Page 19 of To Kill a Vampire
Fallon’s question startles me, my attention swinging up to her in an instant. I swallow hard as I try to think of something to say that doesn’t sound entirely pathetic.
The silent woods wait for my reply, along with the confusing and maddening woman I love. She takes a few more careful steps toward me, her dirty boots nearly touching mine.
“Just needed some space, I guess.”
A long moment passes in the warm breeze. She assesses me while I wait for her judgment. Worry lines her brows as she studies me intently, her arms folding across her chest and bringing composure back to replace the minimal emotion she just revealed to me – as if her feelings are a weakness now instead of a normalcy of life.
A simple nod is all she gives me. One heartbreaking nod before she starts to leave. My stomach falls watching her turn away from me for the thousandth time. Without thinking, I grab her ankle and pull her back to me. The leaves shift beneath her stumbling steps. She’s all pushing arms and anxious breaths as she struggles to remain standing. A harsh landing is all that comes of her efforts. She lands in my lap, legs on either side of my hips. Her hand presses against the tree near my head to hold herself away from me.
Of all the things I thought might happen, her settling against me wasn’t one of them. My breath hitches when she lowers herself, relaxing her thighs against mine. I wanted to talk to her. I wanted her to remember she loved me. Once. She once said she loved me.
But she’s here now. And I’ll remind her any way I can.
Calm but eager hands slip up her thighs, grasping her hips and holding her against me. My eyes meet hers as I lean into her. Soft skin touches my lips for an instant, my nose skimming her neck, a familiar smell wafting through my memory.
The curve of her neck welcomes me as she subtly arches her back, her hand snaking out so fast I can’t even process the movement. Tightly her fingers dig into my throat, constricting my breathing ever so delicately.
Her strength holds me in place, threatening my existence as she brushes her body against mine. Her body betrays her efforts. Her hand holds me at bay while her chest pushes against me, closing the minimal distance between us.
“What are you doing?” she asks in a raspy whisper.
A careful breath meets my lungs as I push defiantly against her biting nails and press another slow kiss against her warm skin.
“Tell me to stop, Fallon.”
Neither of us moves for torturous seconds. Her grip loosens on my throat, her palm brushing up to caress my jawline.
A desperate breath shakes from my lungs before I place a kiss lower down the base of her neck. She leans to the side, granting me easier access as I trail farther up. A salty taste lingers against my lips as my tongue moves over her body.
Fingers slip through my hair as her other hand fists my shirt. Her breath falters as I kiss up her jawline, her body molding against mine. I feel the change before the switch ever flips. She inhales long and deep, a mixture of control and need in her unsteady breath. A sound I’ve heard hungry animals make just before death strikes.
I push back from her, holding her as far away as my emotions will allow me. Less than a foot of space separates us as I stare up into her blazing eyes, our hands still clinging to each other.
She swallows slowly, her eyes closing as sadness flashes across her beautiful face.
“I’m sorry,” I tell her. My heart crashes, free falling through my chest.
With the turn of the wind, she’s gone. I’m left sitting alone just as I was before. As if she was never even there.
Ten
Pleading Mercy
Fallon
Tension follows us on our journey. Everyone seems to be glaring at one another. The strangling need to wash away the thoughts of bloodlust bite through my mind with every passing hour.
I settle into a shallow cave just before the sun rises. I press my back against the cool wall as I lie on my side, waiting to see the warming light I’ve come to miss so much.
A diluted hue of the rising sun sneaks into my safe haven, lining the leafy floor with a beautiful golden cast of light. My fingers press against the dirt and smooth over the ground, my nails toying with the ray of sunlight.
Asher walks toward me, pausing just outside the cave before lowering himself to the ground to lean against the cliff wall. Twenty feet separate me from him, but endless emotions cloud the space between us. The sunlight casts him in a warm glow that only heightens his good looks. He throws his arms across his knees, his shoulders falling with an unseen weight.
I pull my hand back to the safety of my chest. My eyes begin to flutter closed, willing my mind to push away everything in my life for just a few hours. The snapping sound of twigs breaking brings my attention to the outside world once more. Declan stands at the opposite side of the cave entrance. The two hybrids briefly acknowledge one another without speaking before Declan joins Asher, sitting opposite of him and crossing his legs as he tips his blonde head up to the morning sun. Asher’s narrowed gaze remains on the hybrid for several long seconds.
One of them is going to hurt the other. Maybe that’s their intention. Maybe they need to hurt one another to feel … balanced. The world is a teetering mess of politics, and yet the two mystics most alike in this world can’t find amity with one another.
I roll my eyes before allowing sleep to pull me away from their unreasonable behavior. The nothingness is a solitude I seek out too often now.
