CHAPTER 48
FRANKIE
∞
My eyes drift open, and I’m greeted by the sound of soft snoring. I roll over in bed to see Wren sleeping peacefully with Nyx curled up against him. I thought I would feel like shit after feeding from him. I figured I would at least have some type of hangover as the drug inducing venom left my system, but I feel good. Better than good. The small aches and pains I had before, and the sharp, throbbing pain I hid from him when he shattered my rib this morning, is also muted. It’s still there, but nothing like before. I poke at it, and I’m surprised I don’t wince from the gesture.
I wonder if vampire blood also has some type of healing properties. I’ve never heard of it doing that before, but most of the ones I’ve learned about, are the regular vampires and not purebloods. I don’t know anything more than what they’ve been willing to share amongst their kind, and in turn, the enforcers.
I shift closer to Wren, and Nyx grumbles in protest. “Be thankful I’m even letting you be here right now,”
I hiss out, poking her in the ass. “You’re in my spot.”
I can’t get much closer to him without crushing her between us. I stare at his face and bite my lip as his lips part slightly on an exhale. He must be tired. He didn’t snore any of the other times we were in bed together. I hope he bled enough to have brought himself back to reality. I hope he doesn’t still wish for death. Drinking from him was more than I could have ever expected. My cheeks heat with embarrassment as I remember what happened. I came onto Wren while I was high as fuck. I pushed him to pleasure me…in front of Alex. I bring my hands to my face, trying to hide from the absolute cringe I’m feeling right now.
“What the fuck was I thinking?”
I whisper to myself.
I peek through my fingers up at Wren’s sleeping form. He made me come so fucking hard, and I fucking loved every minute of it. There’s seriously something wrong with me. I can’t even say it was just because of the blood because, even though I felt drugged, I was still completely lucid with my actions. It was definitely nothing like before. Could it be because he’s a pureblood? Is his blood really that different? The blood whore was fiending, but I don’t think she would have had the same satisfaction that she’s used to by feeding on him.
I brush my fingers across his chest and down his stomach. I can feel every stitch of muscle through the shirt covering his frame, and I let out a small sigh. He’s here and he’s mine. Butterflies rattle around in my stomach at the thought. Wren Valkyrie is mine. I wish I could be his too. I wish I could finally be free from this prison. My entire life has been behind a cage, controlled by everyone around me. He’s shown me a glimmer of freedom, and yet…it seems so far out of reach. It’s so close, I can feel my fingers brushing up against its tangibility, but always coming up short from gripping it firmly within my grasp.
I startle when I feel his fingers brush up against mine. I glance back up at him and his eyes are locked on mine. The green in them, more vibrant than I’ve ever seen them before. I feel my emotions break at seeing him so clearly. These eyes hold depth. They truly are the window to his soul, and fuck me…he’s beautiful.
“How are you feeling, Francesca.”
His voice is rough, still tinged with sleep as he slowly brushes his fingertips up along my arm.
“I feel good. How are you feeling, Wren?”
“I feel like myself,”
he says quietly, giving me a small smile. “Thank you, Chess. You were right. The insanity was clouding my judgment and pulling me further into the darkness.”
“Does that mean you won’t leave me and Alex now?”
“No, I won’t leave either of you until you release me. You’re stuck with me,””
he smirks. Nyx growls and jumps off the bed when I move in closer to him. “She doesn’t seem too please with you trying to steal me away from her,”
he laughs.
“I saw you first. If anything, she’s the other woman.”
“There’s no one but you, Chess.”
He says it so quietly that I second guess myself on if I heard him right. “Do you remember anything from…when you fed?”
“I remember everything.”
His hand stills on my arm, and he lets out a slow breath. “What’s wrong?”
I ask confused.
“Are you upset with me, for me...when I…”
I bite my tongue to stop myself from laughing at him. He’s obviously embarrassed, if not a little ashamed for what we did after the fact. “Why would I be upset? I touched your dick first. I think I would be more pissed off if you left me hanging, when all I wanted you to do was fuck me.”
“Wait…were you lucid?”
His voice goes up slightly in surprise.
“I mean, I felt like I had had a few drinks, and I’m sure my inhibitions were a bit skewed, but yes, Wren. I knew what was going on the entire time. I told you I remember everything. Is that why you didn’t actually fuck me? Because you thought I was completely out of it? I would have passed out like I did…back then. I had no control over my body when I was thrown to those vamps, and this wasn’t like that. Your blood is different. It makes me feel different, and it seems to heal too. I didn’t want to tell you, but since it’s better now, I figure I should mention it. I broke my rib when we were hashing it out in your kitchen.”
He sucks in a sharp breath and pulls back from me. His eyes are narrowed, and his lips are pressed into a hard line. “Why would you hide that from me?”
He growls.
“I didn’t want to upset you further when you were already struggling. I’m fine, Wren.”
“I can’t believe my blood healed you,”
he mumbles quietly.
“What?”
Confusion courses through me at the comment.
“That’s not usually one of the side effects. I’ve never heard of vampire blood actually healing anyone.”
“But you’re a pureblood, so maybe it has to do with that?”
“No, Chess. It doesn’t matter. Purebloods can’t heal people either.”
What the fuck…
“I don’t understand then.”
“Neither do I. I’m glad I was able to do something for you though, especially after you put yourself through that.”
I prop myself up on my elbow to look down at him, slowly lowering my face closer to his. “I’m glad it worked. I hope the real you is just as tolerable as the old you.”
He grips the back of my neck and forces me down towards him, slamming his lips against mine. “I’ll try my best to be what you deserve, Chess,”
he smiles. We should probably get up,”
he says, releasing his hold on me. I pout at him as he lifts himself from the bed, and he laughs. “I had Alex make reservations for dinner tonight if you care to join us.”
“Really? Where?”
He looks back at me with surprise written on his features. “I thought for sure you were going to say no,”
he snorts.
“If you don’t want me to go, just say that,”
I murmur, folding my arms across my body.
“I never said that. I did hope you would say yes, but you tend to be hard-headed. We’re going to Capala.”
“Wren,”
I hiss. “I don’t have anything to wear to a place like that.”
“You could wear that,”
he chirps, jutting his chin towards his dress shirt. I roll my eyes and drop my arms in frustration, which just makes him laugh again. “Don’t worry, Alex is picking up something appropriate for you. I would suggest you take a shower to clean up some of the blood still on you, and he’ll be by to drop off your outfit.”
“What time do we leave?”
“The reservation is for seven so we should leave here by six-thirty.”
He leans himself over on the bed and gives me a quick kiss before heading out the door.
I flop back down on the bed, spreading my arms out across the mattress. “He’s buying me a dress,”
I sigh. I cover my face and let out a small scream, which gets muffled by my hands.
After all that fighting, I didn’t fight him on the fact he just went off and spent money on me for no reason. I just didn’t want to upset him when he seemed to be in a really good mood.
He looks different. His eyes are so vibrant now, that it makes it harder for me to even remember the hardness I saw in them the first day I met him. He’s swoon worthy on a bad day, but when he’s practically perfection standing in front of you…
Fuck. I’m in trouble.