Tall, Silent & Lethal (Pyte/Sentinel #4)(135)

“Demon blood,” he groaned, wincing when sharp pain shot through his stomach.

“Demon blood?” Cloe asked, moving to her knees so that she could reach over with her other hand and gently run her fingers over his lightly whiskered jaw as she ran an assessing eye over him.

“Yeah,” he said, pressing his hand tightly against his stomach. “My blood alone didn’t work. So, we decided to see what would happen if we mixed my blood with the demon blood the Council had originally given her to help keep the cancer at bay.”

“How much did you drink?” she asked softly, gently cupping his jaw.

“Twenty bags,” he admitted, closing his eyes when his stomach rebelled at the reminder of all that acidic blood that he’d forced himself to consume.

Drinking the blood had been time consuming. It had taken him a lot longer to drink the bagged demon blood than the cold human blood that he normally consumed. The taste and the texture was not only different, but it had filled him up a lot faster. He’d managed two bags an hour, force-fed Danni his blood and then started the process all over again. They’d been prepared to do it all night, but by the third feeding Danni was with it enough to be able to feed herself. By the fifth feeding…….

She’d been ravenous.

Thank God she’d decided that she preferred Caine’s blood to his, he thought wincing as more pain shot through his stomach, reminding him that he needed to dilute the demon blood in his system. It shouldn’t take much since Danni had nearly cleaned him out with the last feeding.

“Baby, you’re in pain,” Cloe said, sounding worried as she continued to fuss over him.

“It will be fine,” he said, opening his eyes as he reached up and covered her hand against his jaw. He forced himself not to smile, knowing that she’d just fumble for an excuse for the endearment. So instead of letting her know just how much the endearment meant to him, he leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers. “A bag of blood should take care of it,” he promised her as he pulled back so that he could quickly get dressed. He wanted to be back in time to join her before she-

“Why don’t you drink from me?” she suggested, knocking him on his ass.

*-*-*-*

“Danni,” Caine said, groaning long and loud as Danni moaned against his skin, her arms wrapping around him as she pulled herself onto his lap.

With a little sigh that had his lips twitching, Danni gently removed her teeth from his neck, pressing a soft kiss against the tender skin as it started to heal. “Did I take too much?” she asked, resting her forehead against his shoulder.

“No,” he said, shaking his head, ignoring the black spots dancing along his vision as he turned his head so that he could kiss his mate.

Danni chuckled, moving to sit up so that she could look him in the eye as she said, “Liar.”

“I’m a little hungry,” he admitted, returning her grin as he leaned in to kiss her, unable to help himself.

She looked so………

Beautiful.

Her hair was fuller, silkier. Her face flushed beautifully against her tanned skin. Her body had filled out in the last few hours and smooth muscle once again shaped her body. Her br**sts were fuller, larger than he’d remembered. Her h*ps were curvier than he’d remembered them ever being. But, the thing that him sighing with relief was the sound of her heartbeat.

It was beating strongly against her chest.

“Thank God,” he murmured, brushing his lips against hers.

“Can you smell the cancer?” she reluctantly asked as she pulled away just far enough so that he could see her nervously nibbling on her bottom lip.

He met her frightened gaze and held it, along with his breath, terrified that Christofer’s blood had strengthened the cancer right along with Cloe’s body. Realizing that he couldn’t put this off, he slowly exhaled and then, keeping his eyes locked with hers, he inhaled, scenting the air around her.

“Well?” she asked, holding her breath as she waited for an answer.

His lips pulled into a grin as he leaned forward and kissed her.

“Gone.”

“Gone?”

“Gone,” he repeated, grinning against her lips.“Be sure,” she said, pulling back so that she could search his expression, looking for any sign that he was only saying what she wanted to hear.

He reached up and threaded his fingers through her hair. “I can take you to the Boston Compound right now, sweetheart. We can probably get the test results within a day or two,” he offered, moving to get up and set her aside when Danni pushed him back down with a firm shake of her head.

“That would take too long,” she said, reaching up and moving her hair back away from her neck.

“What are you suggesting?” he asked, not sure that he wanted to be the one to tell her if the cancer was starting to spread again.

She sighed as reached down and took his hands into hers. “You know what I’m suggesting.”

He opened his mouth, but nodded. “No matter what I find, remember that Christofer promised to supply you with blood everyday if you need it.”

“I know,” she said, giving him a small smile.

“And remember,” he said, leaning in to kiss her again, “that I love you.”

“I love you, too,” she said, her smile genuine this time.