Refugee (The Captive #3)(18)
She clung to him, so trusting and giving, so unknowing of the ferocious thirst clamoring through him as she offered her vein to him. He was braced against her as he struggled to find the strength to pull away, to walk out of this room and find someone else. But there was no one else, there was only her.
The scent of her blood engulfed him; her heartbeat invaded his body and took over his senses. As he bit deep, her sweet life giving blood surged into his mouth, flowed through his body and filled his dehydrated cells. Instantly the clamoring that had encased him began to ease. A groan of ecstasy escaped him as he became lost in her.
CHAPTER 5
It was sometime later before Aria stirred. She was drowsy, her muscles felt weak, but the strange sensation of being sated clung to her. Her fingers curled, she had expected to find the unyielding bite of the ground but instead she felt the solid muscle of Braith’s chest, and the yielding give of a mattress. She was momentarily confused, she barely recalled the last time she’d been in a bed, or the last time she had awoken with Braith still beside her.
But he was beneath her now.
She allowed herself to simply drift in the pleasure of that realization and managed to doze off once more. He was still with her when she woke again feeling more refreshed and a little livelier. She lifted her head slowly, blinking down at him as she found him staring back at her. The glasses, thankfully, were not in place.
Though his eyes were filled with concern, the lines around his lips and eyes had nearly vanished. The strain he had been exhibiting, the nearly mechanical movements he had been going through were gone as he gazed at her. Her blood had revitalized him, his body had been nourished. She stretched and pressed closer to him as she was swamped with the realization that she had been the one to give him what he so desperately needed.
“How do you feel?”
“A little tired,” she admitted. “How long have I been out?”
“A while.”
Uneasiness filled her. “We were supposed to only be an hour Braith.”
“It’s fine.”
“But Gideon is waiting for us and he doesn’t seem all that patient. William…”
“I took care of it Aria, and William is with Ashby, you don’t have to worry.”
Of course she had to worry, her brother was stuck in this place and she was curled up sleeping with Braith. “We should go.”
She went to climb out of the bed but he grabbed hold of her, pulling her back. “Braith…”
“Wait Arianna, just wait.” His left hand entwined in her hair, she became acutely aware of the fact that she was only wearing a towel as it dropped a little. “It shouldn’t have happened like that. I was out of control.”
“You can’t keep denying yourself, and I’m fine.”
His fingers brushed nimbly along the top of the towel. Her heart lurched as excitement pulsed through her and her mouth went dry. Her skin tingled and heated everywhere he touched. “You’re fine this time, but next time…”
“Next time I will be fine too because you are going to start feeding better. If you insist on not using other humans as much, fine.” That was just fine and dandy with her also, but she couldn’t stand to see him suffering anymore. “But you’re going to have to use them more when animals aren’t readily available.”
His jaw clenched and unclenched as he studied her. “How are you so accepting of all of this, of me? I hurt you.”
She tilted her head to study him. “You didn’t hurt me.”
He pushed himself up, launching to his feet as he stalked across the room. She watched him, sensing something more beneath the tension radiating from him. “Not just today Aria, but the first time I took your blood, in the woods, the fact that I was previously engaged. The other blood slaves.”
She recoiled at the reminder of all of those things. She felt the blood drain from her face but somehow managed to keep her chin up as she glared at him. “And I left you in that palace Braith. My pride wounded us both when I left with Jack. I didn’t believe in you, and because of that I drove you to those slaves; I drove you to your lowest depths of depravation. How do you forgive me for that?”
“You didn’t almost kill me.”
“I shot an arrow at you!” she snapped.
His head tilted to the side, his dark hair spilled across his forehead. “That hardly counts.”
Irritation flared through her, she clasped the towel to her as she knelt on the bed to face him. “Then give me another one and this time I’ll make it count!” His grin infuriated her. Huffing a little she clutched the towel as she shimmied her way inelegantly off the bed.
He grasped hold of her arm before she disappeared into the bathroom; he held it tenderly as she glared angrily up at him. “Aria…”
“Love isn’t about perfection Braith! It’s about understanding and forgiveness, it’s about giving and taking in equal measure. I gave my blood to you. I forgave you for things that you are struggling to forgive yourself for, because I love you. I know that you have done some awful things, and you have hurt me, just as I have hurt you. You gave up a life of opulence, grace, and a vast supply of blood for a life of deserts and fighting and starvation for me. I willingly gave you my blood because I would do anything for you also.