“I don’t want to leave you. I feel like I have to.” The misery in his words was gut-wrenching. “Tell me not to go, Lex.”
I sat heavily on the edge of Arys’s bed, a hand over my mouth as I bit back the anguished cry that threatened to break from me. One deep breath, then another. What I wanted and what I felt had to happen were two different things. I owed him honesty. I owed it to both of us.
“I wish I could, babe, but I think you should.” I couldn’t believe I was saying this. “It will be good for you to get away for a while. To do what you have to do. I want you to be happy, and to do that, you need to make peace with yourself.”
Abandoning the wet towel, I slipped into a pair of pink cotton panties and pulled my robe on. The menial task did nothing to take my focus off the somber man on the phone.
Shaz swore softly. “I feel like I’m abandoning you. Like I’m running away from the things I’ve done.”
“If you were running away, you wouldn’t have stuck around long enough to tell me. You’re a good man, Shaz. You just made a few mistakes, and they pale in comparison to mine. If getting out of Dodge is what you need right now, then you should do that.”
Did I want him to leave town? Hell no. But, this wasn’t about me.
“You know, Lex, I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t head over heels in love with you.” He laughed softly, and the sound of it warmed me. “I was a smitten kid happy just to be your friend. I never thought I’d be yours.”
I had many fond memories of my friendship with Shaz over the years. It had always meant so much to me. “You weren’t much of a kid. You were eighteen when we met. Only three years younger than me. So wise beyond your years.”
“What we had then, that friendship, I don’t want to lose that.” He stifled a yawn. It made me yawn in turn.
“We won’t. I promise.” Returning to the living room, I peered out the window at the sky. The stars had disappeared from sight. “Get some sleep. You sound tired. We’ll talk later.”
“Don’t do anything crazy without me. I love you.”
“And, I love you, wolf boy. Sweet dreams.”
After ending the call with Shaz, I stood there staring at my phone longingly. I would never forget the things we’d done recently to hurt one another, but I could forgive. And, I would move forward.
Try as I might to remain calm, each minute that brought sunrise closer increased my worry. Arys should be back by now. I padded into the kitchen and rummaged through the pantry until I found the chocolate bar I’d stashed for a stressful moment. Maybe the taste and sensation of chocolate and caramel melting on my tongue wouldn’t change anything, but it was a special joy all its own.
A cold wave crashed through me seconds before I heard a sound at the front door. Relief quickly followed. My dark vampire was home.
Abandoning the chocolate on the counter, I moved quietly toward the front porch. I hung back just inside the kitchen, waiting with building trepidation. The last time I saw Arys, he wasn’t functioning at full sanity. I let my power flow forth to fill my hands with the crackle of raw energy.
Arys entered with the silent stealth of a true predator. A human never would have known he was there. I took a few steps back, placing me in the middle of the kitchen. When he crossed the threshold, there was fire in his eyes and an arrogant smirk on his handsome face.
“Alexa,” he practically purred my name. His energy ran high. It felt thick with blood, darkness and hunger. Hunger for me.
I stared at him, wide eyed and cautious but also curious. I never saw him move from the doorway, but he was suddenly there, pulling me against him with a forcefulness that both alarmed and excited me. The power I held ready fell flat; he’d extinguished it as simply as blowing out a candle.
His tongue plunged between my lips to explore my mouth. Demanding and insistent, he kissed me with such aggression that his fangs cut my bottom lip. Trying to err on the side of caution, I placed a hand on his chest and gave a gentle push. He refused to be budged.
“Arys,” I pulled back from his kiss and tried to get him to meet my eyes. “Where have you been?”
He didn’t answer me. Instead, he stared at me with a deep, drowning desire. He moved fast. Grabbing my wrists, Arys spun me around so my back was to his chest and pushed me against the table. With one hand, he pinned me in place, the other reaching beneath my robe.
I gasped when he hooked two fingers in my panties and jerked them roughly down my legs. My robe easily slid aside for him to expose me. A strange concoction of fear and arousal sprang forth. The wolf within me was excited by his fierce aggression, but the human side of me was afraid of death at the hands of my lover.