“We don’t have to say anything,” she murmured. “It just is.”
“Yeah.”
Rehvenge rolled over onto his back, and as they lay in the dark with about six inches between them, she missed him as if he’d left the country.
Turning on her side, she rested her head on the inside of her arm and stared at him as he stared at the ceiling.
“I wish I could give you something,” she said, leaving the whole bonding thing for a later time. Too much talk was going to ruin what they’d just shared, and she wanted to keep it going for a little longer.
He glanced over. “Are you crazy? Do I need to remind you what we just did?”
“I want to give you something like that.” She winced. “I don’t mean to make it sound like something was missing…I mean…Crap.”
He smiled and brushed her cheek. “It’s sweet of you, don’t feel awkward about it. And don’t underestimate how much all that pleased me.”
“I want you to know something. No one could have made me feel any better or more beautiful than you just did.”
He turned to her and mirrored her position, resting his head on his thick biceps. “See why it was good for me?”
She took his hand in hers and kissed his palm, only to frown. “You’re growing cold. I can feel it.”
She sat up and pulled the duvet over his body, wrapping him up first, then cuddling into him, while lying on top of the covers.
They stayed like that for a century.
“Rehvenge?”
“Yes.”
“Take my vein.”
She could tell she’d shocked the shit out of him by the way his breath caught. “Excuse…Wh-what?”
She had to smile, thinking that he wasn’t the kind of male who stuttered much. “Take my vein. Let me give you something.”
Through his parted lips she saw his fangs elongate, not so much inching as punching out of his skull.
“I’m not sure…whether that would be…” As his breath grew ragged, his voice got even deeper.
She put her hand to her neck and massaged her jugular slowly. “I think it’s a great idea.”
As his eyes glowed purple, she eased onto her back and cocked her head to the side, exposing her throat.
“Ehlena…” His eyes traveled down her body and returned to her neck.
He was panting and flushed now, a fine sheen of sweat slicking up what portion of his shoulders showed from out of the covers. And that wasn’t the half of it. The scent of dark spices flared until it saturated the air, his internal chemistry reacting to the need he had for her and what she wanted to do for him.
“Oh…shit, Ehlena-”
Abruptly, Rehvenge frowned and looked down at himself. His hand, the one that had been tender on her cheek, disappeared under the covers and his expression changed: The heat and the purpose drained right out of it, leaving only a troubling kind of disgust.
“I’m sorry,” he said hoarsely. “I’m sorry…I can’t…”
Rehvenge scrambled off the bed and took the duvet with him, pulling it free from under her body. He moved fast-but not so quickly that she missed the fact that he had an erection.
He was hard. Big, long, hard as a thighbone.
And yet he disappeared into the bathroom and closed the door solidly.
Then locked it.
THIRTY
John told Qhuinn and Blay he was just going to crash in his room for the night, and when he was sure they’d bought the lie, he slipped out through the staff quarters of the house and went directly to ZeroSum.
He had to work fast, because sure as shit one of the two of them would check in on him and then form a damn search party.
Bypassing the front entrance of the club, he went around to the alley where he’d once seen Xhex crack the head of an asshole with a big mouth and a fistful of coke. Finding the security camera above the side exit, John tilted up his head and stared into the lens.
When the door opened, he didn’t have to look over to know it was her.
“You want to come in,” she said.
He shook his head, for once not bothered by the communication barrier. Shit, he didn’t know what to say to her. Didn’t know why he was here. He just had to come.
Xhex stepped out of the club and put her back against the door, crossing one steel-toed boot over the other. “You tell anyone?”
He met her eyes steadily and shook his head.
“You going to?”
He shook his head.
In a soft tone, one he’d never heard from her or expected to, she whispered, “Why?”
He just shrugged. Frankly, he was surprised she hadn’t tried to take his memories from him. Neater. Cleaner-
“I should have taken your memories,” she said, making him wonder if she was reading his mind. “I was just fucked in the head last night, and you left fast and I didn’t do it. Of course, now they’re long-term, so…”