Into the Darkness (Darkness #1)(37)

“I didn’t mean to! Well, yes I did. I just wanted him to stop hurting you. He was about to kill you!”

Stefan’s eyes squinted. He leaned forward. “Are you okay?”

“Scared, a little. But…” Sweat dripped down my temple but I started to shiver. I looked at my arms. They glistened with moisture. My cheeks burned right before my head swirled.

The fever gripped me.

Suddenly the cage disappeared and Stefan had me in his arms. The last thing I remembered, he was running.

*****

“She’s lucid, sir. Somewhat. No response, though.”

Stefan approached the wide bed, looking down on the limp human, her angelic face devoid of color. Her arms rested on her chest, her body so still she looked dead.

A shot of fear pierced Stefan’s chest. “Will she make it?”

Luke’s head shook before he sighed. “She shouldn’t have made it last time. Yet she did. Something is holding her to this life.”

“My blood helped last time. Will it help again?”

Luke studied him, trying to read Stefan. He’d keep on trying, too. Stefan didn’t maintain a leadership role by giving away his motives.

Stefan hadn’t told anyone what he’d seen: That Sasha had used the black magic level, the most powerful, rarest level of magic that existed. That level of magic, nearly a pure shot drawn directly from the elements, hadn’t been seen in hundreds of years—the use of it not more than legend. Even Trek, the enemy’s mage, could only go as high as white, a step down.

“If you give her too much, too often, you will develop a link to her,” Luke cautioned.

Stefan remained immobile. They already had a link. Before they’d even met they had a link. Another thing he didn’t feel the need to divulge. “I understand.”

Luke’s head tilted. “This is extreme for a pet, don’t you think? She’s pretty,” he shrugged, “but she is still just a human. They die early, they can rarely access their magic with any consistency… Plus, this human has caused a rare amount of trouble. I would advise you to reconsider.”

Stefan barely kept his eyes from drifting to Sasha’s face. “How many pets have I had, Luke?”

The doctor’s eyes squinted marginally, thinking. His eyebrows rumpled.

“Exactly none. I don’t keep pets. They are a nuisance and a waste of time, not to mention dangerous if they fall in love. As I’m sure you agree, humans can be unpredictable when they love or hate. Especially both at the same time. She is not a pet. I have had no interaction with her sexually. This is business, and she needs to live. Will my blood work?”

Luke sighed, raising his eyebrows in a facial shrug. “If you can get her to drink, she might pull out of it. Might. She should be dead already. But…well, she survived last time, so who’s to say?”

While some cultures of human did ingest blood regularly, it was the blood of cattle or goat, and generally localized to that culture. Most of the time, a person or animal had to have specialized digestive mechanisms to filter out the excess iron consumed in blood. If they didn’t, a person could easily sustain an iron overdose. Just another difference between humans and his species.

Luckily, Sasha’s body had proved to handle his blood, which was both high in power and highly taboo to most human cultures. He didn’t understand why, but given the circumstances, it would save her life. Again. Hopefully.

Stefan nodded, allowing himself to bestow his gaze back to this woman that had a firm hold on his vitals for reasons he couldn’t understand or explain. The only thing he knew with certainty was that she could not die. Not just for her magic ability, but also because…

Stefan shook his head. He refused to think about it. This was business, she was a rare find, that the enemy now had wind of, and she could-not-die!

“Get out,” Stefan barked. He swung his gaze around the room to the half-dozen attendees.

As expected, everyone scattered, including the meddling Luke.

Stefan approached the bed slowly, his body tingling, his dick starting to pound. He should feed her his wrist. That’s what he’d done before. There was distance in the wrist—an arm’s length to be precise.

But he wanted to be closer. He wanted to be inside her while she drank his life’s blood. Unfortunately, that would be similar to tricking her, since his pheromones didn’t work on her and she would never consent to it with her boyfriend still in the picture. Damn unfortunate, because he knew she wanted him. Her self-control was just as slippery around him as his was around her.

He stripped his shirt and pants and crawled under the sheets, stretching out his bare body next to hers. He would bring her to his neck, only touching G-rated parts even though her clothes had been removed, and if she reacted so be it.

Why did this make him feel like a sleaze ball?

He slid his hand along her flat stomach, spreading out his fingers so he covered as much skin as possible. The length of his body touched hers, her skin too warm, but still soft and supple.

He was about to back off, opting for the wrist because of the obvious fever of her skin, when she let out a faint, melodious moan. She turned on her side, br**sts flattening against his chest, pubic hair ticking the tip of his erection. The need to crawl on top of her and plunge into her feminine depths nearly overcame him. He squeezed his eyes shut, focusing on her health with everything he had.