I wasn’t listening. I was staring at the blood that ran down Roxanne’s hand to drip off the tips of her fingers. It was all I could smell, all I could focus on.
Arys sat Roxanne on the end of the bed. Her eyes fluttered open and then closed again. She sighed softly. Gripping both of my arms tightly, Arys forced me to look into his eyes.
“It will always be part of you, but it doesn’t have to own you. You can control this.” He shook me when I growled at him. “Stop giving in so easily. You’re stronger than that.”
Then he slapped me.
It was startling. The sound of his hand hitting my cheek was loud in the quiet room. I laughed. It earned me a glare.
“Let me have her. Just this once.” I was detached, hearing myself talk but not fully aware it was me.
The power flared between us as Arys struggled to get through to me. “You will master this or else it masters you. Got it? Is that what you want? To be just another killer?”
“Why not?” I snapped. “It seems to be good enough for you.”
Arys dragged me close and pressed his forehead to mine. His eyes closed, and I felt the warm push of calming energy. It filled me from head to toe, bringing me back to myself. I hovered precariously in that awkward place between who I was and what I had become.
His voice low, almost a whisper, Arys loosened his grip. “You are the light in my darkness. I can’t watch you become something you will grow to hate.”
Something in his tone struck a nerve deep down. I blinked a few times, and the bloodlust cleared from my vision. “Arys…”
Opening his eyes, he gazed deep into me, and then he released me entirely. Together we approached the bed where Roxanne sat in a deep thrall. I could do this. I had to. I was stronger than the bloodlust.
Arys watched me as I sat on the floor before her and took her bloody wrist in my hands. The scent of her blood filled my lungs, and it tore at my fragile control. I ran my tongue over her smooth, lightly tanned skin. The urge to rush into the kill was strong, but I wasn’t giving in this time. I slowly licked the red rivulets that dripped into the palm of her hand. No words could describe the way it felt; orgasmic, pure bliss, they didn’t even come close. Tasting her was like finding a peace I never knew existed. It felt right, like I was finally whole. And, I knew it was all a lie.
As I drank the blood from Arys’ bite, I saw it all so clearly. We were all creatures in unbearable pain, always seeking escape from something, even if we didn’t know it at the time. Every one of us found our moment of peace in something dark and twisted. This was mine.
On the bed, Arys knelt beside our victim. I could see them from where I sat. He bit into her neck, and she gasped. Or had it been me? I wasn’t sure.
A roar filled my ears as the power Arys and I shared grew to an explosive level. He reached out for me, his hand seeking mine. I surrendered it to him, crying out when a hot jolt of electricity burned my skin where it touched his.
Blood in my mouth and Arys’ skin on mine stirred my longing. Heat flooded my loins as I watched his lips against her skin, his tongue running over the wound. It wasn’t enough. The hunger grew, and my moment of peace was shattered.
Arys must have felt me slip because he stopped me from doing something I would deeply regret. With a snarl, I bared my fangs, craving the sensation of having them buried in flesh. The blood wasn’t enough. The need to tear into Roxanne was driven by more than the bloodlust. Caught up in the throes of power and hunger, my wolf struggled to break free.
I was on my ass across the room before I had a chance to hurt her. Trapped by Arys’ energy wall, there was a sense of déjà vu as I remembered how recently this had happened in the bathroom at The Wicked Kiss. One day, Arys wouldn’t be there to save me from myself.
With a hand on Roxanne’s face, he got her up on her feet. Her eyes were open but unfocused. Stuffing some cash into her hand, Arys spoke slow and clear. “Go downstairs, get into the first cab you see and go straight home. You won’t ever tell anyone anything you might remember because they would never believe you. There is no such thing as vampires.”
She nodded and allowed Arys to lead her to the door. I was intent on the barrier he’d thrown at me. Like the last time, I was certain I could bend it to my will. Instead of fighting it, I concentrated on pulling it into me and making it mine. A strange, almost sick feeling hit my stomach as the barrier broke. I couldn’t breathe as it rushed into me, becoming one with my power.
It was easier than I’d expected. It also proved what I’d suspected for a while. Arys and I could turn our power on one another, but we could also take that power into ourselves. His power was mine, and therefore, he couldn’t truly harm me, not if I took the control back from him.