by Bea Paige
“Your blood?” I say, confused. “What do you mean by that?”
“Nothing,” he mutters, too engrossed in what he’s doing.
I frown, about to press the point, when he raises my left leg and places it on his thigh, moving his warm hands further up my calf. I hold my breath, not trusting myself to breathe in case I let out a noise I’ll regret. He feels me tense and stops moving his hands.
“Relax, Cia,” he says, staring at me intently.
I let out a steady breath and find myself doing just that. My hands let go of my robe and fall to the side. A smile twitches at the corner of his mouth before he goes back to concentrating on making my skin burn under his touch.
“Fascinating. Your skin, it’s almost completely healed.”
I attempt to speak when his hands move further up my leg, past the place the burn had marred my skin not a few minutes before. Something close to a moan slips from my mouth and I squeeze my eyes shut, unable to look at him. Rhain’s fingers halt, his hands resting gently on each knee. The action allows me to catch my breath momentarily. Then I feel the tips of his fingers skirt the middle of my thighs as he eases open my robe.
“By all that is Light,” he says.
A moment later his mouth presses gently against the crease of my knee, the tip of his tongue warm as he licks me there. I let out a moan as a flush of heat rushes into my belly at his touch. He repeats the same action on my other leg, the softness of his lips caressing me. I have the sudden urge to grab his hair and bring his face towards the warmth of my sex, but I find I don’t have the courage. Instead my hands grip onto the sofa as his kisses stray higher.
I open my eyes a fraction, looking at him through heavy lashes. His own eyes are hooded, dark. His lips part and I see his tongue trail up the inside of my thigh. Without thinking about what I am doing, my body slides further towards him. He opens his mouth wide as warning bells start ringing loud and true in my head, breaking the hold he has over me. I look at him and see two very sharp, very long incisor teeth about to pierce my skin.
“What the hell?” I shout, jumping up and away from him. I run to the far side of the room and grab a knife from the kitchen drawer. Rhain gets up slowly, running a hand through his hair. “Stay there,” he pants, and I can see his body shake from the effort of not coming after me.
“Get out of my house!” I scream. My own hand is shaking in earnest now.
“I’m sorry,” he starts, then leans over, placing his hands on his knees. “I just need a moment.”
“What are you doing?” I stutter, confusion ramping up my fear. “You almost bit me!” I say, pressing the point.
“You almost did what?” another, deeper, male voice says as a second man strolls into the kitchen.
“WHO ARE YOU?” I shout, pointing the knife in his direction. I can feel my heart thundering like a train through a tunnel.
The ridiculously tall man with serious eyes, chiselled jaw and cropped brown hair ignores me and turns his attentions to Rhain, who is looking more sheepish by the minute. Rhain holds his hands up.
“Ezra, no harm done,” he says. “I lost control, just for a moment.” I notice the pointy teeth have now gone. Surely I didn’t imagine them too?
“You don’t lose control,” Ezra says. “That’s normally Devin’s style.” He points over Rhain’s shoulder to another handsome man walking into the kitchen.
“Not this time it seems,” the new arrival says. I flick my eyes in his direction and see the man named Devin looking at me lasciviously. He narrows his eyes, running a tongue along his lips. It is both creepy and incredibly sexy. He’s taller than Rhain but slightly slimmer with longer, darker hair that curls about his shoulder. His eyes are so dark they are almost black. I gulp.
“Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on here?” I say, swinging the knife in front of me.
Ezra holds his hands up and walks towards me. “We won’t hurt you…” he says, his grey eyes flashing with something that looks close to impatience.
“Right!” I say. “Tell that to Rhain and his mouth, and his…. his pointy teeth!”
I hear Devin laugh, then quieten when Rhain tells him to shut up.
Ezra continues to walk towards me. I feel like a mouse about to be devoured by a panther. “Accacia, child, we won’t hurt you.”
“Child? I am not a child. What a ridiculous thing to say. Now back off!” I say, but he keeps coming and I have nowhere else to go. I can feel the handle of the kitchen door digging into my back.
“Yes, you’re right, my mistake. You are far from a child,” he says, looking at me intently, his grey eyes stormy and unreadable.
“Ezra, don’t crowd her,” Rhain warns. I flick my eyes to him. If Rhain looks worried, then I most certainly should be.
Ezra stops walking, but remains only an arm’s length away. He sighs. “Let me formerly introduce myself. I am Ezra,” he says, bowing slightly. My mouth pops open but I shut it quickly, realising how ridiculous I must look. “You’ve already met Rhain, and over there,” he points to the far corner of the room, “is Devin.” They both drop to one knee, lowering their heads before standing again. I want to ask what they are doing but my mouth has suddenly gone incredibly dry.
We stand like that, staring at each other before Ezra suddenly lurches forward. I react without thinking and slam the knife directly into his chest. He stumbles back with a look of horror and shock on his face.
Then I open the door and run out into the sun.
Chapter Five
The pain, it hurts so bad. I can’t move, I can’t run, I can’t escape. I want this pain to end, I would do anything for this pain to end. “Mother!” I scream. I feel as though someone has lit flames beneath my feet and they are licking up my legs, burning through the layers of my skin. I fall to my knees, trying to protect my face from the burning sun. Huge blisters are forming on my hands, expanding and bubbling, and I almost black out from the pain. The contents of my stomach end up on the grass as my body begins to shudder, adrenaline coursing through me.
“What in Light’s name are you doing?” I hear a voice shout. It’s one of the strange men lurking in my house and I remember the reason why I ran outside. I try to crawl forward, but the pain is too much and I collapse in a heap. I feel blisters forming on my legs, the sun stripping away the layers of skin there.
“Mum,” I cry helplessly.
“Damn it, Accacia,” a voice grinds out. Then I am covered with a blanket and scooped up into someone’s strong arms. A few seconds later I am back in the house and being carried upstairs and into the bathroom. Lights and vague images flash before my eyes. I catch sight of Mr Tickle as he races out of the room in terror. I want to call out to him but find my lips are swollen and blistered. A moment later I hear the sound of water running.
“She burns, like us?” I hear the question in Rhain’s voice. Like us? More questions swirl in my mind, but I am unable to keep hold of them, the pain is too much.
“It would appear that way, yes,” I hear the man holding me say. I think it is the one with the black eyes. Devin?
“How is Ezra?” he asks.
“He is healing, but he needs a moment. I don’t think he was expecting that,” Rhain says.
“No, I don’t suppose he was,” Devin chuckles, and the sound is oddly comforting. He doesn’t appear to be too worried about the horrendous burns I know will be ruining my skin. Anyone else would have run off screaming at the sight.
“I did tell Ezra not to crowd her, but he is always so pig-headed. Give Cia to me. I’m going to lay her in the tub.”
I can feel warm hands slide the robe from my shoulders and pull it off my arms. The cool air does nothing to soothe the burns on my face and legs and I let out an agonised cry. Somewhere in the back of my head I realise I am utterly naked.
“Hush now, Cia, we will fix you,” Rhain whispers into my hair.
“Take care of her, brother,” Devin says. “I need to deal with my own burns. I
’ll be back shortly.” He stops at the door. “No biting.” I hear the note of warning in his voice and I want to thank Devin for saving me from the sun, but I can barely move my head.
“I can control it,” Rhain says, but even to my ears he doesn’t sound convinced.
I feel myself being lowered into the bath full of cold water and I wince. Even though the water immediately soothes my skin, it is not enough to ease the overwhelming pain.
“I’m sorry I scared you, Cia. I’m sorry we scared you. I shouldn’t have touched you so. It was wrong,” Rhain says as he gently pours cold water over my face.
I don’t answer him. I can’t. Right now, he could do whatever the hell he wanted and I wouldn’t have the strength to fight him off. I have hours of blind, overwhelming pain ahead of me and I am unable to think beyond that right now. A tear slips from my eye and the salt of it stings my cheek.
“She needs more than cool water, brother,” Ezra says, the sound of his voice recognisable to me now.
“You are healed?” Rhain replies.
“Yes. I have recovered sufficiently.”
Recovered? The last I saw he’d had a six-inch kitchen knife sticking out of his chest. He should be bleeding out on my kitchen floor right about now. The fact he’s standing at all is a miracle. I don’t understand what the hell is going on, but those thoughts slip away as another blast of pain engulfs my body.
“Move aside, Rhain, I will give Accacia mine.”
Give me what? What could they possibly think they could do for me? Time was my only healer now.
“I can do it, Ezra,” Rhain says, gently resting my head back. I hear water trickling from his hands as he pulls them from the bath.
“No, giving Accacia your lifeblood will only make your attraction to her worse. She doesn’t affect me in the same way. It is better I do it. Leave us for a moment.”
“Are you sure, brother? You realise what will happen once you do it, she is one of us after all.”
“Of course, I know what it means,” Ezra snaps. “Now leave.”
I guess Rhain does as he is asked because I hear the bathroom door click shut. I feel completely and utterly vulnerable, at the mercy of this man who had tried to grab me earlier.
I let out a tiny sound in my attempt to warn him off me. I don’t want his lifeblood, whatever the hell that is. I don’t want anything from him.
“That was stupid, you shouldn’t have run off like that,” he scolds, but his voice is warm, and that is unexpected.
I attempt to cover myself. My cheeks would burn if they weren’t already scorching. The pain is easing minutely and I can peer up at him through slit eyelids.
Ezra sighs. “There is no point hiding yourself from me. It’s not like I haven’t seen a woman naked before.”
“You haven’t seen me naked before,” I say, then cry out because it hurts me to speak.
“Don’t talk, you’re not helping yourself,” he says, this time with more annoyance. “I am going to give you something to drink. You’ll feel much better afterwards.”
“There is nothing you can give me to help me feel better. I need time and strong painkillers, there are some in my bedside cabinet. Just get those for me, and then you can all get the hell out of my house!” I say, my voice rising. A rush of pain sears through me again as the blistered skin on my face pops. I can feel something oozing down my cheek and know that my skin is weeping.
“By all that is Light, would you stop talking? You’re making it worse,” Ezra says, bending down next to me. He pours water over my face and our eyes lock. “That is the first and last time that you will run from me,” he warns. I say nothing.
“I am going to give you my blood...” He stops talking at the noise I make and lays a surprisingly gentle hand on my shoulder. “Don’t speak, Accacia. You must drink it, you will heal faster.”
“Why would I drink…” I start, but he places a gentle finger across my blistered mouth.
“Stop. If I wanted to hurt you, I would have done so by now. Devin risked his own life to save you. I took a knife to my chest, and Rhain protected you from that monster last night. We are not your enemy. When this is done we will explain everything.”
I turn my head and watch Ezra run a kitchen knife across the skin of his wrist. It is the same knife that I stabbed him with. I feel my stomach roll. “I can’t,” I whisper, watching the dark red blood pour from the wound he’s made.
“Shh,” he says, gently lifting my head and pressing his wrist against my mouth. I expect his blood to taste metallic, but it doesn’t, it tastes of smooth, dark chocolate. My favourite kind, in fact. Bringing my hands out of the water, I press his wrist tighter to my mouth and draw in more blood. It pours down my chin as I suck greedily. A small part of me is telling me to stop, that what I am doing isn’t right, but the other part can’t help but carry on. I can feel the blood moving through my body as a sudden rush of heat envelops me. Ezra pulls his wrist from my mouth and backs away.
“Wait,” I say, wanting, no, needing, more. I stand up in the bath, only dimly aware that the pain is gone. All I want is Ezra and his blood. The water droplets cascade down my naked body as I step out of the bath and walk towards him. He looks at me with hooded eyes, the colour of them as tumultuous as an oncoming storm. Ezra makes no move to stop me as I press my body against his length. I’m vaguely aware that this is not normal behaviour, but I don’t care. All I can feel is this amazing sensation as tingles slide up and down my body, the heat of his blood thrumming through me. I take his hand gently in my own and pull his wrist towards my mouth once again. Ezra groans as I take another deep pull of his blood. He grips me against his broad chest and the sound of his heart thunders under my ear. A moment later his hand is tangled in my hair and I can feel the length of his excitement pressed against my belly. We stand like that until I am full. I drop his hand as Ezra grips my lower back. I look up into his eyes, the taste of his essence still on my lips. His head lowers towards mine. “Thalia…” he murmurs. Thalia? Why was he calling me by someone else’s name?
“EZRA!” I hear Devin shout, banging on the other side of the door.
“Damnation,” Ezra says, pushing me away from him quickly. “That is enough!” Anger flashes in his eyes as he thumps a clenched fist against the door before yanking it open and storming past Devin.
“What happened…?” Devin says, his sentence cut short when he notices the blood surrounding my mouth. He glares at me angrily before turning on his heel and rushing out of the bedroom after Ezra.
Chapter Six
I am left standing naked as the day as I was born in the middle of my bathroom. There is no longer any pain. In the full-length mirror opposite I can see that all the burns have disappeared. I look at my perfect alabaster skin, the rounded plains of my stomach, my heavy breasts and wonder, briefly, why I disgusted Ezra so. He couldn’t get out of the bathroom fast enough. Yet he was the one who had offered me his blood… His blood? The full force of what I have just done slams into me and I stumble backwards, both shocked at my behaviour and the fact his blood appears to have healed me, or at the very least speeded up my ability to self-heal. My thoughts run wild with all sorts of possibilities. Could his blood be the answer I’ve been looking for all my life?
Forcing myself to calm down, I grab a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt and get dressed. I refuse to face them naked again. Stupid things appear to happen when I’m not fully clothed, and most of the time I am not a stupid person, nor am I so… sexual. Dragging my hair up in a loose bun and taking a deep breath, I head back to the kitchen, determined to get answers.
Rhain is sitting on a bar stool at my kitchen island, his head in his hands. He looks up when he hears me enter.
“Cia, you look…” He shakes his head. “How are you feeling?”
“I feel fine, thank you,” I say politely. I look about the room. “Where are Ezra and Devin?”
Rhain chews on his lip. “They are in the other room, talking. Ezra just n
eeds a moment.”
“Why? Is it to do with the blood he gave me?”
“That and something else.” Rhain looks troubled. “He should have let me do it. Despite my recent behaviour, I can control my desires. Ezra hasn’t offered his essence since... Well, it matters not now.”
“Essence?” Desires? This is getting a little too odd for my scientific brain.
“Yes, his lifeblood. He gave you his blood and because of that he is now bound to you. The people of Clan Lux used to exchange blood long before we were cursed by the Queen. It was how the people of our clan bonded with our life partners, we swapped a taste of blood. Before the curse it was nothing more than a ceremonial act, since the curse it has become far more significant. Our blood has restorative powers now, but those powers only work within our clan. Once given away, it must be returned by the person who received it.”
I frown at him. What is he talking about? Curses? Clan? Sharing blood? Rhain continues to explain, filling the silence.
“When we were first cursed many of us refused to take blood from the innocent. Queen Adrielle wanted us to become monsters, she wanted us to be feared amongst the common folk, so she cast a second spell. If we took blood from another in the clan, then that blood must be returned or the giver would die.”
“Hold on a minute,” I say, holding my hand up. “Can we just start at the beginning, please. None of what you said made any sense. None. I feel like I’ve entered the Twilight Zone.”
“The Twilight Zone? Is that a hamlet near here?” Rhain looks confused, but he isn’t as confused as I am right now.
“No, no, of course not,” I say, waving my hand in the air irritably. “Please, Rhain, just tell me what is going on. Start from the beginning.”
“Sit down,” he says. “I won’t try to touch you. I promise,” he adds as an afterthought.
“Okay.” I sit the furthest spot from him.
He places his hands on the counter and I try not to think about how they felt caressing my skin earlier. Our eyes meet, and I see desire flash within his before it is quickly replaced with worry.