A roar echoed in the distance, and it brought us both out of our lustful haze.
“We have to get back,” Thorne said as he helped me off him by swinging my leg from his lap. He stood, and when I tried to follow, I instantly began falling back to the ground.
Thorne caught me, hauling me into his arms as black spots filled my vision.
“Easy, Serina, you’ve lost a lot of blood,” he said. Glancing around one last time, he took off down the path back home.
I felt like a heavy puddle of goo, my arm hanging loosely at my side.
“I’m going to get you home,” he promised.
Home.
22
Serina
ThorneandNox’svoiceswere quiet murmurs as I came to. It seemed serious, but they hushed when they noticed me.
My body was still a little buzzy from the woods. I sat up on the couch, realizing I was in the living room.
They both looked over at me. Thorne was shirtless in only a clean pair of pants as if he had taken a quick shower because he was no longer covered in blood, and the marks that were on his skin were now so faint, I barely noticed them.
I stood from the couch, and my body instantly flooded with relief. Relief because we were no longer in the woods. No longer running.
We were safe. He was safe.
They were safe.
Save for Bastian, and no matter how many times Nox and Thorne told me he was okay, I still had a hard time believing them.
They were keeping something from me, but I didn’t have time to dwell on that now. Because they were here. In front of me. There were no pieces missing from them. They weren’t bleeding out on the forest floor. I wasn’t a defenseless bystander forced to watch as they were taken from me.
My breaths were heavy as I rushed Thorne and cupped his face, my eyes going glassy as a lump of emotion clogged my throat. I refused to let my tears slip free, but he held my face and placed his forehead against mine.
“You’re safe, Serina. I’m safe. We’re all safe,” he whispered in assurance, his warm breath skittering over my trembling lip.
My breathing started to slow. He thumbed my cheeks.
Could he hear the panic inside my chest? The fear from reliving something so similar to the worst day of my life? It was the reason Sam had been mad at me; I had distanced myself from everyone because I couldn’t go through that again.
I couldn’t fail someone I cared for again, someone Iloved.
So, I went on a rampage of vengeance alone instead.
But there was no denying it anymore. Even if I wanted to, they would see straight through my bullshit. I cared for them; I was falling forthem…
And there wasn’t a damn thing I could do to keep myself from falling… Even if I didn’t want to.
I didn’t want to allow someone so close to my heart that it would put me at risk for the pain that comes with feeling. But the heart never cared about what you wanted; emotions just came as an onslaught whenever they felt like it.
My nose brushed against his, and for a second, I looked deep into his eyes. His brow was knitted in contemplation as he watched me, as if he couldseethe tormenting thoughts I’d been having these past few moments.
His nose nudged mine again, and my head lifted. His lips hovered just over mine, and I allowed my lips to graze against his, an inviting caress. He tugged back briefly to look me in the eyes, and when he saw no doubt there, he pulled me into his arms. One hand moved from my face to the nape of my neck to cradle my head like I was something precious.
And then, his lips met mine forcefully. I whimpered as he kissed me with tongue and teeth. A groan came from him, one filled with hunger and longing as if he had waited his entire life for this kiss.
A kiss where his blissful venom wasn’t surging through me, and it wasmekissing him from my own desires. His grip on my hair grew tighter as he moved my head to the side, and I felt another set of lips kissing down my neck and shoulder.
