Rebel Reborn (The Witch's Rebels Book 6)

by Sarah Piper

  “How many hours of your life have you spent in cold baths?”

  “Since I met you? More than I care to count, love.”

  Goosebumps slid across my entire body at the thought. Being with him… Everything had felt sharper, deeper, more connected—the slide of his hot length inside me, the touch of his fingers, the mist of his breath on my nipples, the scent of him filling my senses, threatening to overwhelm me in the best possible way. I was already revving up again, a low throb pulsing between my thighs like a warning.

  “I suppose you should consider yourself very lucky,” he said, trailing kisses across my jaw and lightly brushing my lips. “You’ve got five men practically banging down the door, waiting for a chance to touch you. All you need to do is ask.”

  “Darius?” I breathed, the ache in my core deepening as he slid a hand across my belly. “You’re not helping.”

  “Hmm. What would help?”

  I strained against the straps again, the leather stretching, but not quite snapping. “Untie me. Please.”

  “I’m sorry. I can’t do that just yet. But I think we can get rid of this for now…”

  Darius finally removed my blindfold. I still couldn’t run my fingers through his hair or pull him into an embrace, but as he leaned close, I stared into his golden eyes, once again mesmerized by the kaleidoscope of colors glittering before me. He was so beautiful it almost hurt to look at him now.

  Darius flashed his sexiest grin. “To answer your next question? Yes. I have always been this devastatingly handsome.”

  I rolled my eyes. “That’s not what I was going to say.”

  “You were thinking it, though.”

  “Maybe.” I tried to laugh, but it quickly turned into a yawn. The hawthorn was kicking in again, and my body was tired, desperate for rest and the blood that hadn’t yet arrived. As hard as I tried to stay conscious for this—for all of it—I was losing the battle.

  I’d just about drifted under again when a sudden bolt of realization slammed into my skull, forcing my eyes open.

  “Darius!” I gasped.

  “Ahh, and there it is,” he said, touching the tip of my nose. His grin stretched wider now, his eyes dancing with pure joy. “The realization has finally dawned.”

  “You said something about when you’d first turned! The whole stiff breeze thing?”

  “Indeed, I did.”

  “And earlier, you told me you remembered the thirst of a newborn vampire.” I reviewed our entire conversation in my mind, his words hitting me now as if he’d just spoken them. “And our time in the Bay, when I was still delivering imports to Black Ruby!”

  “All of those moments, and so many more.”

  “Does this mean…?” I held my breath, my heart hammering wildly.

  Dare I hope?

  He’d had flashes of memory before, but never enough to call it restored. This was the first time he’d remembered something so far back in his past—so many different details. It had to mean something.

  “It means exactly what you think it means,” he said, still smiling.

  Tears blurred my vision. “But… How? When?”

  “Turning you, taking in so much of your blood… It unlocked something for me, Gray. You were right all along. The connection was there. Whether your blood held my memories and returned them to me, or simply unlocked them from some dormant place deep inside my own mind, it matters not.”

  “How did it happen?”

  “All I know for certain is that within moments of drinking from you, I was struck by a pain inside my skull so blinding, it drove me to my knees. It was like something literally cracked open, and everything just… It all came flooding back.”

  “Just like that? In one big rush?”

  “Everything was a bit topsy-turvy at first, but eventually the memories sorted themselves into the right order. I remembered everything I’d ever lived through, all the things I’d done, falling in love with you.” He cupped my face, tracing my jawline with his thumb. His eyes were filled with love for me, blazing bright, but soon the smile began to diminish, and the look in his eyes turned to regret. “I remembered becoming a vampire, all the choices I made since that day. The people I hurt along the way. I—”

  “Don’t do that to yourself.” I shook my head, my eyes pleading with him to stop before he went any further down that dark path. “We’ve all done things we’re completely ashamed of. Things we’d die before even thinking about doing now, consciously, in our so-called right minds.”

  “Yes, but I’ve had much longer to do such things—and much longer to regret them. Lifetimes upon lifetimes of bad decisions and—”

  “And lifetimes of good ones.” I wriggled my fingers until he grasped my hand, and I squeezed it tight, needing him to understand. “Do you remember what you said to me that night in the Shadowrealm, after I told you how sorry I was for what you’d gone through?”

  He lowered his head, his hair falling into his eyes. “That all of it had brought me to you.”

  “And you wouldn’t wish for another outcome.”

  “That’s still true, love. Don’t ever think otherwise.” He brushed his knuckles along my cheek, smiling faintly, then frowning again. “I suppose I’d simply gotten used to carrying my regrets—after so many decades, they’d simply become background noise. But losing those memories, only to have them return full force… It’s as if I’d committed some of those most terrible mistakes only yesterday.”

  “But you didn’t. You’re a different man now, Darius. And a hundred years from now, you’ll be a different man yet again.” I squeezed his hand again. “The difference is, now you’ll have an immortal witch-vamp by your side, keeping you out of trouble.”

  This, finally, got a small laugh. “Causing it, more likely. Especially if you let me tie you up again.”

  “Again? That implies you actually untied me, which you haven’t.” I squirmed again, but Darius only shook his head.

  “Not a chance, little vampire. You’re just lucky I haven’t been able to figure out the camera on my phone.”

  “Guess you’ll just have to hold on to this memory extra hard.”

  “Oh, you can count on it.”

  He leaned down and kissed me, tender and sweet.

  “Thank you,” I whispered when he pulled back. “For that night in the cemetery. It’s the greatest gift you could ever give me.”

  “Turning you into a bloodsucker?”

  I shook my head. “Honoring my choice, and helping me see it through.”

  Darius nodded, but suddenly, he seemed lost. Regret flooded his eyes. “Gray, I… I know how badly you wanted this. And logically, I understand your reasoning, just as I understood it the other night in the cemetery.”

  “Then why do you look so conflicted?”

  “I feel like a bit of a fraud.”

  “How so?”

  “You’re thanking me for this so-called gift, but I have to confess… If I’d been myself when you’d asked, I wouldn’t have changed you—not for all the pleading and logic in the world, no matter how badly I wanted to support you.”

  “Irrelevant. If you hadn’t changed me, you wouldn’t be yourself.”

  He flashed a smile, but it faded before it even reached his eyes. “Being a vampire… Yes, you’re stronger. Faster. Immortal. But this fate isn’t—”

  “This has nothing to do with fate, Darius Beaumont.” Now I was getting pissed. “This was a choice. My choice. And your choice was to support me, just like you’ve always done.”

  Darius nodded, but said nothing.

  “How much have we lost?” I asked. “How much has been completely outside of our control? From the moment Sophie died, we’ve taken hit after hit. For every win, we’ve got more losses and setbacks than I can count.”

  “Like I said, Gray. I get your reasons. I just wish there’d been another way that didn’t involve risking your soul.”

  “We’re about to turn the tide. All of us. The odds we’re facing? T
hat doesn’t happen without big risks.”

  “I know all of this, love. There’s no need to rehash. You’re a vampire now—there’s no going back.” He closed his eyes and shook his head, and I feared this would turn into a bigger argument. But when he opened his eyes and looked at me again, his gaze was warm and clear, full of love and appreciation. “But your mine, love. And that’s something I would never change, no matter which form you’ve taken.”

  He pressed a kiss to my forehead, and the last of my anger evaporated.

  “Finally, something we agree on,” I said.

  “I’m so sorry. I don’t want to argue with you. Not about this or anything else.”

  “Hmm,” I teased. “So what do you want to do with me?”

  “For starters…” He rolled on top of me, hard and ready, his eyes darkening with pure desire. “This feels about right.”

  “More than right,” I whispered, and he sank inside of me, deeper and deeper as my body welcomed his touch. I wasn’t as sensitive as I’d been earlier, but despite the hawthorn, I could still feel every inch of him.

  But just before he whipped me into another white-hot frenzy, a heard of beasts crashed through the front door and up the stairs, carrying with them the scent of two demons, a wolf shifter, and—most importantly—my dinner.

  “It’s them,” I announced, unable to keep the excitement from my voice. My stomach tumbled with fresh hunger, my mouth watering.

  “Bloody hell,” Darius grumbled. Then, loud enough so they’d hear him, “Brilliant timing, you gits.”

  “We’ve got maybe thirty seconds before they get all their boots off and come crashing through the bedroom door,” I said.

  Darius shot me a wicked grin, sliding inside me again, faster this time. “Then I guess we’d better hurry.”

  Five

  GRAY

  I was still seeing stars from the insane rapid-fire orgasm Darius had just delivered when the guys barged in, spilling through the door in a wild tumble of arms and legs and takeout bags, Sparkle and Sunshine right on their heels.

  Asher took one look at the vampire lying on top of me and laughed. “Did I call it, or did I call it?”

  “Dios mio.” Emilio shook his head, a grin lighting up his face. “We told you to check on her, not climb on her.”

  “Huh. I could’ve sworn you said climb.” Darius, who still hadn’t bothered to extricate himself from between my thighs, shook his head, feigning confusion. “Must be your accent.”

  Asher was still cracking up. “Must be you’re an insatiable sandbagger who offered to keep watch tonight just so you could get our girl alone and steal her vampire virginity.”

  “I assure you, Mr. O’Keefe,” Darius said, finally climbing off the bed and covering me with the sheet, giving me a covert wink as he did. My vampire was completely naked, totally unfazed as he turned to face the firing squad. “Nothing was stolen in this room tonight, save for our privacy.”

  “Privacy, huh?” Asher scanned him head to toe. “I can see you’re pretty concerned about that.”

  “Victim-blaming will get you nowhere.” Darius gave Asher a playful smack on the cheek, then finally located his pants, taking his time picking them up off the floor while I enjoyed the view.

  “So that’s how it’s gonna be, Cupcake?” Asher turned his playful blue gaze on me. “You haven’t seen the rest of us in days, and suddenly you’ve only got eyes for the bloodsucker?”

  “He’s the only one who’s naked,” I said matter-of-factly.

  Asher grabbed the hem of his T-shirt, lifting it to give me a mouthwatering peek. “We can fix that right now.”

  The briefest glimpse of his tattooed, rock-hard abs had me damn near drooling.

  But Darius grabbed Asher’s wrist, stopping the show just before it got good. “She needs to eat, and then I’m taking her for a shower. So whatever thoughts are tumbling through that lecherous mind of yours, incubus, put them on ice.”

  “A shower, huh?” Asher rubbed his jaw, slowly approaching my bedside as Darius ducked into the bathroom to wash up. “Better give her an extra shot of hawthorn this time. Girl’s got quite an arm on her.”

  The teasing smile hadn’t left his face since he’d first walked in, and now I returned it with one of my own.

  “Consider it payback for the time you took me down at the safe house,” I said.

  “That was for your own good. And anyway, you’re way stronger than me now.” Asher swept the curls from my forehead and pressed a kiss between my brows, his eyes twinkling with a mixture of happiness and that seductive, bad-boy edge he’d never quite lost. “You feeling a little less psychotic now, bruiser?”

  “Why don’t you kiss me for real and find out,” I teased.

  “You fight dirty, Cupcake.”

  “I learned from the best.”

  Never one to turn down a dare, Asher planted one right on me.

  “You’re looking good, Desario,” Ronan said when Ash finally pulled away, the relief in his eyes belying his lighthearted tone. “Color is back to normal.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “For a while there, your skin was the shade of warm milk,” he said.

  I winced. That didn’t sound like a good look.

  “Three guesses as to what put that fresh shade of pink on her cheeks,” Asher said.

  “You’re welcome, love,” Darius said, returning from the bathroom, freshly showered and fully dressed.

  “Yeah, you’re welcome for my contribution, too,” Asher said.

  I laughed. “What contrib—”

  He cut me off with another kiss, this one so deep and delicious I couldn’t help the moan that escaped my mouth.

  “Okay, kids,” Ronan grumbled. “Knock it off before this shit turns into a health code violation. I’ve got dinner here, remember.”

  He set two large paper bags on the dresser and emptied out the contents, consisting of several take-out containers from Marcella’s Diner and a twelve-pack of beer, along with what I could smell were a few large hunks of raw meat for the hounds, wrapped up in butcher’s paper.

  “So Marcella’s is still up and running, even with the storm?” I asked, keeping my eyes peeled for the only meal I cared about in that moment, which would arrive neither in take-out containers nor butcher’s paper.

  Ronan nodded. “Pretty sure it’s the only restaurant in town still open. Place was crowded as hell.”

  The smell of all that hot food drifted toward me—burgers, fries, fried chicken, pancakes, pie. Ronan crumpled up the empty bags, then said, “Okay, remind me who ordered what.”

  Panic gripped my limbs. Was that all they’d brought back? “What about the—”

  “I’ve got you covered, querida.” Emilio held up a small cooler I hadn’t noticed, then popped it open and pulled out two opaque bags of blood. “Still cold though. Should I warm it up?”

  My body reacted on instinct, arms and legs straining hard against the straps, my stomach growling like a wild animal. I felt the slide of my fangs, the sharp points piercing my lips.

  It seemed like I wasn’t in control of any of it.

  “Relax, Gray,” Emilio said, his voice gentle. “You’re okay. We’ll take care of this right now.” He passed one of the bags to Darius, then cut the corner off the other one with his pocketknife and tilted it toward my lips.

  My body settled instantly, the moment I tasted the first drop.

  Relief. It was the only word in my mind as the tangy liquid flooded my mouth. Drinking cold blood felt a bit like drinking warm beer, but at the moment, I didn’t care. It was food—the only kind that would truly sate me—and for that reason alone, it was practically a gourmet feast.

  Besides, I didn’t want so much as a smear of warm blood touching my lips. Better to not know what I was missing than to ever develop a real taste for it.

  The guys watched me closely, a mixture of wonder and curiosity on their faces as I downed the entire bag. Even Darius seemed mesmerized, desp
ite the fact that we were sharing the same meal.

  When I’d literally sucked it dry, I let out a small burp, then smiled, feeling much more like myself. “Okay, you guys are starting to freak me out. Why are you staring at me? It’s like you’ve never seen a bloodsucker before.”

  “We’ve seen plenty,” Emilio said. “Just… Just not you.”

  “Am I that revolting?” Suddenly self-conscious, I licked my lips, hoping I hadn’t spilled anything.

  “Revolting?” Asher laughed. “That’s a negative, Cupcake.”

  “I think we’re all still a bit awestruck, love,” Darius said. “You’re quite different now.”

  “Different how?” I asked.

  “You’re kind of radiating,” Asher said. “Like, you’ve always been super-hot, right? That hasn’t changed. But now you’re… well, you’re just more.”

  “More hot?” I rolled my eyes.

  “More everything. Not just how you look, but your vibe. Your energy. We can just… feel it.” He shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other, and I glanced down, finally noticing the massive bulge in his jeans.

  “Yeah,” he confirmed, before I could even ask. “That’s exactly what I’m talking about.”

  “Seriously?” I couldn’t help but laugh. “Are all of you getting hard watching me eat, or is that just another special incubus thing? Because I realize some guys have food fetishes, but if you’re sprouting boners every time I take a snack break, we’re going to have a serious problem.”

  “One person’s problem is another person’s opportunity,” Ash said.

  “Your power affects us, Gray,” Emilio said. “Each in different ways, maybe, but there’s no denying it.”

  The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Darius had always had an effect on me—even before we’d become blood bound.

  I looked from Emilio to Asher, to Ronan, to Darius, and my chest tightened with a fresh wave of emotion. The last time we’d all been together, I was convincing them to let Darius turn me.

  And they’d stood by my side through all of it.

  “It’s so good to see you guys,” I said, tears flooding my eyes.