Blood Flows Deep in the Empire (7 page)

He jerked back, about to pull his wrist out of her grasp, but Ismini’s breathing steadied. She sighed, and her hand tightened around him.

“Please . . .” She pulled on his arm, trying to bring him closer. “More . . . you . . .”

Dyletri’s eyes widened. Ismini groaned, pulling his arm harder. What did she want from him? He noticed the way her body shook beneath the covers, and a sense of foreboding went through him.

Fuck. Did she need body heat?

Ismini whimpered again, and his decision was made.

If body heat was what she needed, then he’d give it to her. Even if he ended up going to hell in the process.
Crius would be happy to have me there anyway.

Dyletri eased himself onto the bed, careful to remain above the covers. He raised his energy level, causing his blood and skin to heat up. Once he was sure his body temperature was high enough, he moved closer to Ismini. His heart thundered in time with each and every wretched centimeter.

Ismini responded immediately, all but crawling on top of him. Her head ended up on his chest, her arm around his waist, and the length of her body pressed against his.

Every muscle in his body tensed. So much that he was sure he pulled a few. Dyletri forced himself to stop breathing and fixed his gaze on the ceiling.

Sighing, Ismini rubbed her face into his chest. His T-shirt, insignificant thing that it was, did nothing to hold back the heat of her skin.

Just helping her. I’m just helping her. Just . . . ah, fuck.
Ismini moved her leg, and the motion tugged at the covers where they curled over his hip.

Way too close.

Don’t move, Dy. Don’t be an asshole.

Not that it fucking mattered. She was moving enough for the both of them. Getting comfortable. Sliding an arm up his chest. Nuzzling her cheek against an already taut nipple.

Dyletri’s body went into riot mode, adrenaline rushing through energy-coated veins. His heart—ten times more powerful than a human’s—raced, each beat sending chaos barreling into his brain. He couldn’t begin to sift through all the different impulses shooting off at light speed.

He felt his hand itch with the need to grab her, lift her higher, move her
closer.
Common sense railed at him, demanding that he get the fuck off that bed. But Ismini seemed to be getting what she needed. His body heat must have been helping somehow, because she gave another sigh, one full of content.

His heartbeat pounding in his ears, Dyletri slowly looked down at the girl. He tried to ignore the curve of her cheek, the length of those eyelashes, the way her little nose turned up at the end.

You have an issue on your hands, Dy.

No shit.

His hips ached to move. His cock practically begged him to press against her. He had no right to want that, though. Not after all she’d been through because of his failures. All she would still have to endure because of him.

Despite his inner-scolding, he couldn’t pull his gaze away. Her body was hotter than it should have been, and it both scared and tempted him. Skin that hot would feel amazing wrapped around him.

There’s no way he could stay put another second. He had to try to wake her and see what else would help her. Because Illion knew he couldn’t keep doing this.

“Ismini, can you hear me?”

Like a content little kitten, the girl smiled and rubbed her face into his chest. “
Mm
-
hmm . . .”

By the gods, Dyletri could almost imagine her purring for him. An image flashed through his mind. Those plump lips of hers pressed to his ear, her purr vibrating against his skin as she straddled his hips.

A forceful swallow stretched his throat muscles. “Are you still cold?”

Ismini squeezed her arm and leg around him, her thigh inching too fucking close to his dick. His aching, raging,
desperate
dick.

Punishment,
he thought.
This has to be some form of sick punishment.

“Ismi—”

“You make it better.” Her hand fisted around the material of his shirt, making him feel like a caged beast.

She’d intertwined herself so thoroughly around him that if he made any sudden moves, he’d risk jostling her. Or worse, hurting her by flinging her off the bed.

You make it better.

Great. Well, at least she felt better.

His cock was so hard he could feel it pounding rhythm with his heart. He was barely comfortable in jeans when he wasn’t hard. Now the blood-filled fucker between his thighs was enlarged to its full length, and he was damn near close to finding out if it was possible for it to rip through the fabric. The sensitive flesh pressed into the zipper, making him groan under his breath as another pulse shot through his dick.

She’s right there. Just slide into her. Ease the ache.

His mouth began to water. Tingles shot through his jaw again, sliding into his teeth. Dyletri’s panic reached a whole other level when the voice in his head reminded him of what had happened earlier in the alley. The light in his veins.

He told himself it was impossible, that there was no way the human girl in his arms could free the force he’d locked inside. But then Ismini moved and made a sound that almost had him shooting off the bed. Her leg shifted, sliding higher.

Illion, help me.

He called out to the Source and let his head fall back as Ismini’s whole body slid against his side, her hips moving, gliding. Her thigh came in contact with his cock, and Dyletri gave a strangled groan as he shot a hand up to wrap around the headboard.

I have to move. Have to get away. What the flying fuck? Dy, you dickwad, you just had to climb on the bed with her, didn’t you?

Ismini exhaled roughly, eyelids fluttering. Dyletri waited to see a glimpse of those beautiful eyes so he could—do what?
Slide your hand behind her neck. Tilt her face back. Slip your tongue in between those plumps lips of hers—

Holy. Fuck.

He lost control of his breathing. Whereas before he’d been taking shallow breaths to keep from disturbing Ismini, air whooshed in and out of his lungs. His chest heaved, dragging her scent in with each ragged inhalation.

One hit and he knew he wasn’t going to be able to stop. In all his existence, he’d never smelled anything that affected him to such a degree. He felt half-crazed. The urge to bite into something rode him hard.

“Ismini . . .” His voice was gruff. He used the arm underneath her and grasped her shoulder. He shifted his weight, tightening his abdominals in order to sit up. The moment his hand touched her, however, Ismini moved again, and her lips brushed against the skin above his collar.

Dyletri moaned, his eyes squeezing shut as a shudder ripped through him. The moment her breath made contact, his skin pebbled, he gasped, and nearly choked on his fucking tongue.

A moment later, he heard a crack as his fist turned the intricate stone headboard to dust.

It scared the hell out of him.

Fear was enough to break the hold his desire had on him. Dyletri forced himself to move and let go of the headboard. It re-formed on its own, as everything did on Enzyria, and he moved as carefully as he could while hurrying to extricate himself from her grasp.

He made it off the bed, but Ismini almost followed him. Her eyes darted behind her closed lids when she lay alone once again. A cry of pain left her, her skin flushing with color.

He shouldn’t have found it attractive, but Gods damn it, he did. He ran his tongue across his teeth, wondering how her flesh would feel between them. His body demanded that he get back on that damned bed with her and finish what she’d unwittingly started.

No. Vedlyl. Get Ved.

Ismini whimpered again, curling into a fetal position. Shaken and confused, Dyletri stepped away from the bed. Putting that distance between them hurt like a motherfucker. His cells seemed to pop as he got farther from her. But he forced himself to take another step. And another.

He was five feet away from the bed when Ismini cried out so loudly it almost made him rush back to the bed.
Almost.

“Vedlyl, get your ass over here! She needs you!”

Chapter 6

The next few days passed in a fog of darkness punctuated by brief moments of wakefulness. When Ismini finally woke, she found herself in the most comfortable bed she’d ever been in. The sheets felt like clouds against her skin. The mattress, or whatever it was, could have made memory foam jealous.

Not that it was enough to push back the intense nausea churning in her stomach or her pounding headache.

Blinking, she glanced around and tried to process what she saw. The bed was huge
and had an ornate, stone canopy with curtains that hung down and moved like beautiful smoke. They reminded her of the cream-colored dress Nylicia always wore. She shifted and her hand bumped into something next to her. One turn of her head brought her face to face with her sock monkey.

No, this wasn’t her sock monkey. Not her old one anyway.

This was a brand new one, sitting next to her pillow and smiling down at her with his big, red mouth. On the nightstand, Ismini spotted her favorite sweater, a picture frame holding a snapshot of Evesse, Soleria and herself, and her favorite books, amongst a few other things.

She didn’t remember much of the previous few days, but she did remember one thing—Dyletri had brought all of that for her. He’d picked up her most treasured things at her apartment. Except for the sock monkey. Apparently, Dyletri had decided to get her a new one and then left it next to her to find upon waking.

But why? Why had he done it?

She tried to sit up and failed. The effort alone almost pushed her back into unconsciousness. She was barely able to breathe. She had to force herself to inhale one breath after the other while fighting back the urge to hurl.

The room kept spinning as she continued to take steadying breaths. She began to feel somewhat centered again, relief almost in sight, until she heard hushed voices speaking somewhere off to her left.

“Tell me the truth. What’s wrong with her, Vedlyl?”

“I can’t tell you that, Dyletri. Nylicia—”

“I am sick of Nylicia’s interfering!”

“She does what she must. You know that.”

“So you’re saying that whatever is happening to the girl intertwines with my destiny so much that you can’t fucking tell me what’s wrong with her?”

Dyletri sounded completely pissed off, and Ismini heard the one that must have been Vedlyl shushing him. “Don’t wake her. She is in enough agony as it is. And yes. That is exactly why I cannot tell you.”

“Nylicia promised the girl would live long enough for us to do what we had to do. You know, bring Dimithinia back. So why do I doubt all of this right now?”

“If it is your destiny to bring back Dimithinia, then it shall be so.”

“I
have
to bring her back. You know this.”

Something broke within Ismini. Something that went beyond the emotional. She couldn’t hold back her anguished whimper as she heard someone stomping away. She struggled to fight back another sob just as a tall, hulk of a man came into view. He was so blond that his short, curly hair was almost white like Dyletri’s. But his eyes were different.

So green they bordered on neon, the sight of them had Ismini very close to freaking out. As he came closer, she saw his pupils weren’t the normal black. They were a deep blue that flashed to yellow and back again as he stared at her. He pushed back the curtains and sat gently on the bed.

“Relax. We’re trying to help you.” His voice was soothing and hypnotic. “I am the God of Medicine. I swear to you, I will do everything in my power to ease your discomfort. You’re not the first patient I’ve had with this condition. Nor the worst.”

Ismini swallowed, trying to speak. She jumped when a very familiar voice startled her.

“Is he gone?”

Vedlyl turned to look over his shoulder. “Yes.”

Ismini squinted at the shimmery, transparent figure behind Vedlyl in disbelief. “Ny-Nylicia? How are you here?”

True, Nylicia was more like a hologram than anything else, but the fact that Ismini was seeing her outside of her dreams was shocking.