Draw (Gentry Boys #1)(53)

You can’t do a thing about the places your subconscious takes you.

As Saylor sighed in her sleep with a sweet smile on her face I let myself sink into the luxury of oblivion. It dragged me back to Emblem.

The desert isn’t like the woods. The ground is flat and the brush is sparse. There are only so many places to hide. It’s even more difficult if there are three of you running together, frantically searching for someplace where the monster can’t reach you. You can hear him howling, closing in, with your mother’s blood already on his hands and his raging thirst to draw some of yours.

One of your brothers hesitates in the dark, among the scratchy creosote. He is desperate. You are all desperate. Your brother thinks maybe if you run in separate directions the beast at your heels will be confused. He will wear himself out as he always does, eventually. And then you might have the luxury of another sunrise.

All you need to do is wait it out.

Alone.

But you shake your head.

No. NONONO!

As one you are weak. As three you are strong. You need to stay together. But your other brother sighs and agrees that you should scatter. You listen to them scrabble towards opposite corners of the night. The monster still closes in, knowing the lay of the land even better than you do. He is older, stronger, and he has always been here. He shrieks your name and it is an awful sound. But you hesitate to move, wanting him to follow you instead of your brothers. You have already learned something important; as terrible as it is when his cruelty seizes you, it is pure agony when he hurts them.

He will not touch them.

You will not let him.

As he crashes your way, you veer off into the darkness at the last possible second. All the harsh things on the floor of the desert claw at your bare legs as you run but this doesn’t stop you. This pain is nothing. However, the sudden shriek of anguish you hear is everything. He has found one of them.

With blind terror you stumble towards the sound of your brother’s torment. Suddenly you remember some of the things your uncle taught you. A large rock nearly trips you but you are glad because you pick it up. The terrible sounds grow closer. Your voice begins to rise in a growl as you feel the nearing heat of him, the evil creature who gave you life. But tonight he will be surprised because you have something to show him.

You know how to be a monster too.

It is in your blood as well.

I awoke at the foot of the bed, my hand aching. I’d punched the floor in my sleep, my dreams forcing me to believe it was something else, someone else. Gingerly I flexed my fingers and determined nothing was broken.

My body was covered in sweat even though I could feel the air conditioner on full blast. The bed springs creaked and I looked over to see Saylor lying naked atop the covers, sleeping as soundly as she had been while I held her before drifting off myself. I pulled a cover gently over her body, glad that she didn’t open her eyes. I couldn’t touch her just now. I just f*cking couldn’t.

I yanked my boxers on and headed out the bedroom door. Except for the roar of the aging air conditioner and the faint disturbance of Creed’s snoring, the apartment was silent. I bent over the bathroom sink and ran the water. It was warm but I splashed it on my face anyway. I gripped the sides of the sink feeling weak and trying to breathe through it. Nothing worked. I needed to be sick.

Saylor found me with my head in the toilet. “Cord?” I’d left the door open and she peered around the corner, a blanket covering her body. “You okay?”

I flushed the toilet and grabbed a bottle of mouthwash. “Fine. I’m fine, baby. Fuck.”

She came softly into the room and knelt beside me. I spit the mouthwash into the sink and fell back against the wall. Saylor touched me.

“You’re sweating. Food poisoning?”

I shook my head. “Hey, can you turn that light off?”

She sent the room into darkness, then pulled my head into her breast. She stroked my neck. “What is it?”

“Dreams,” I whispered, pushing my face into the cool comfort of her skin.

Saylor knew when there shouldn’t be any words. She merely held me for a long time, until the demons receded and I felt strong enough to carry her to bed.

I entered her gently and after she trembled her climax I released myself inside of her, just how she liked. As I held her in my arms I drifted away again.

This time there were no dreams. There was nothing sweet blackness until Creed crashed into something in the living room and screamed like a tortured banshee. I opened my eyes and cursed the stark rays of the summer sun which peeked between blinds.

Saylor had already slipped a yellow sundress on. She grinned at me with perky cheer.

“Good morning!”

I yawned wide, feeling my jaw crack. “Morning, beautiful.”

Creed had slammed his ankle on an end table. He limped around, cursing the entire time. Chase was already shoveling that awful cereal down his throat. He held the spoon in the air, mocking.

“For a big guy you sure have a low pain threshold.”

Creed glared. “Screw you, pretty boy.”

Chase grinned broadly. “We’re all pretty.” He noticed Saylor. “Hey, can you cook, sweetheart?”

I grabbed two coffee mugs and handed one to Saylor.

“No,” she answered pleasantly, “can you?”

Chase grumbled into his cereal bowl. Creed bumped me out of the way trying to get to the coffee pot.