Death Wish (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #5)(24)

He drove me headlong into the flames of passion that threatened to consume us. I was free falling through the throes of climax while my heart stuttered in an erratic beat. The metaphysical energy we’d called pulsed around and through us. It was too much for me. I couldn’t breathe nor could I escape it. It was inside me, part of me. And for a moment, I thought it would kill me.

Blood trickled from my nose. My head felt as if it would burst. Arys’s name was on my lips, but I couldn’t speak. He sucked at my bloody neck. When he raised his head, my blood was smeared on his lips and teeth. Realizing that the power we’d drawn was more than I could safely conduct, Arys stripped it from me, effectively freeing me from its deadly hold.

I clung to him as I sucked air into my lungs. There was a hum in my ears, and tingles shot through my limbs. The bite on my neck throbbed in time with my racing pulse.

“Are you ok, love?” Arys pressed the side of his face to mine. “That was intense. Too intense for you.”

My voice was raspy with the wolf. “I’ll be alright. I might get a hell of a headache though.”

Arys rolled over beside me but stayed close, pressed to my side. After tugging the bloodstained pillow from beneath my head, he pulled me into the safe confines of his embrace. I snuggled in against him, my head on his chest while he lazily stroked a hand through my disheveled hair.

“That’s been happening to you a lot lately. The nosebleeds and headaches. I don’t like it.”

I wiggled my fingers, watching as the claws retracted. There was blood on my fingertips. “I’m fine, Arys.” I felt better already. Besides, he was in worry mode lately; I wasn’t going to feed it.

He wanted to say something more. I could feel it. After a long moment of contemplation, he gave in and spit it out.

“I don’t think it’s fine. I think it’s starting to become more than you can handle.” His hold on me tightened possessively. “It’s dangerous.”

I swallowed hard, willing myself to relax. My mortal body had been the subject of concern before, regarding the power we shared. My body bound me to the earth and to the wolf, but his undead energy was never meant for a living being. Together Arys and I were life and death, a nearly unheard of combination.

The full extent of what we were capable of was still unknown to me. I’d already decided that I wasn’t ready to become a vampire. It would happen upon my death, something I planned to avoid as long as possible.

“Hey, what happened to enjoying the afterglow?” I asked, setting his worry aside.

He grinned, but I could see that it was forced. My intent wasn’t to downplay his concerns. I simply didn’t want to think about them right then. After a violent, messy expression of love, I wanted nothing more than to allow the illusive peace that came after to sweep me away. Reality could wait.

Chapter Eight

I didn’t come to the office much anymore. Since I’d killed the man who had run it, I’d had little reason to return. Back when I’d been hunting idiot vampires that drew the wrong kind of attention with their kills, this had been grand central, where we all came to regroup and to unwind.

Now, it was just a building that housed many memories. The kitchen was where I’d found Jez in a pool of her own blood the night Kale attacked her. My office down the hall was where Kale and I had succumbed to temptation for the first time. And, the main office at the very end of that corridor was where I’d killed my former boss, Veryl Armstrong.

I closed the front door hard when I came in, announcing my arrival. Noise from the kitchen greeted me. Lilah looked up suddenly, mild surprise creasing her brow.

“Alexa. Hi. How’s it going?” She asked, closing a cupboard so fast it slammed.

I found it odd that she hadn’t sensed me before I’d come inside. I was getting better at cloaking my energy. Good to know. If Lilah couldn’t detect me, would Shya? I’d have to find out.

Lilah was a demon, one I didn’t know nearly enough about. All I did know was that she was some kind of big bad in the underworld. Or, she had been. A curse held her trapped in a corporeal form, a vampire. Her demon power was limited, but it was still deadly. I’d seen her vanquish other demons with merely a word.

“It could be worse.” I shrugged. “You?”

“Ditto.”

“I just came in to get the rest of my things since I’m not spending much time here anymore.” I headed down the hall to my office, aware of her silent steps behind me. A chill crept up my spine. I resisted the urge to turn around.

“Falon told me what happened last night. Close call.” Lilah hung back in the doorway, leaning against the frame. Her long copper colored hair fell in waves over her shoulders. Dressed all in black, her hair looked more like fire than usual.

I opened a desk drawer and started pulling out pens and notepads. “Not close enough for whoever was asinine enough to take that shot.”

“They don’t know who they’re messing with.” Lilah flashed me an encouraging smile.

“So I take it you haven’t heard anything about who it may be?” I was acutely aware of her pale orange eyes on me as I tossed small desk items into my shoulder bag.

She paused, considering my question. “I have heard there’s a werewolf asking a lot of questions about you.”

I dropped my gaze to the desk drawer as I scooped out office supplies. What could Lilah possibly know about Juliet? “So I’ve heard.”