Chapter 23 Antivenom #2
I wanted to take her to the bathtub to avoid a mess, but her muscles jerked, and her hands twitched in her lap. I knew it wouldn’t be long before I’d need to physically restrain her.
Placing her back on the bed, I stepped into the bathroom to grab a towel and a damp washcloth. When I returned, she shuddered, her back bowing. Seeing her arched with her mouth open on a silent scream pierced me, and I knew I couldn’t prolong the inevitable.
I went to her, allowing my shadows to embrace me.
Tears streamed from her eyes, down her temples, and into her hairline as she looked up at me, wide eyes filled with terror.
I didn’t know if she could see me—didn’t know if the fear in her eyes was because of what happened to her body, or the sight of me transformed.
I wasn’t like the others.
Zeke wasn’t the only one with special powers.
Her sudden seizure prevented me from warning her of what came next, or even reassuring her she was safe with me, for now.
I bound both of her wrists in my hand, careful not to rip her skin with my claws, pressing over her to keep her still.
If I bit into my arm for her to drink, it’d block my access to her neck.
I didn’t think she’d appreciate me biting anywhere except her arms, which trembled in my grasp, or her legs, which jerked beneath my weight. I didn’t want to fight her flailing limbs in order to drink.
“Raelynn,” I said, voice firm, hoping to break through the haze. It didn’t work. “Raelynn,” I barked, infusing power into the name, vibrating the air with my growl. I clenched my teeth when my shadows flared, wanting to taste the human beneath me.
She wasn’t the enemy right now; I couldn’t let them feast on her.
She whimpered, her eyes clearing enough for me to recognize she was focused on me again.
“I need you to drink from me when I bite you. Can you do that?”
Her eyes flew wide.
I pushed authority into my voice again, ignoring the shadows writhing beneath my skin in response to the surge of power, and repeated, “Can you do that?”
Her frantic nod made relief course through me.
I used my free hand to unfasten the buttons on my shirt, tugging it free and tossing it aside. I dragged the claw of my index finger across the fleshy part between my neck and shoulder, leaving a deep wound, easy for her to latch onto.
Peering down at her neck, I debated using my claw to pierce her skin but decided a bite would give me the steady flow I needed without leaving the deep scars my claws would.
I didn’t drink blood from others, preferring only fine alcohol laced with the smallest amount at social events. But if I didn’t take her blood, she might die. As much as I resented her for trapping us on Earth, I didn’t think this death was an appropriate punishment.
“I’m going to bite you,” I said, meeting her panicked eyes with my own steady gaze. “I’m going to drink until it’s gone. I need you to do the same.”
“Will… i-it…” Her face screwed up in pain, and her body tried to bow again, but I pressed harder against her. “hurt?” Her final word broke off on a gasp of pain.
“The bite, yes. I don’t think I’ll need to take enough blood to harm you, though.”
I wouldn’t lie to her. With a stronger relationship, her acceptance of my bite would’ve brought her ecstasy, but our lack of connection made that impossible. Still, the bite’s pain paled in comparison to the agony I sensed wracking her.
“W-where?”
“Where will I bite?”
She groaned. “Yes,” she said in a harsh whisper, her fingers flexing, searching for something to grasp.
“Your neck.”
“N-no.”
“We don’t have time to argue about this.”
“Need… to”—she gasped—“h-hide it.”
I growled.
We didn’t have time for her to be picky. The only place to hide a bite would be beneath clothing, and I’d already cut myself open…
I reached for the collar of her shirt and shredded it with my claws, revealing her shoulder. “I’ll bite you in the same place I’m wounded.” Before she could protest, I bent and sank my fangs into her soft flesh.
The moment her blood coated my tongue, I groaned.
Ambrosia.
I couldn’t describe the exquisite taste of her lifeblood in any other way. The bitter tang of venom swirled through the sweetness, tainting it. But I knew once my magic expelled the infestation, her pure blood would wreck me.
When her soft lips touched my skin, and I felt the first pull as she tasted my blood, I knew something wasn’t right.
Not only did she not withdraw in revulsion, but my body overheated. My cock thickened, and when it pressed against her, she freed her legs, wrapping them around me. I’d been so surprised by my arousal, I hadn’t pushed to keep her legs pinned.
Did she know what she was doing?
Focus.
The more I drew her lifeblood, the stronger the venom’s vile acid grew, stinging my tongue as it fought my magic. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to focus and ignore the rhythmic rock of her hips and her perfume that riled my shadows.
It took every ounce of discipline I possessed to keep my shadows contained. I didn’t understand why I couldn’t control them. I’d never struggled with regulation.
My shadows obeyed my will; we acted as one.
The magic in my blood, coupled with the effects of venom in her human blood, manipulated her actions. No other interpretation explained her behavior.
As her spasms subsided, my grip on her arms relaxed, allowing her to reach for one of my horns as an anchor now that I no longer restrained her.
My chest rumbled with a low growl I couldn’t contain. Pleasure surged, intensifying my instability and powerlessness beyond anything my shadows had done. But I couldn’t release her wound, or she’d die.
Her touch soothed my shadows, and they remained content with the simmering connection her touch created. I didn’t know what I would have done had her touch not pacified them.
I wouldn’t get close to her again.
The consequences could prove fatal for us both.
An eternity seemed to pass before the last remnants of venom receded.
I pulled away from her shoulder with a grunt of exertion, breaking her hold in the process. The scent of her perfume still clung to me as I sat back on my heels, releasing her hands.
She lay beneath me, eyelids fluttering closed. She’d be safe now, but her response—and mine—left me with more questions than answers.