Embrace The Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #2)(83)

She could smell the stench of the metal burning into his flesh, and she knew that it must be as painful as all the ghastly wounds put together.

Tugging, pulling, cussing, and wrenching she at last managed to free the chain from me clasp set in the wall of the cavern. Of course her success did come with a cost as Viper dropped heavily to the ground, the chain landing on top of him.

Shay rushed forward, sweeping the chains off his body before grasping the shackles and jerking them off Viper's wrists.

For years she had cursed the demon strength that set her apart from humans. She had been a freak. A creature to be mocked by children and feared by adults. Now for the first time she truly appreciated the gifts she had been given.

Cradling Viper's head in her lap, she wiped the blood from his face with a shaking hand.

"Viper. Viper, can you hear me?"

There was no response for a frightening beat, and then he stirred in her arms.

"Shay?"

She leaned over to whisper in his ear. "Don't move, I'm here."

"Is this a dream?"

She choked back a hysterical laugh. "Surely you must have better dreams than this?"

"I have been dreaming of you for months. No, I've been dreaming of you for an eternity." His hands reached up to weakly grasp her arms, his eyes opening with a painful effort. "I thought I would never find you, but I did. I couldn't let you go. Not when I needed you so desperately. I will never let you go."

Her breath caught as ridiculous tears stung her eyes. He was no doubt delirious and completely out of his mind with pain. But no one had ever said anything that had touched her so deeply.

She was forced to clear her throat as she gently stroked his hair. "As if you could possibly get rid of me now. We're stuck together like..."

"Day-old rice?" he said.

"Refrigerated leftovers are not quite the romantic metaphor I was searching for." A frown touched her brow as his eyes slid shut. "Viper." She gave him a small shake. "Viper you must wake."

With an obvious effort he struggled back to consciousness. "You shouldn't be here. It's dangerous."

Dangerous? A cave full of vampires desperate to drain her blood? Nah.

"Don't worry, I'm leaving," she soothed.

"Yes." His hand squeezed her arm. "Leave now."

"We're both leaving." She gently freed her arm from his tight grasp to place her wrist against his lips. "But first you must drink."

She could feel his entire body tighten at her words. "Shay, no. You don't want me taking your blood."

She gave an impatient click of her tongue. Could the man do anything without an argument?

And he called her stubborn.

"We had a deal, Viper. Blood to heal you. Do you think a Shalott ever reneges on a deal?"

He gave a shake of his head. "Shay, go. They will kill you."

She shrugged. "First they have to catch me."

A weary smile touched his lips. "You aren't nearly so tough as you like to think you are."

"I'm going to show you just how tough I am if you don't drink," she warned, pressing her arm to his lips. "You have to do this now or we're both dead."

His dark eyes searched her set expression for a long, silent moment.

"Stubborn," he at last breathed.

"I learned from a master," she muttered. "Now bite."

He did.

Shay's eyes widened and her entire body shuddered in shock as his fangs slid easily through the skin of her wrist. It wasn't from pain. She almost wished it was. That would have been easy to battle. The saints above knew she had enough experience. But how did she battle the shocking flare of pleasure that raced through her body? Or the heat pooling in the pit of her stomach?

Flat out...she didn't.

Her teeth clenched as her lower body tightened with a familiar excitement. Oh, she knew where this was heading, she acknowledged as her breath came in shallow pants. With every tug of his mouth she could feel the pleasure mounting, as if he were deep inside her stroking her most intimate places.

Her eyes threatened to roll back in her head as her free hand clenched in his hair. In a tiny, very tiny, corner of her mind she recognized that Viper's strength was rapidly returning. It was obvious in the fierce sucking at her wrist, and the hand that clutched at her arm.

She was a little too preoccupied at the moment, however, to fully appreciate the knowledge her blood was working its magic.

Go figure…

The sweet pressure reached a critical mass and burying her face in Viper's hair Shay bit back her cry of fulfillment. Holy crap. She was dizzy and weak from the powerful release. And quite frankly more than a little embarrassed. It was hardly the time or place for such a private interlude. Not that her body seemed to mind. It was utterly content as Viper stirred to life and shifted so feat he could sit upright and cradle her in his arms.

"Shay?" His hand smoothed back the hair that had strayed from her braid. "Shay, speak to me."

"Wow," she breathed, forcing herself to meet his worried gaze.

Not the most articulate response, but it was a step above a grunt.

Viper frowned. "Did I hurt you?"

"Not exactly."

He searched her expression for a long moment before comprehension at last flared through the dark eyes.