Renegade (The Captive Series Book 2) (9 page)

He was as silent as a ghost as he came
back to her, slipping onto the bed beside her. He pulled her
against him, kissing her softly. All doubts and fears vanished; she
didn’t want to think, not now. And he made it so very easy to
forget everything, except for him. His hands stroked over her face,
her hair, as he pushed her gently upon the bed. His eyes were
bright in the dim light of the room. He stared at her for a long
moment, his hands lightly holding each side of her face.

“You are beautiful.”

Though it may not be entirely true, she
felt beautiful when she was with him. She felt as if she were the
only woman in the world, and in some ways, to him, she was. She was
the first woman he had seen in years. She lowered her lashes as
tears burned her eyes, she didn’t want to think about anything
else, but she couldn’t help it. This was it. This was all she would
have of him.

“Arianna?”

She lifted her eyes to him, forcing a
smile. “It’s ok Braith, I’m ok.”

He kissed her nose softly, pulling her
against his side as he rolled off of her, cradling her tightly.
“There are some other things I need to tell you Arianna. I don’t
want you to be hurt again; I don’t want you to be surprised by
anything you hear about me.”

She frowned, lifting her head to look
at him. He looked troubled, his eyes were distant, haunted. “What
is it?” she asked softly.

His fingers stroked through her hair,
running it lightly through his grasp. “Before you, I never had a
blood slave.”

“I know.”

“After you…” his voice trailed off for
a moment, his fingers tightened briefly in her hair. “There were
many.”

Aria stared at him in surprise, and
then hurt curled through her. She had thought that she was special.
No, she was special to him. She couldn’t start thinking like that,
couldn’t let herself start to doubt that. It would ruin this small
bit of bliss they had managed to find together. She was special to
him, he did care about her. She just had to keep believing that it
was true. He wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t. “Why?” she choked
out.

His gaze was hard upon hers; there was
a defensive air about him. “I wanted to forget.”

“Forget what?”

“You.”

Her eyes widened, she bit hard on her
bottom lip. She knew how that felt, the driving need not to think
about anything, not to feel anything anymore. “Did it
work?”

“That’s why I’m here.” She managed to
smile wanly at him, but she couldn’t shake the lingering hurt that
clung to her. “I never gave them my blood Arianna; I’ve never done
that with anyone else.”

She managed a small nod, trying not to
show how upset she was. She knew that she was failing. “It’s
ok.”

“Arianna, I thought… I don’t know what
I thought. That’s the problem, I didn’t want to think.”

“I know Braith, I know how you felt,
how it hurt to think, to breathe even. I know because I didn’t want
to think or feel anymore either. It’s ok, I don’t like it, but it’s
ok. It’s… It’s what you had to do.”

She could barely speak by the time she
was done, hurt clogged her throat, but she couldn’t find any anger.
She couldn’t be angry now. She hadn’t been there for him, she had
thought that he had lied to her, and he had thought that she’d
betrayed him. She couldn’t be angry now when he was looking at her
with such a hopeful, needy expression. He may not have given them
his blood, but she was sure that he had done other things with
them. Things that they had not done together. Aria quickly shut the
thought down. It had no place here, this was their one night, he
wanted to be honest, and she could not fault him for that. But she
was not going to ruin this night, she couldn’t.

“And what did you do to stop from
thinking?” he asked softly though she heard the tight tension in
his voice.

He had buried himself in women, and
blood. She had buried herself in the woods, in the wild, in the
solitude. “Went fishing.”

He lifted an eyebrow in surprise, his
head tilted slightly to the side. “You went fishing?”

“Yes, I’d go to the lake almost every
day and go fishing. It was quiet, peaceful; I could lose myself in
the nature and serenity of it. Even when Max…”

“Max?” the name was almost growled at
her.

She frowned at him. She had taken his
shocking news relatively well; he owed her the same respect. “Yes,
Max. He is my friend. He was also a blood slave, though his
experience was far worse than mine. He needed the solitude, the
peace, the company of someone who understood at least a little of
what he had gone through. He would join me most days, and we would
just sit silently together.”

“I think Max wants to be more than a
friend,” his voice was low, gravelly. She heard the displeasure in
his tone.

“Braith…” She didn’t know what to say,
what to do. But he was being honest and she should too. “Yes, he
does. And at one time I had a big crush on Max. He was older, my
brother’s best friend, and my first kiss.” Braith’s hand tightened
on the back of her head, he fairly vibrated with anger. “But even
before we were blood slaves, even before I met you, I had decided
that it could never be between us.”

He was struggling to keep control,
struggling to keep himself calm. “Why not?” he asked
quietly.

Aria shrugged. “My life isn’t one that
I would wish on anyone else, especially not a child. It’s too hard,
too brutal.”

He was silent for a long moment, and
then he pulled her slowly down to him. His lips were warm against
hers, soft, and soothing. His hand cradled the back of her head
gently. She lost herself to him again, forgetting everything and
everyone. The effect he had over her was amazing, and
absolute.

He pulled slowly away from her, softly
kissing her lips, and then her nose. “It will all be ok,” he
whispered. “Everything will work out.”

She managed a wry smile as she nodded.
They both knew that it would not be ok, but here, tonight, in his
arms, she could believe anything. She fell into his kiss, losing
herself to the touch and feel of him. He was wonderful, amazing,
everything she had always wanted, and could never have. He rolled
her slowly over, his kiss moving leisurely over her neck. He pulled
her shirt down, revealing her shoulders. He stilled upon the bite
mark, his lips hovering over it as she felt the hard press of his
fangs against her flesh.

“It’s ok,” she breathed, her fingers
curling into his thick hair. “It’s ok Braith.”

He didn’t hesitate, but bit gently
down, reopening the wound and causing her blood to spurt once more.
Aria arched against him, the pain was sharp, and fleeting. Then she
felt the familiar pull, the familiar tug of her blood into his
body. But unlike the first time, he was not half starved now; he
was far gentler, and far more caring as he moved over her. She
clung to his hard arms, tears streaming down her face as she
savored in the wondrous joy of the moment. She never wanted it to
end, never wanted to part from him.

He pulled slowly away from her, kissing
her softly, holding her tight as he wiped the tears from her
cheeks. “Don’t cry Arianna.”

She couldn’t stifle the tears, or
emotions streaming from her. She ran her hands over his beloved
face, wanting to savor every detail of him before they were
separated again. For good. He pulled slightly away from her, biting
deep into his wrist. She watched in wide eyed wonder as blood
flowed from him. Unlike the last time, she would remember this
exchange.

She felt she should be repulsed by the
idea of drinking his blood. The vampires were her enemies after
all, they always had been, but she could not bring herself to feel
revulsion as he held his wrist out to her. The need in his eyes was
glaringly obvious, and she was not going to turn him down. She
would never hurt him in such away. She took hold of his wrist,
watching him as she brought it to her mouth. His eyes sparked with
desire, and love.

His blood was sweet as it flowed into
her, powerful as it seeped into her cells. He kissed her forehead
gently, his nose rubbing briefly against hers as he nuzzled her. “I
love you too Arianna,” he breathed, his mouth hot against her ear.
His words only caused more tears to flow.

***

Aria woke to the smell of something
delicious cooking. She smiled softly, stretching out upon the
comfortable bed as her stomach rumbled in eager anticipation. She
didn’t know what he was cooking for her now, but it smelled
wonderful. Upon crawling out of bed, she discovered the bathroom,
and the shower. Drawn by the lure of hot water, she was unable to
resist climbing into the shower and staying in there for a very
long time. She discovered the robe after forcefully removing
herself from the dwindling heat.

The robe smelled of him, which made it
even more irresistible to slip on. The soft material felt fantastic
against her bare skin. She hesitated a moment, self conscious about
going bare beneath the robe, but she wasn’t ready to put her
clothes back on. They weren’t filthy, but they most certainly
weren’t as clean as the robe, and she wanted to enjoy her brief
reprieve for a little while longer. She didn’t think Braith would
mind anyway.

She slipped from the room, following
her nose as she padded silently down the hall. “Something smells
amazing, and I’ve decided the shower is the best invention
ever.”

She turned the corner, holding the knot
on the front of her robe as Braith came into sight. He was standing
in the kitchen doorway, his back to her. She frowned, uncertain as
to what he was doing there. His head turned toward her, his gaze
was dark and stormy as he caught sight of her. There was also fury
blasting from his eyes. She hesitated, her feet staggering slightly
on the hardwood floor. She didn’t understand the rage in his gaze,
didn’t know why it would be directed at her. They had been fine
when they had fallen to sleep, better than fine even. She had never
felt so content and happy in her life.

And now it seemed as if the sight of
her was enough to send him into a rage. Aria began to shake; her
hands trembled on the knot of the robe. What was going
on?

His eyes narrowed slightly, and then
his hand slammed into the doorway with enough force to splinter the
wood. Aria gasped in surprise, jumping slightly as the wood cracked
loudly and bits of it scattered to the floor. Her heart jumped in
surprise, but she still did not feel any fear, not of him anyway.
He wouldn’t hurt her she knew that, she just didn’t understand what
was wrong with him right now.

He turned slowly away from her, his
back ramrod straight, his muscles quivering with tension. Aria
looked slowly away from his rigid back, her eyes widening, her
mouth dropping as she caught sight of Jack on the other side of the
room. He was standing by the door outside, staring at her. There
was surprise in his features, but there was also confusion, fear,
and a deep sadness that shook her.

It was then that she realized their
wonderful world of bliss had been forever shattered once more.
“Aria,” Jack greeted softly.

She stared at him for a moment longer,
then fear and horror tore through her. She wanted to reach out to
Braith, but her hand remained frozen on her knot. She didn’t know
what to say, what to do. She was practically naked, standing in
their family house, her hair wet and straggling. She knew what it
all looked like, and she didn’t care. What she cared about was the
fact that Jack had found them. That he had come here to ruin their
brief time together, again. Anger spurted through her, they’d had
so little time together as it was, and now it was over.

She glared at him, her hands fisting at
her sides. Jack quirked an eyebrow as he studied her questioningly.
“I’m assuming you didn’t force her here,” he said
softly.

“No,” Aria responded, when Braith
didn’t.

Jack stared hard at her for a moment
before turning his attention to his brother. “What are you doing
Braith?” Jack asked quietly.

Braith’s body remained ramrod straight.
Fury radiated from him, shaking the arm that was slammed into the
wall. Aria knew that it was more than just Jack being here that was
shaking him, but also the fact that their time together was over.
They both knew Jack was here to take her back, and there was
nothing that either of them could do to stop it. She had to go back
to her world, just as Braith had to return to his. Neither of them
could hide away forever, it was impossible.

“That’s none of your business,” Braith
growled.

Jack’s eyes flashed with anger. “It is
my business. She’s a young girl, you have no right…”

“I’m not a child!” Aria interrupted
sharply. “And you are not my father, or my brother,
Jack.”

Jack’s eyes were hard as he stared at
her. “No, your father and brothers would have come in here looking
to kill; they would have been disgusted to find you like this.”
Aria recoiled from his harsh words, her mouth parted, she felt as
if she had been slapped by him.

“Don’t,” Braith snarled, his hand
clenching on the ruined doorframe. “Don’t talk to her like
that.”