His jaw was clenched so tightly that she could practically hear his teeth grinding together as his fingers nimbly undid the knots William had tied. The rags fell away, sliding from her skin to slither silently to the floor. At first Aria couldn’t look at what had nearly killed her, but his stillness and the slight tensing of his shoulders, told her that she would have to.
She braced herself as her gaze slid slowly to the arms he held so delicately within his large hands. The gashes were vivid against her pale skin but not as deep as they had been. The ones on her left arm ran from elbow to wrist while the ones on her right arm were below her elbow but just as wicked looking. She was shaken as she stared at them, lost in the realization that she had nearly died, that these marks represented what could have been her end.
Though she wasn’t bleeding anymore, there was still some dried blood on her skin. Her hand trembled as she pulled the glasses from his face; she needed to see his eyes. The small white scars around his eyes weren’t as visible; his face had paled considerably from the restraint he was exerting over himself. At first he wouldn’t look at her, at first his gaze remained focused upon her brutalized arms. Then, ever so slowly his eyes slid to hers. Her breath froze in her lungs; her heart fluttered like a trapped bird as it beat against her ribcage.
The beautiful gray eyes with the bright blue band she had come to love were gone. They were as bright as rubies now, gleaming at her from the depths of his striking face. He was hungry, he was savage, and right now all he yearned for was her. She would give her blood to him willingly, but he wouldn’t take it, she knew that. Not now, not after today. But it was unnecessary torture for him to be here when William was perfectly capable of re-bandaging her arms. “Braith…”
And then he was on her, over her, nearly inside of her as his mouth seized hold of hers with a tenderness she had not expected given his mood right then. His hands were on her face, stroking her cheeks as his tongue flickered against her lips. She felt the press of his elongated fangs as she opened her mouth to let him in. A low moan of pleasure escaped her as he invaded all of her senses. All she could feel was him, all she could smell was him. He was inside her soul, so much a part of her. She could barely breathe as his hands slid away from her face. His arms wrapped around her waist as he lifted her, pressing her back against a wall. His body was hard against hers, impassioned beneath her hands.
Her legs instinctively wrapped around his waist, pulling him closer against her as he groaned low in his throat and nipped at her lip. Her mind and body spun out of control. She was in over her head, but she found she didn’t care as she gave herself over to the emotions running wildly through her.
She squirmed against him, aching and unfulfilled as her body longed for more. She couldn’t breathe, and she didn’t care as his tongue slid into her mouth, becoming more fervent and demanding as he caressed her. Aria moaned in delight, her still somewhat numb fingers curled into his back. She wanted to cry, she wanted to scream with joy, she simply wanted to never have the moment end, to forget the world around them and just be with each other. Buttons slid free as he pushed her shirt aside to press his hand against her breast. Pleasure swept through her with the consuming intensity of a wildfire. She didn’t care where they were or what was happening around them, not anymore.
“Braith.” At first, she was so lost in him, so swept up in the surging needs of her body that Ashby’s voice barely penetrated her mind. “Braith.” Loss, acute and profound, filled her as Braith’s hands stilled on her and he pulled a little away. She stared breathlessly up at him. Joy and love filled her as she saw the beautiful gray of his eyes once more. He stared at her with a mix of awe and love that caused her legs to quiver around him. “Braith.”
His eyes flashed briefly red again, his hand slid free as he moved her into a position that protected her from Ashby’s gaze. Aria felt her face heat at the thought of what Ashby may have seen as she quickly re-buttoned her shirt. “So help me Ashby if you don’t leave us be for five minutes…”
“There’s someone coming.”
In a split second everything about him changed. Gone was the laziness of his posture along with the small half smile that had curled his mouth. Before her now was the man that would one day rule if they succeeded. He lowered her slowly and turned away. “Who is it?” he inquired as he replaced his glasses.
Ashby shook his head appearing disconcerted as he glanced between the two of them. “I don’t know. A figure just appeared over the horizon. I’m not sure if there are others with it.”
Braith glanced back at her, for a moment she thought he was going to order her to stay, but then he held his hand out to her. Relief filled her as she slid her fingers between his and he led her from the room. Aria was able to get a good look at her surroundings as they stepped into the hall. The room she’d been in had no windows in it, and it appeared that none of the other rooms up here did either.
Braith led her down a rickety set of stairs that seemed to drop from a hole in the floor. She stopped at the bottom, staring up as she examined the darkened area above her. It took her a moment to realize that it was an attic, she hadn’t seen one in years.
His hand squeezed hers as he led her down another set of stairs to the first floor. Unlike the attic, this area was covered in dust and sand. It coated what remained of the furniture and was piled against the back wall. William turned from the doorway as they crossed the room.
“It’s alone, as far as I can tell,” William informed them.