And, as much as it does kill me a little, I'm a nervous wreck knowing the kind of danger you’re in.” He glared in Arys’ direction then, and I realized he blamed him for Harley’s intentions. Of course he did.
Arys returned the dark look with one that was carefully neutral. So, their fragile understanding had dissolved. That didn’t take long. Was it wrong that I preferred that?
My discomfort grew when neither of them broke eye contact. The negative energy grew thick with animosity. As if this wasn’t already difficult enough.
“Is there something that you’d like to say, Shaz?” Arys’ voice was low, menacing.
Shaz gave his platinum head a shake. “It’s already been said.”
“This is never going to end, is it?” I asked, looking back and forth between them.
With a toss of his head, Shaz assumed a casual expression. Feigned nonchalance wasn’t one of his strong suits, and I wasn’t buying it. “It’s all good, Lex. This is about you, not us.”
Arys sat back against the headboard with his arms crossed, glowering at nobody in particular. “Don’t let me kill her,” he said suddenly. “I’ve never had to stop myself before. I’ve never wanted to. This won’t be easy.”
The silence was heavy, and the atmosphere, thick with tension. Shaz looked at me so hard with so much emotion in his jade eyes that I started to come apart inside. He would go to the ends of the earth for me. I felt it, without a doubt when he replied, “Not a problem. I assume that means I can do whatever it takes, if it comes to that.”
Shaz gave me a wink and a grin, which was missed by Arys, who frowned. “Of course. No cheap shots, wolf.”
I was calmer than I should have been with the stimulating sensation of each man’s high-strung energy assaulting my senses. This was something I had to do. I grew more certain of it with every passing moment.
Arys moved quickly, jerking me up against his hard chest. I gasped and adrenaline crashed through my veins. “Listen closely to her heart,” Arys told Shaz. “It will be your guide. Don't let it grow too faint before you stop me. She can take more than a human, but it's hard to say how much more. She's already lost a fair amount of blood.” He peered at both of us through those midnight eyes. The hunger already filled him as the bloodlust fought for control.
Shaz flashed him a dirty look. “I'm not going to let her die. Not unless you intend to kill me first.”
Oh, that was just what I wanted to hear before putting myself completely into their hands. I needed to be able to trust both of them to hold it together. “Do you think you guys could lip each other off after we do this, when I'm not dead?”
“Sorry, Lex.” Shaz shifted so that he was closer to us, almost touching. His pure werewolf energy was calming.
I looked up at Arys, expecting him to ease me into this. I had no second thoughts; I just wanted it over. When he gazed down upon me, I felt more like food than I ever had before, including when walking into The Wicked Kiss. The anticipation of feasting upon my blood was quickly stripping his control away. It was that awareness that instilled the first trace of true terror within me.
I struggled to control my breathing as the adrenaline flooded me. Fear would drive him harder and faster, and yet, knowing that made me that much more afraid.
“Ready?” One word, one chance to turn back. At my stiff nod, he tilted my head to reveal the smooth, unbitten side of my neck. Physically, I felt pretty good after my encounter with Harley though I was reluctant to find out how much more I could take.
Had I expected Arys to hesitate? Possibly. What I hadn't expected was the rough way he grasped my upper arms, holding me immobile. I couldn't even open my mouth to complain before his mouth was on my skin, his fangs plunging deep.
My blood spilled, and a strangled cry filled the room that I vaguely knew was me. It was nothing like it had ever been when he'd fed from me during our lovemaking. This was pure agony. Every vein and artery in my body seemed to seize as he pulled my blood into him. I went cold inside; the chill forming in my core spread throughout my limbs.
I never could have imagined what being Arys' victim truly meant. Not until that moment. With his razor sharp fangs buried in my flesh and the intent to drain me, I had never feared him so thoroughly.
I heard Shaz' voice, but it sounded fuzzy and far away. He didn't make the mistake of intervening, instead watching helplessly as my vampire lover sucked me dry right before his very eyes.
Arys held me tightly to him; a low groan reverberated in his throat as he pulled hard at the wound. A jolt of searing hot pain burned through me, and as instinct kicked in, I struggled against him. He forced me back so that I lay flat on the bed and ground his fangs deeper until I thought that the pain would surely kill me before the blood loss did.