The Wicked Kiss (27 page)

Shaz paused, allowing the meaning of his words to sink in. My jaw dropped, and I gawked at him incredulously. “Have you lost your mind? Is this a joke? No, forget I asked. You have to have lost your mind.”

He gave me a small smile, as if he’d expected my reaction. “No joke, babe. I’m dead serious. You’re clearly not safe anymore, and it will protect you from Harley and anyone else like him.”

I turned on Arys, glaring hard. “Was this your idea? Manipulate Shaz into your way of thinking so you can make me more of a vampire than I already am?”

“Of course not!” Arys’ blue eyes widened, and he drew back, shock written all over his face. “I didn’t know what the hell he was going to say.”

“Lex,” Shaz gave an exasperated sigh and reached to take my hand in his. “This is all me. Look, I know that there is a side of you that is all wolf and all mine. I cherish it more than I could ever express. But, we all know there is a part of you that has never been human or wolf. A part that is closer to vampire than anything else. It just makes sense.”

“It would join her to me forever,” Arys interjected, forcing Shaz to meet his piercing gaze. “Beyond death, she would rise again. Do you understand that, wolf?”

Shaz looked down at the floor, and I noticed that his lower lip trembled ever so slightly. My heart broke and I gravitated closer to him. He fixed Arys with intense green wolf eyes. “I do. That’s why I’m saying this.” To me, he added, “It’s your choice.

Imagine what could have happened tonight if Harley had been the one. I just … I fear for you.”

Arys shifted uncomfortably, and I knew that he agreed, despite what he had said before about not wanting to be the one to take my mortality away. I looked back and forth between the two of them. It became clear to me why neither of them wanted to tell me what they'd talked about the night I was attacked in the park. They had talked about this very moment. Without me.

It stung in strange places. Not that I planned to admit it to them. I avoided eye contact with either man by picking compulsively at the fluffy bedspread. Of course, I couldn't really hold it against them for discussing my well-being. But, I was anyway, just a little.

I didn’t want to be bound to Harley, but the real question was about my mortality.

There was definitely an advantage to being able to die twice, but to live as a vampire, for God knows how long, could I face that? Did I want to?

When Arys looked at me, I saw fear lurking in the depths of his ocean eyes. “I don’t want to influence your decision in any way. It has to be entirely up to you. I’m afraid that Harley will never give up his infatuation with having you for himself. Not if he feels he's entitled to you.”

I couldn’t help but remember the sensation of Harley's hands upon me and then his fangs. I had been unable to defend myself. I’d been helpless, and as I recalled how it had felt, I knew I could never allow Harley or anyone else to put me in that position again.

He had enlightened me to one thing though, I had to get more comfortable with my power and learn how to use it to the fullest extent. Harley had so much on me in that regard.

“Would you really want that, Arys? To be blood bound to me until one of us finally bites it?”

It was a crude way of saying things, but I was an anxious ball of nerves. I hadn’t realized I could be faced with a choice like this, at least, not so soon. After tonight with Harley, I couldn’t escape making a decision.

Arys’ voice was softer than I’d ever heard it. “You know I do.”

Shaz sat stiffly beside us. He didn’t seem at all put off by the vampire’s admittance.

Worry and love emanated from him, and again, I wondered how I had gotten so lucky to have someone like him in my life.

I could see Harley in my mind, his fangs sunk into my white wolf. Shaz was Alpha now, and I knew he was everything that meant and more. I had to accept that Shaz was as much a part of the supernatural and its dangers as I was. Doing this would be good for all of us. It wasn’t just about me.

“I said what I had to say. I didn’t mean to upset you.” Shaz pulled me close, pressing the warmest kiss to my lips. The love that filled me was unlike anything I’d ever known, and the power of it brought tears to my eyes. A few spilled over before I could blink them away, and I quickly wiped at them.

“I’m not upset. I’m just overwhelmed by the affection you have for me.” I smiled and kissed him back with the intensity of what I was feeling. “I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. Ever since Harley told me there would be others coming for me … I think I should do it. Now. Tonight.”

Arys looked up sharply, a combination of fear and relief in his eyes. “Are you sure?

You should take some time to think it through.”

Shaking my head, I forced back any second thoughts before they could infect me.

“He won't stop, and there will be others. We started this Arys, and we have to maintain it.

I want to do what I have to, to protect ourselves and everyone in our lives. Let's do it …

now.”

Arys was a total fit of nerves, and I couldn’t help but vibe off him. His energy tickled me so that I wanted to scratch, but the feeling went beyond the physical surface of my skin.

I frowned in uncertainty. “Arys? This choice is yours, too. You don’t have to do this if you’re having doubts. We’re only bound by power; we don’t have to come full circle and make it blood and body as well.” It wasn’t like Arys to show this type of anxiety. He was always so cool and pulled together.

“Oh, I’m not having any doubts.” The surprised expression on his handsome face had me shaking my head in wonder. “I’ve never wanted any creature the way I want you, Alexa. It's my control I'm worried about. I don't want to kill you.”

I couldn’t have been any more astounded. Shocked didn’t begin to describe what his words made me feel. I had no control over the sudden increase in my heart rate. “Excuse me?”

His face was a mask of anguish. “The blood bond is so much deeper than anything we’ve ever done before. It’s called the wicked kiss for a reason, Alexa. To bond you, I have to take all you have to give but not so much that it takes you to the point of death.

It’s very precarious, and I don’t trust myself to stop if I take it that far.” He gazed down into my eyes, and I saw the predator in him, the one I had seen every time I looked at him before we’d become intimate.

Was I so blinded by lust and power that I had failed to remember that he was a vampire? A killer. When had I stopped fearing him?

“Why are you afraid?” Arys asked with concern in his voice, but there was a new hunger in his eyes. Shaz was silent, but I knew he was watching us with a keen awareness.

“I’m not.” I had to force myself to meet his eyes. “I mean, I don’t know. I think I just realized that even though there's something between us, you’re still a vampire.”

He chuckled, a soothing sound that manipulated my fear into excitement. “That’s what you love about me. The ruthless killer … the darkness. You need that in a lover, because it’s what you are.”

His comment left me unsettled. Shaz stirred uneasily, and I flushed, hating the side of me that went beyond a natural predator. Capturing my hand in his larger warm one, Shaz turned to Arys. “Once you do this, there is no way that he can bind her. Right?”

The vampire stared at Shaz until he appeared uncomfortable. Then he gave a slight nod. “She will be mine, and no other vampire can bind her.”

“Why do I sense a ‘but’ coming?” I asked, watching Arys. His strange mood piqued my interest.

“But,” he flashed a smile at me that made my knees weak. “You will still be a mortal werewolf with more power than you know what to do with, and therefore, still a target.

And, don’t forget, my love; we will be bonded on every level, not just metaphysically.

Mind and body will also be bound in many ways, some of which are unknown to me. I’ve never bound any mortal.”

I touched Shaz’ face, forcing him to meet my eyes. “Are you completely sure of how you feel about this?”

“No,” he admitted, chewing nervously on his lower lip. “It’s not easy for me to be part of this, but this isn’t about making me comfortable. This is about what’s best for you.

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.

When he withdrew his fangs to let the blood rush freely against his tongue, I convulsed and shuddered amidst the sudden pull of power blanketing us. It rose up like a thunderstorm, crashing over us. Even as he stole my life source, our bond was as strong as ever.