Consume (The Devoured Series) (15 page)

I felt my mouth fall open when I realized what he was doing. He grabbed a pillow and the snatched the comforter off the bed. He brought it back to the bathroom and laid it all out in the large tub like a bed or pallet. He shut and locked the door before kicking off his boots and then kneeling at my feet.

He lifted one foot and removed my boot gently. He watched me watch him as he removed the next one and then kissed the sole of my stocking covered foot. I felt like I should blush, but it never came. He got on both knees between mine and looked at me seriously.

"Will you sleep with me?" he asked softly, before grinning suddenly. "In the tub?"

I smiled, too, and wrapped my arms around his neck. "I'd love to."

He stood, lifting me and then lowered us both into the tub on our sides, facing each other. He let his thumb run a smooth path across my cheek, taking away the wetness there that was pointless to let fall anyway.

He pressed his lips to my forehead and whispered his words against my skin. "Tomorrow, we'll go to The Wall and get this all straightened out. But for tonight, I want you all to myself with no television or brothers or noise. Just you and only you."

"And you," I whispered back.

"And me." I felt his smile, but then he gripped me tighter on my waist and sighed long and loud. "Today was…you could have been… Tomorrow won't be any better. The Wall is worse. I'm trying not to lose it, Clara, but I-"

I kissed his cheek to silence him. "Not tonight, ok? Right now, I just want to feel you."

"You
can
feel me can't you?" He sighed onto my cheek. "The Devourer blood is changing you."

"Maybe," I conceded and snuggled closer. "But the
Devourer
was already changing me."

We silently agreed to let that drop for the night. Instead I asked, "Will the Witch stay that way because of my skin?"

"No. It only lasts a day." He added wryly, "But a Witch can get a lot done in twenty four hours."

I closed my eyes and accepted his gentle caresses and kisses gratefully, loving the feel of him tucking my hair back. Then he pulled the corner of the blanket over us in a not-so-subtle command to sleep.

And I did.

Thirteen

"So when exactly are we going to get up, catch a chartered boat, and get ourselves to Arequipa to The Wall?" Finn said as I rubbed my eyes and peeked over the tub edge. How did he unlock the door? He was still wearing the same clothes as last night. I could also see Enoch leaning over from his perch on the bed to get a good view.

That made me remember what Finn had done. And then the trembling beneath me - Eli's rage - made me remember that Eli and Finn hadn't had their confrontation yet.

"Clara, watch out, sweetheart," he said carefully, not taking his eyes from Finn, as he attempted to ease me to the side to get up. "Stay here so I'm not worried about you getting hurt."

"Now, Eli, come on," Finn said and put his hands up. "I can see you're angry."

"Angry?" Eli whispered as he stepped from the tub. I watched over the rim with fearful anticipation. "You kissed the girl I love." I sucked in a startled, happy breath at his words. He peeked back at me and seemed almost shy as he watched my reaction for a moment. Then he smiled with one side of his mouth before turning back to Finn. "And you tried to overwhelm her with your lust so she'd betray me and I'd hate her. Right? So why would I be angry?" he finished sarcastically.

"But she passed the test," Finn defended vehemently. "I was just looking out for your best interests."

"And in your best interests, I suggest you run," Eli answered and took a step.

"Eli, come on, man."

"Last chance, Finn." He was at the door of the bathroom and Finn was scrambling, bumping into the bed and tripping near the bird cage.

The bird squawked, "Watch out, watch out!"

"Eli-" Finn tried once more, but Eli had reached him.

"Time's up," he said low and dangerously and then reared back with Devourer speed and hit Finn so hard in his jaw that he spun around.

I scrambled up from the tub and ran into the bedroom just in time to see Eli pick Finn up and punch him again. Finn wasn't even fighting back. Eli landed one final blow to Finn's pretty face before grabbing my hand and pulling me out the door. "It's dawn. We’re late."

Ah! The stone!

We ran where the Witch said to go. Eli's GPS on his phone said it wasn't far, thank goodness. We got there to find an Elf and a very small man leaning against the phone booth on the sidewalk. They looked peeved.

"Sorry. We got held up," Eli said and held out his hand. "The stone?"

The Elf was smoking again and it was really strong this time, even in the outside air. My throat tickled with a cough, but I tried to hold it back. I inhaled deeply, but that made it worse and I choked on it.

"Can you put that out for two seconds?" Eli barked at him.

The Elf grinned before leaning forward quickly and blowing the smoke directly in our faces. I expected a coughing fit, but what I got was a calm that seemed to settle on me. Eli's shoulders visibly relaxed and I looked at them. He had really nice shoulders. I bit my lip as he held his arm out and the muscles rippled through his shirt. I had to reach out and touch them. So I did.

Eli shuddered when I did and the Elf seemed pleased with himself. "Give him the stone, Barkley. These two look like they want to be alone." He laughed.

The little man plopped the stone in Eli's hand and ran to catch up with the Elf. Eli turned to me and I was engulfed in the flames from his stare. He was on fire from the inside out - I know I sure was - and I could see it in his eyes.

He moved closer and looked down at me. "The smoke," he muttered, trying to grip onto sanity. "The smoke makes you do things-"

I grabbed him around his neck and dragged him down to me. That was the end of any plights for sanity. He lifted me and carried me like that, kissing me and holding me with my legs around him all the way to the hotel. He pressed me to the wall by our room and tried to fish the key out of his pocket, but he couldn't stop kissing me to do it.

And I had no intentions of stopping.

Finally he jiggled the door open and we crashed through it. I heard Enoch muttering a curse, but Eli quickly threw me on the bed and grabbed them both by their shirts to throw them out. Enoch looked at us both and realization dawned. He yelled. "Friggin' Elf smoke! Eli, do what you want, man, but you know you're going to regret it later when the smoke clears." Eli shoved him out the door and started to slam it. "Eli, dude, you know I don't care, but…the bond. You're both going to regret this!"

"Out!" Eli roared before slamming the door, dead bolting it and turning to me. He looked wild, and it fueled me to be not only bold, but brazen. I got up on my knees and beckoned him to me. He plowed into me as gently as our sudden need would allow and I fell back on the bed that I'd just sat up from.

His mouth sucked on my earlobe before moving to my neck. I wrapped myself around him, willing to let all my beliefs slide away. It was unexplainable the way that I just…needed him, right here with me, just like this. My muddled brain said
screw everything else and just let me feel Eli.

His hand made a slow path from my knee to my hip to my side. His fingers squeezed. A noise I'd never heard before came from my throat. He looked up at my face and watched me. He couldn't seem to stop kissing me though, so with his eyes open, he kissed my lips in soft pecks, over and over. His eyes seemed to focus more as he worked something out in his mind.

I was getting impatient. What was he waiting for?

"Don't stop," I complained.

His eyes snapped open widely at that and he kissed my lips, even as he dragged me from the bed. I clung to him as he carried me and the war waged on his face. He kissed my neck as he climbed into the tub with me. He pressed me to the wall and kissed my open mouth, deep and heady…

Before turning the freezing cold shower on us both.

I gasped, but couldn't seem to stop kissing him. Eventually the cold seeped into me and I started to feel clearer and more level headed. I pulled back from him and saw that he, too, was coming back to himself.

Oh, my… I blushed as I realized that I had been attacking him and letting him attack me…we'd been about to….if Eli hadn't thrown us in the shower…

He tipped my chin and shook his head. "It was the smoke. It was wrangling both of us. Don't feel like that."

"I'm always safe with you, aren’t I?" I said as I recognized that he had saved us. I gulped.

"Yes," he answered and kissed me again, but it was just a kiss this time. We sank down to sit in the tub and let the water flow over us. I was cold, but it didn't matter as we sat with our knees up and leaning on each other's. If the cold was what it took to keep a clear head until the smoke was gone, then so be it.

"I think we're ok now," he said, his arm snaking around my shoulders to turn off the water. He sighed and whispered his words, "You trust me still?"

"I trust you more now than ever."

He smiled sadly and helped me up. We toweled off and he went to let them back in the room. I rolled my eyes and cringed as I heard Finn making cracks about me being 'virtueless' now.

I took a deep breath and opened the door to the room. Then I felt something sear through my head, right in the front of my forehead. I gripped it and noticed my hand was blurry. Everything went red…and then everything was black.

~ ~~

It smelled horrible, like feet and bleach. I wrinkled my nose and then heard a loud noise near my ear. I winced and shied away. Hands came up to my face, gentle and soothing. I knew those hands.

"Eli," I said, but my voice croaked. What was wrong with me?

"I’m right here, baby," he said. It sounded like I was talking to him through a window. And he sounded so distraught. I made my eyes open to take in the room. It was too bright and white. Eli immediately jumped up and pulled the string above my bed. The lights dimmed and I blinked to see him better.

"Eli."

"Right here, love," he repeated and smoothed my hair from my forehead with his fingers. He started to smile, but stopped and gawked at me.

"What?"

"Your eyes…" He could see I was about to get frustrated with having to drag it out of him, so he shook his head quickly and continued. "You have one green eye and one purple." He gulped. "Oh, God, please," he said to no one and then laid his head on my stomach.

Ok, maybe he was speaking to someone. I barely heard his words as Eli begged God for my life. He made all kinds of promises and said he loved me over and over and over. I didn't know if God would be listening to a Devourer's prayer or not, but the things Eli was saying… He wasn't asking for me not to die as much as he was asking for me not to be like him.

I touched his hair with my fingers, ignoring the tubes and then gasped as I felt something bury itself in my chest. It stung and barbed into me. It felt too hot, rotten…putrid. And when a startled Eli sat up and I saw the tortured look on his face, I knew exactly what it was. He was feeding me his sorrow and guilt. And I never, ever, ever wanted to feel it again. I understood now. Eli said he hated the way my fear and sorrow tasted. I couldn't taste anything, I even licked my lips to test it, but I could feel it. And it was horrifying.

"Please, stop, Eli. Please," I groaned.

"I'm sorry," he said and ran the backs of his fingers down my cheek, collecting tears. "I'm sorry."

"Where am I?"

"You fainted. I was so scared…I knew what was wrong with you was supernatural, but I couldn't just let you lay there and not do anything. I brought you here. They think you're dehydrated, which may be true, too." He grit his teeth, his jaw hard. "You didn't even eat any supper last night. And we spent all night in the club, dancing and sweating and… I'm not taking very good care of you."