He wrapped his arm around her body. He wanted her pressed against him. All of him.
“Lalo,” he heard her say. She sounded distant. An echo in the very back of his mind. “Lalo, you’re hurting me.”
CHAPTER 42
Carolina
She tried to pull away,but his hand was like a padlock on her wrist.
His other hand went to her side, clamping around her waist, holding her there. “Lalo,” she whispered. His nails dug into her flesh. “Lalo, you’re hurting me.”
Irritation flared within her, and she jerked her hand free.
“Dammit, Lalo,” she said, panting.
She held her arm to her chest and glared at him, scowling at the young man she’d fallen for, but he was no longer there. Gone was the kind Lalo she’d come to hold dear to her heart. Gone was the Lalo who looked after his sister, even when his own world was falling asunder.
His eyes were overlarge and glowing red like the day of the duel. His lips were stained with her blood. An almost purring sort of sound came from his throat.
“Lalo Villalobos,” she whispered, and reached up with her uninjured hand. She cupped his cheek, planted a light kiss on his stained lips. “Can you hear me?”
Slowly, his face softened, and the boy returned. His focus flicked to her hand. “I am so sorry.”
Blood flowed from her palm and into her bodice. “For what? I am okay. Everything is all right.”
He shook his head. “It isn’t. Not in the slightest. I hurt you. I could have completely lost control.”
She pulled the dagger from behind her back. “I would have been ready if you did. I trust you, Lalo, but not the beast inside.”
This seemed to break him a little, but what else could she say? She’d seen the monster firsthand.
His head dropped.
“You did good, Lalo. I mean, you didn’t even try to go for my throat.”
“But I thought about it. Believe me, I wanted all of you in that moment.”
Warmth pooled in her belly. “Allof me?”
He met her gaze. “Yes.” She felt his eyes travel down her neck and to her chest, then stop at her hand. “You’re bleeding.”
Who cared about that? She wanted to hear more about how much he wanted her.
“You need to be healed. Any sediento within this forest will smell you from a mile away.”
She eyed the gashes marring her skin. “I suppose you have a point.”
Now almost completely healed, he scrambled onto his knees. He looked abashed. “This is going to get rather strange.”
“Why?”
“Sediento blood mends wounds but…only when ingested.”
She balked. “You wish for me to drink your blood?”
“I fear I must insist on it.”
Carolina merely blinked.
