CHAPTER 28
WREN
∞
My mind feels hazy. She feels fucking amazing, and her scent is intoxicating. Her arousal mingles in with her sweet scent, and I just want to taste her. She tilts her head away from me, completely exposing her neck to me. I see the vein pulse against her skin, and I drop my head down to her, darting my tongue out to drag against her creamy flesh.
Fuck, she smells so good.
My canines ache at the need ripping through me. I inhale sharply and it’s like pure fucking ecstasy.
“Wren!”
The panic in her voice rips me out of my mental haze and I can feel my fangs literally dripping with venom. Her entire body is shaking under me.
I almost lost it.
I turn my face away from her and sink my teeth into my forearm. The sharp pain settles my mind, but it doesn’t ease the guilt coursing through me. I feel her pussy tighten around me as I continue to slam into her, and I bite my arm harder. I can’t stop the small whimper of pain as I basically tear my arm apart.
She’s breathing heavily under me, and my breaths are ragged as fuck as I try to gain control over the pain coursing through me. I feel her fingers brush through my hair and settle at the base of my neck.
“Wren?”
She whispers.
I unlatch my fangs from my arm and slowly pull away, cringing at the damage I just did to myself. She touches the bite wound gently and looks up at me, concerned. “I’m sorry,”
I choke out. I can’t believe I almost bit her, again. She tossed her dagger earlier, and in my post sex haze, I didn’t even think to grab it again when I said I wanted to fuck her again. I can’t even look at her right now. I feel so fucking ashamed of myself for almost losing my shit after I promised her I wouldn’t drink from her.
She drags her fingers across my jaw and cups her hand on my cheek. I close my eyes at the gentle touch she’s granting me, even after I tried to bite her. “Look at me, Wren.”
“I can’t,”
I whisper harshly.
“Why?”
“I almost…I was going to…”
I can’t even say the words because I’m trying to keep the bile from rising up my throat. I’m ashamed of myself. After all these years and all the people I’ve fed on and women I’ve fucked, I’ve never felt ashamed for who I am and what I have to do to survive this fucked up world.
“Look at me.”
Her tone is harsh, making me actually turn my head towards her. She has a frown on her face as she stares at me. Her hand is still settled on my face, and she brushes her thumb gently across my cheek, slowly…over and over.
“I’m so sorry, Chess.”
I can’t say anything else. I have no excuse for what I almost just did, except for the fact that I’m clearly weak. She’s completely shattered all my strength and barriers just by existing.
“Stop,”
she hisses. “You didn’t do anything wrong. You’re very kind, Wren. I’m sorry I didn’t see it sooner. I’m sorry I was so harsh to you.”
“No. You were right about me right from the start, Chess. I’m an asshole and a villain. I can’t even control my hunger around you.”
I pull back from her and stare at her body in front of me.
She sits up as I shift back further from her and grips my wrist to stop me. She runs her fingers over the healing bite wound and leans towards it, kissing it gently. “You hurt yourself,”
she says quietly.
“I had to.”
“Why?”
“If I hadn’t, it would have been you, Chess.”
“You hurt yourself to protect me…”
“Yes.”
She glances back up at me and my heart feels like it’s going to blast right through my chest. She’s smiling. She’s giving me the sweetest and most genuine smile, and it makes her look so young.
“You keep surprising me more and more,”
she giggles. “Didn’t you say you wouldn’t protect me, and whatever happens to me, is on me?”
My eyes widen, and my jaw drops as she looks at me with a smug grin on her face. She shifts up onto her knees and settles her arms around my neck, bringing her lips to mine.
“Didn’t you say you could handle yourself, and didn’t need someone like me protecting you,”
I chirp back, and she snorts out a laugh, pulling back from me.
“I did,”
she giggles. “I guess we’re both doing things we never expected to do.”
“Are you okay?”
I ask quietly. I settle my hands on her hips, and she leans into me further.
“I am. Thank you for showing me what it’s supposed to be like, Wren. That was more than I could ever hope for.”
Her stomach growls loudly and she swears under her breath, making me laugh. “I think we could both use some food.”
“Yeah…I…I don’t have anything here though.”
“Nothing?”
“No…I haven’t been able to afford food.”
The fact she’s actually admitting this to me is a change for her. I push her back gently and I can see the pink flush on her cheeks as she stares at a random spot on her bed. “Please take the money, Chess. I don’t want to see you living like this. I know you don’t want to move into the tower, so please, let me at least pay you what you deserve.”
“It’s too much money, Wren.”
“It’s not.”
“How about we order some breakfast. There’s a small diner down the road that has pretty decent food and they’re cheap.”
“You don’t need cheap, Chess.”
“I like their food though,”
she grumbles.
“Fine. I’ll go and pick something up then, and I’ll come right back. You’ll eat with me, right?”
“Of course,”
she smiles.