The urge to slap him made her hand tingle, but she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction. Instead, she said quietly, “You’re a bastard.”
He shoved both hands through his hair and left them there, bracing his elbows on his knees. “I’m a demon, Serena. It’s what I do.”
She supposed that was true enough. Didn’t make her feel much better, though. Especially because it was also true that he was much more than just a demon to her, no matter how much she wanted to believe otherwise.
“So what happened? After you learned to use your gift?”
“My mother lost interest in me. One day she came into my cage to kill me. I killed her instead. Escaped. Ran until her clan caught up with me in Chicago. They strung me up in a warehouse and tortured the fuck out of me for two days. Maybe more. I don’t know. After the first day, they gouged out my eyes.”
Oh… Jesus. Sweet Jesus God Almighty. Black spots swam before Serena’s eyes and she felt herself start to go over. Wraith caught her, and she was too weak to fight him. Plus, it felt good to be in his arms again. Her body was a traitor. So much so that when he lay her on the bed, she clung to him, pulled him down beside her.
“I don’t think I want to hear any more,” she said in a voice so shaky she barely understood herself. “But how… how did you survive?”
“My brothers found me.” He petted her hair with loving, comforting strokes. “They killed the vamps. Kept one alive to give me back my sight.”
She almost asked why they hadn’t used a dead vamp as an eye donor, but duh, they had a tendency to flame to ash when they were killed.
“And then?”
“I went with them to New York, where I spent the next few decades wasting my life. I was worthless. Lived like a rat in sewers, eating junkies and drunks, losing myself in any way I could. Then E and Shade started the hospital. I didn’t want to learn how to save lives, but they didn’t give me a choice. Taught me to read and write. Got me straightened out. Mostly.”
“Dear… God.” His life had been a waking nightmare.
He snorted. “God abandoned me a long time ago.” Gripping her hand, he squeezed gently. “Look, Serena, by human standards, I’m a bastard. Hell, even by some demon standards I’m that. I’ve always been selfish, not giving a shit about anyone or anything but myself. I knew what losing the charm would do to you, and if I could give it back, I would. I know you don’t believe this, but… I love you.”
Her eyes stung, and her stupid heart responded with several stuttered beats, because it believed him. “You don’t need to lie to me anymore.”
“I’m not. Never again.”
“Easy to say when I’ve only got hours left to live.”
He made a sound low in his throat. “Don’t say that.”
“It’s time to stop denying it.” Strangely, it felt liberating to say it.
His hard swallow was audible, his voice strained. “I know.”
She propped herself up on her elbow so she could see directly into his eyes. “I hate you.”
“I know,” he whispered.
“Kiss me.”
He didn’t hesitate. His mouth met hers in a bruising kiss. For the first time, he opened up and let her explore with her tongue, let her feel the sharp points of his teeth. Now she knew why he’d always led the way with his kisses, why he’d pulled away when she’d made aggressive moves. Even now, he reared back a little, but she grabbed the back of his head and forced him to stay still. This was for her, not him. He owed her, and she was going to take what she wanted.
His groan rolled through her, caressing all her erogenous zones and waking up nerve endings. Her lungs hurt and her gut cramped, but pleasure began to override the discomfort and pain.
Greedily, she reached between them and palmed his erection. She squeezed him through his pants, and he made a raw, male noise. “Were you lying when you said you couldn’t come like this?”
“No.” His tongue swept over her bottom lip. “My kind can only achieve release inside a female.”
“Then get inside me.” God, she couldn’t believe she wanted him this badly, but with such little time left, the insanity of all of this seemed so distant and unimportant.
His eyes shot open, and she drew in a startled breath at the beautiful gold color they’d gone. “Are you sure?”
His concern pissed her off. He had no right to worry about her after what he’d done. “Just do it,” she snapped. “Now.”
Hurt flashed in his eyes, but then he was tearing open his jeans, shoving her shirt up, and ripping off her shorts, and in an instant, he was inside her. She cried out at the invasion, the incredible sensations that shot up her spine.
“Gods,” he growled into her ear, “I can smell your need. It’s taking me over the edge.” His tongue dragged over her throat, and for a moment she thought he was going to bite her. Some dark, wicked part of her wanted him to bite her. “Mmm. You taste oddly… salty.”
“Its the disease,” she whispered. “It causes salty skin.”