You just have different...interests now.”I shook my head adamantly, then took a breath, ready to expose my guilty secret, if it helped him cope.“Wanting to nibble on me doesn’t make you a monster any more than the fact that I actually enjoy—”
The words dried up in my throat as a groan escaped me instead.Not a death song.Not quite.But something wasn’t right.My healing powers were telling me someone nearby needed me.Urgently.
The assassination mission!
I shot to my feet and rushed out of the room.Sadavir and Josh followed me as I raced through the halls of the private living areas, all the way to the back, down a flight of stairs to a reinforced and warded steel door.My hands pressed to cold metal, my heartbeat pounding in my ears and my breathing loud to my own ears.
I knew it before they even opened the door.I felt it in the tug behind my breastbone—Cicely’s aura sparking with the sort of disarray caused by severe pain and shock.He never should have gone with them.I knew he hated being left out, and that he wanted to feel strong, and thiswasa fae they were dealing with and familiar territory for him, but...whydid Robin let him go?
They got close enough for his mind speak to reach me.Hurt but alive,he insisted.That should have comforted me.It didn’t.
When they came out of the tunnels and into The Fox, it was with tight, agitated auras and grim voices.I smelled smoke, and it got closer as Robin’s powerful aura brushed past me.She didn’t speak to me, just breezed past, ignoring me as she had been for days now.And Cicely—I rushed toward where I felt his aura, cloaked in darkness.It took me a moment to register that he was leaning against Dusek’s side.My fingers brushed over a bandage that had been wrapped around his torso, but it was already damp with blood as he bled right through the attempt at first aid.
I didn’t ask questions.I just dropped into that space I went to in life-or-death situations.I tuned into what my healing powers were telling me, tuning out everything else.Cicely was still alive, yes.And arguably further from death than he had been the last time I had to patch him up.But not by much.If I wasn’t here, he would bleed out before they could fetch the healer.
I was here, though.And I refused to let that happen.
*****
By the time I had Cicelyhealed, settled in his room and resting, my hands were shaking, and my chest felt too tight to breathe.I should rest too.I wanted nothing more than to curl up in his bed with him and join him in dreamland.But I couldn’t.I felt restless, an odd sense of something that needed to be done pushing and pulling at me.Some instinct calling to me that I couldn’t quite name.
