She stopped alongside him, held out the rose for him, the stem now free of all its threat.
‘But I will not plead anymore,’ she said, as she looked up into his sullen green eyes – eyes that could so easily break her. ‘I will not bargain. And I will not give you any more reason than I already have.’
She let the rose go, dropping it to his feet before walking away.
Walked away so he wouldn’t see the distress in her eyes, or the way her hands trembled. Instead she strode across the room, gazed out over Blackthorn, her back to him.
It had felt like a lifetime since she had arrived there. The life she led before then now felt like some vague memory – a life before Caleb. Caleb, now tangled in her every waking thought.
She rubbed away a tear of frustration as she waited for the call that would tell her whether she died at his hand or one of her sisters did. She could only hope the blood that pumped through her was serryn blood – the first time ever in her life that she wanted and needed to be one of them.
She felt him approach even before she saw his reflection in the glass, his scent reminding her of intimacies she desperately needed to forget. Goosebumps pooled over her skin, her spine tingling at his proximity.
‘That was quite a proclamation,’ he said.
She kept her gaze ahead. ‘It’s the truth. And you know it.’
He stepped alongside her, pushed a few loose strands of hair behind her ear.
She kept her hands clenched by her sides, her bare toes curling against the wooden floor at the gentleness of his touch. She tried to calm her breathing, her heart pounding as he slid the back of his fingers down over her neck.
She dared to look across her shoulder to meet his gaze – eyes that drew her in just as easily as they had the first time she’d looked into them.
He rubbed her tear away. Stepped in front of her. Held up the rose. ‘You’re supposed to tear the petals off to find out if someone loves you, not the thorns.’
‘You’re supposed to tell me it’s all going to be okay.’
Her heart jolted as he gently ran the back of his hand down her cheek, over her shoulder. ‘This is Blackthorn, Leila. Nothing is ever going to be okay here.’
‘I think it can be. And you can make that happen, Caleb. We both can. You can make that happen by trusting me.’
He dragged the petals of the rose slowly across her collar bone. ‘The ever optimistic world of Leila McKay,’ he said.
‘Whom you know not to underestimate.’
He dropped the rose onto the sofa behind him, before sliding his hands to her hips, pulling her to him. ‘You want me to prove you can trust me? Then don’t fight me. Let me do this.’
She frowned with unease as he slid his cool hand around the back of her neck.
But she’d challenged him. She’d demanded it and he had risen to it.
‘You’re asking too much,’ she said.
‘And you’re not? I will grant you seven days, Leila. I give you my word. If that proclamation was the truth, you’d be a fool not to take this chance – and you know it.’
‘So why not just wait for the results? Why do this?’
‘You know why.’
And as he pulled her close, right then all she wanted was that moment. If it was all going to end, she needed just that one moment with him: her beautiful green-eyed vampire; her intense, sullen, powerful Caleb. Caleb: the vampire who held her body, heart and soul right in his hands.
He kissed her gently on the neck before tracing his lips back up to hers, slipping both hands into hers to interlace his cool fingers with hers.
She’d pull back, she told herself. If one inkling of doubt took over, she’d pull back. But for that moment, it felt too right.
❄ ❄ ❄
Caleb caressed Leila’s lips with his as he pulled her closer. Her warmth was enrapturing. The softness of her body, the ease with which it melded against his own, only made him crave her more.
And this time he’d allow himself to crave her. He slid his mouth down to her slender neck, her pulse beneath his lips bringing the most tortured part of him out. But he would enjoy her. He would make her forget everything. For those moments, it would be only about them. He’d grant them both that.
He lifted her with ease, wrapped her legs around him, and carried her back down onto the bed.
Pulling down his trousers and shorts, he eased into her, just enough to feel the tension ricochet through her body again. It felt just as thrilling – her every reaction playing out on each held or shallow breath.
She had to know how vulnerable she’d made herself and in those moments she didn’t seem to care. Something inexplicable had happened between them and he had never felt it more. Something forbidden. Something they fought in equal measure. But more than ever, neither of them could do anything to hide it.
She tensed again as he eased his way inside her completely.
Arousal shot through him, her acceptance pushing him to the edge hard and fast. He instinctively thrust, her nails digging into his neck, her tremor inciting him further.
His need for her was too great to take it steady. Her responses telling him she was aroused enough for him to turn up the momentum.
And at that moment, it was as if every part of him and every part of her was seeping out, intermingling, entwining irrevocably as she instinctively started to relax, allowing him in deeper.
Caleb thrust harder, wanting her to think of nothing but him, of him inside her, being a part of her in an act that was sacrilegious to them both in its intimacy.
Because that’s what she was – intensely and intimately his.
He slid his arm beneath the small of her back, encircling her waist as he kept her tight against him, tilting her up slightly to allow himself in deeper, pressing one hand above her head, interlacing their fingers again.
As he felt her hand clench his, he thrust again, her shallow, curt breaths almost too much for him to bear, her nails digging deep into his hand as he lowered his head to her neck again.
He thrust deeper and deeper, her body trembling, a sensual perspiration coating her thighs, her neck, her hips. He tilted her further up to him and thrust again, finally filling her to the hilt, Leila gasping with the force.
He gazed down at her neck, her heart pounding at a powerful rate, her pulse impossible to ignore.
He had to bite her. Never had the desire been greater. Feeding as he sated himself. Sated her. Making her his totally and utterly.
He felt the tension flood his body, every nerve ending burning. He was on the cusp and he knew so was she.
He quickened his pace, escalating in time with the surge through his body.
Leila cried out and shuddered, her muscles tightening around him, her pulsating enough to finally tip him over the edge.
Chapter Thirty-four
Leila lay gazing up at Blackthorn’s sky.
The rain beat heavily against the glass again, the droplets glistening against the dark backdrop, an occasional gust of wind smashing a collection against the panes.
Caleb was characteristically silent as he lay beside her. But this time he didn’t leave her side. This time he gazed up at Blackthorn’s sky with her.
She turned her head to look across at him, his green eyes fixed above, the occasional blink of those dark lashes the only thing that told her he was conscious. Distant sounds of the pending dawn invaded the room, their cocoon, carried on the breeze that now caressed her through the open window above.
She looked back up at the sky. ‘How long do you think it’ll be before he calls?’
He looked across at her. ‘Does it matter now?’
She met his gaze. ‘I need to know.’
He pulled himself into a seated position. Leila scanned his taunt, lithe back as he sat there for a moment. Her gaze lingered on the Armun – the first time she’d been able to examine it properly. The symbol that foretold the destruction of everything they knew. The symbol which, unless she could persu
ade Caleb to find another way, would destroy him too.
He got to his feet and strolled across to the step, flexing his arms and shoulders as he did so.
Leila sat up. Pulled her knees to her chest, wrapped her arms around them as she watched him pick up his phone, his continued silence igniting a stir of unease as he gazed down at the screen.
Her heart pounded. ‘Has something come through?’
He strolled back over to meet her. Sitting beside her, facing her, their bent knees side by side, he handed her the phone.
She took it in her hand. Stared down at the screen at the text message from Jake.
She’s still a serryn, Caleb.
Her heart thudded as reality of what she had done struck her.
A message from half an hour before.
Her gaze snapped back to his. ‘Tell me you didn’t know,’ she said. ‘Tell me you hadn’t read this before.’
The unapologetic look in his eyes confirmed her suspicions.
Guilt coiled through her at her stupidity. The fact he could have taken her in place of her sisters seemed a worse betrayal than encouraging her to trust him.
‘You tricked me. Why?’ she asked. ‘Why didn’t you just kill me? Why didn’t you end this? Why make this harder for us both? Or is it easier killing one of my sisters instead of me?’
‘I asked Jake to give Alisha his blood. She’s of no use to me.’
‘And Sophie?’
‘I’ll find her. Preferably before Feinith does.’
‘And then what?’ she asked, trying to suppress her dread. ‘You told me I could trust you.’
‘And you can. I gave you my word. Seven days, Leila. And I’d say you’ve got more motivation than you’ll ever need to make sure you succeed if I’m still the serryn hunter I once was.’
Seven days that she had pleaded for in the desperation of the moment. Seven days were nowhere near enough time.
‘You asked me to give you a chance to find another way,’ he said. ‘I’m doing exactly what you asked.’
‘At a price.’
‘You’re going to have to go back to Summerton to get what you need. I have to be sure you’ll come back to me.’
‘So you put a bounty on my sister’s head? That puts us right back where we started, Caleb.’
‘No,’ he said. ‘I would have ended your life tonight if we were right back where we started rather than searching for any other way.’ He reached out and pushed her hair back behind her ear before tenderly cupping her face. ‘I don’t know if letting you live is the most selfish or selfless act I’ve ever committed. I don’t know if you’ll be my salvation or my damnation, but I can’t be without you, Leila.’
As he transfixed her with the solemnity of his gaze, never had she seen him more vulnerable in his sincerity.
‘Just don’t let me down. This love comes with a risk,’ he added ‘A risk for both of us. The way I feel about you. You understand that, right?’
Her stomach knotted. She nodded. ‘I understand. And don’t let me down,’ she said. ‘You find my sister alive and well and I’ll find the alternative.’
A darker, harder, more terrifying alternative if her vague recollections were correct. But he didn’t need to know that yet. No one needed to know that yet.
Her chest tightened, her stomach flipping as his eyes narrowed slightly, pensively, as if sensing her unease.
‘I’m trusting you, Leila,’ he said, sliding his hand around to gently clasp the nape of her neck.
‘And I’m trusting you,’ she said, holding his gaze
More than she’d ever needed to trust anyone. More than she’d ever dared trust anyone. A common thread they shared that she knew would be the very salvation or damnation that he spoke of.
Because she knew better than anyone there were consequences for breaking the rules. For breaking the lore.
Dire consequences she needed to find her way around.
For all their sakes.
Chapter Thirty-five
Jask descended the narrow, worn, warped slabs into the depths of the derelict ruins. Even over the damp and the mildew, the place reeked of vampires. But he could also smell his own.
His boot steps resounded down the low-ceilinged corridor as he marched ahead. ‘They’d better have a damned good reason for being here,’ he said, refusing to conceal the annoyance in his tone. If he was close enough to smell the other lycans so clearly, they were close enough to hear him. ‘Let alone dragging me over to this part of the district.’
‘If what they told me is true, I get the feeling it’s going to be worth the inconvenience,’ Corbin said, keeping up with his strides.
Jask turned the corner.
The two younger lycans stood outside an open doorway, their backs to the wall, their gazes straight ahead like privates in a drill.
As Corbin stepped into the room, Jask stopped square-on in front of them, his glare burning into Samson’s grey eyes before searing into Rone’s.
Neither dared look up at him. Neither dared speak.
Rone nervously blew his fair hair back from his eyes and spread his feet slightly further apart as he plastered his hands back behind his back.
‘You especially know better,’ he said to him, the youth still unable to meet his gaze.
Rone gave a single nod.
‘Jask, you’re going to want to see this!’ Corbin called out.
Jask crossed the threshold into the dank, stone chamber. The only source of light emanated from the two candles on the cusp of burning out on the wooden table in the centre, hardened wax having rippled down the wine bottles that held them.
He stepped past the table so he could get a clearer view of the figure sat manacled in the far left-hand corner of the room.
Head lowered, her mop of dark hair concealed her face. Her arms were outstretched, her slender wrists roped to rusted hoops on each adjacent wall.
Two vampire bodies lay on the floor in front of her, their contorted faces oozing coagulated blood from their mouths, eyes and ears, their bodies twisted, their limbs stiff and contorted from dying in agony.
He looked back at the female, partially concealed by the shadows.
‘Rone said they walked in just as the vampires went in for the feed. The spasms started instantly,’ Corbin explained.
Jask stepped up to her, stopping just a foot away. He expected startled eyes at least, but she didn’t flinch. She didn’t even lift her head.
He lowered to his haunches in front of her.
Still she didn’t flinch.
He pushed back her unwashed bobbed hair and gently cupped her jaw to tilt her head so she had to look at him.
Far from the fear and trauma that should have been indicative of her predicament, angry, spirited brown eyes glowered back at him through smudged, smoky-grey eye shadow. Her mask of heavy eye make-up made her look hard, but her pretty features were soft, youthful – mid- to late-twenties at most. And from the way she yanked her jaw from his grip, she was used to looking after herself, or at least prepared to. The cuts and grazes on her cheek and eyebrow, let alone the hint of bruising on her jaw, told him she didn’t go down without a fight. But from the ill-fitting black sweatshirt and combat trousers she wore, she certainly hadn’t been dressed for the hunt that night. Not for a seductive hunt at least.
He caught hold of her jaw again and pushed her hair back to examine her neck. The bite there was smeared in dry blood. So was her inner arm. ‘Most definitely a feast gone wrong,’ Jask said. ‘For them at least.’
Her bold glare remained locked on his.
‘Well, well,’ he said. ‘Aren’t you the interesting one? But I’m no vampire, sweetheart, so that toxic stare doesn’t work on me.’
‘I know what you are,’ she said, her tone laced with as much affront as her glower. ‘And I know who you are. You’re Kane Malloy’s pet lycan, right, Jask?’
He couldn’t help but smile at her nerve, at the purposeful goad in her tone, despite her insolence instantly
grating on his nerves. ‘And what’s your name, sweetness?’
She raised her eyebrows slightly, her glare unwavering.
‘Looks like we’ve got ourselves a handful,’ Corbin said, folding his arms.
‘Looks like we’ve got ourselves a serryn,’ Jask remarked. He coaxingly held her gaze. ‘But nothing that can’t be tamed.’
She snatched back a breath that would have been undetectable to the human ear, her eyes flaring in indignation.
‘Oh yes, witch,’ he said. ‘I know exactly what you are, too.’ He tilted his head to the side slightly as he tightened the grip on her jaw just enough to let her know who was in charge. ‘And you couldn’t have turned up at a better time.’
LETTER FROM
LINDSAY J. PRYOR
Dear Reader,
Blood Roses is the second instalment in my Blackthorn series but, for some of you, this may have been your first visit. Whether you’re here for the first time or back for more, I really hope you enjoyed Caleb and Leila’s story and their revelations about the world of Blackthorn.
I love hearing from readers and can be contacted through my website www.lindsayjpryor.com, or you can follow me on Twitter @lindsayjpryor and Facebook. I can also be found on Goodreads where I am always grateful to read reader reviews.
Blackthorn is a journey into a world fighting for survival but, above all else, it is a love story. Whether for right or wrong, salvation or damnation, the love between each of the couples you meet will play a pivotal role in all their futures.
In Blood Shadows, book one in the series, I gave you some insight into the human control behind Blackthorn. Here, in Blood Roses, I plunged you a little deeper in the vampire world that exists within its guarded walls. Next, I’ll be introducing you to the clandestine lycans.
Jask was first introduced in Blood Shadows. He always deserved a story of his own. Blood Torn is that story. I hope you look forwards to sharing it with me as much as I am with you. I can guarantee he’s going to be a force to be reckoned with.
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