Until the Sun Falls from the Sky (The Three #1)(154)

Then his tongue moved down.

I felt the numbness then I felt him feeding.

My eyes closed slowly and I finally found it fortunate I was so tired. I didn’t have the energy or strength to react no matter how good it felt.

His hand moved. His thumb tenderly gliding over my lips, his fingers drifting over my cheek, down my jaw, down to wrap around the side of my neck and pull me up as he deepened the suction.

God, I used to love it when he did that. And even right then, as exhausted as I was, I felt a faint tingle in my ni**les and between my legs.

His thumb moved, stroking my throat and that, I thought, was so Lucien. Even while killing me, he was playing the game, pretending gentleness, giving me something beautiful.

My eyes opened slowly and just as slowly closed again. God, I was so exhausted. I wasn’t going to fight no matter how futile it would be. I had nothing left in me. I wasn’t even going to stay awake through my death.

This, I decided, was probably good.

Lucien’s weight, his heat, his feeding, his big, warm hand at my neck, his thumb stroking soothingly, his other arm wrapped around me tight, my eyelids fluttered one last time.

So he’d give me a beautiful death.

That was Lucien too.

I let go, allowed the glory of his feeding to overwhelm me then I drifted into oblivion.

* * * * *

“It may take a few days. I need to see to Leah.”

As I swam toward consciousness, I heard Lucien’s deep voice saying these words quietly.

Then I heard, “I don’t know. What I do know is she hasn’t been seeing to herself. Nine days and she’s lost an alarming amount of weight. Her color is not good, there are shadows under her eyes and she fell asleep during a feeding.” There was a pause and then, “Yes, Teffie, during.”

I struggled against the weight of the fatigue that still held me in its grip. This was aided by the fact I was held snug and tight to Lucien’s side, part of my body on top of his, my cheek resting on his chest. Lucien kept talking.

“I’ll be moving her to a decent hotel, feeding her, getting her rest. Then we’ll be talking. I don’t want to start the journey home until I’m satisfied she’s fit for it. So hold them. I’ll deal with them when I return.” Another pause then, “If you wish. Play with them all you like.”

What was he talking about?

And more importantly, why was I alive and being held snug and tight to Lucien?

My eyes opened then I blinked.

Lucien’s arm around my back shifted, his hand drifting up my spine, his fingers tangling in my hair.

“She’s awake, Teffie. I’ll phone you later when I know more.”

His fingers moved, twisting a lock and my heart skipped a beat.

“Right. We’ll speak soon.”

Then I heard a beep and I knew he was done.

I had a second to process this before Lucien shifted. He ended settled on his side, his other arm going around me, pulling me up so my head was not on his chest but on the pillow and I was eye-to-eye with him.

God, his eyes were beautiful. Nine days and I thought I remembered everything but I forgot just how beautiful his eyes were.

“You slept deep, sweetling. How do you feel?” he asked gently, his fingers still playing in my hair, his other arm holding me close to his heat.

“Uh… what’s going on?” I whispered cautiously.

“You’re about to tell me how you feel,” he replied.

“Well… uh…” I trailed off.

He hadn’t killed me. In fact, looking at him, he didn’t look angry at all. He looked like Lucien except better. Way better. His eyes filled with concern and a warmth so deep I’d never seen anything like it. His face was soft. His voice was gentle and quiet.

Was this part of the taming? Your prey figured it out, took off and you got to go after her and do it all over again?

Oh God, I hoped that wasn’t it. Like, I really, really hoped that wasn’t it. Seriously, I preferred it if he’d kill me.

“When’s the last time you ate?” Lucien asked when I trailed off and didn’t start again.

“You mean, ate and kept something down?” I asked back and watched his eyes flash and his mouth go hard.

Oh boy.

“Yes, the last time you ate and kept it down,” he replied, his voice now tight but somehow not menacing.

“Well, the night before…” Oh shit. I didn’t want to go where I had to go. Well, I had to say it because I knew he wouldn’t let it go. “The night before I took off.”

“Ten days,” he murmured, surprising me when he looked thoughtful, not angry at my mention of my escape, his arms going tight, his eyes moving over my face then they locked on mine. “That was foolish, my pet.”

Okay. Now. Seriously.

What was happening?

“We need to get you food,” he declared. “Do you have the strength to go with me to a restaurant or do you wish for me to go and bring something back? If the latter, tell me what you’d like. And I’ll warn you, you’ve slept twelve straight hours, not counting however long you were asleep before I found you. It’s not morning. It’s one in the afternoon.”

Learning this, I felt my eyes go wide as my lips parted. Then I felt my stomach flutter when he took in this look, his face again went soft and his fingers stopped playing in my hair and fisted gently in it.