“Sorry, killer. Can’t let you go yet.” He could help with the wounds, though, and having his blood would give him a better chance against whatever Talon was planning. He drew a pocket knife from his pocket, noting the way Isaac went rigid at the sight. “Relax. I’m not going to hurt you.” Digging the knife into the tip of his finger, he held it up to Isaac’s lips. “Open up.”
“What? Hell no.” His nose scrunched, his eyes lingering on the black bead of blood on Shadrach’s finger, hovering in front of him.
“It’ll heal your wounds.”
Isaac’s gaze transferred from the blood to Shadrach’s own. “What?”
Rather than repeat himself, Shadrach shoved his finger into Isaac’s mouth and clamped down on his jaw. “If you spit that out on me, I’ll open up an artery and drown you in it, I swear to your fucking god.”
Isaac didn’t spit out the blood, but hedidbite down hard on Shadrach’s finger as he swallowed, his tongue brushing the wound.
“Good boy,” Shadrach crooned, this new, pleasant pain dancing behind his eyes. Much nicer than the broken rib.
Isaac’s eyelids fluttered at the praise. Interesting.
When he finally drew away, Isaac was blinking in surprise.
“Feel better?” Shadrach asked.
“I feel… great.” He blinked rapidly, shifting as though testing all the places that had been sore.
Shadrach smiled, his thumb brushing Isaac’s bottom lip and only realizing after the fact that he shouldn’t be touching him like that. He expected to feel teeth around his thumb for his brazenness, but instead Isaac’s eyes met his. The rope between them wound tight, thrumming with tension. Shadrach inhaled a lungful of his sweet-and-salty scent, layered under fresh sweat and hot blood. It was dizzying.
At long last, Isaac’s lips parted, and he adopted a frown. “You came into my dreams last night.”
“I did.”
His jaw jutted out. “Don’t do it again. Stay the fuck out of my dreams.”
Shadrach arched one brow. “I don’t think you’re really in a position to make demands, do you?”
He saw the moment Isaac’s frustration boiled over, and the man lashed out, kicking at Shadrach’s kneecap withone foot. Shadrach danced out of the way, chuckling darkly.
“Ah-ah-ah,” he said, wagging a finger. “I think I’ll take my leave now. Talon wants a word.”
He turned to go, but Isaac’s panicked voice called him back. “Wait, wait!”
Shadrach paused, glancing over his shoulder at him.
“In my dream… How long were you there? The whole time?”
He turned around slowly. “Mostly. I missed a little of the beginning, I think.”
“So.” He stopped, shifting in his seat. “What happened between us after I stabbed you…”
Heat bloomed under his skin as he remembered the way Isaac had rocked up into his fist, shaking and pleading. His desire was evident on his face, and Isaac’s cheeks flushed in response. His throat bobbed, and the rope between them wound tight once more, urging Shadrach to close the distance between them. He was helpless to resist, drifting closer.
“Yes,” he said softly, “that was real.”
Isaac’s eyes swam with uncertainty. When Shadrach was close enough, he reached out. Isaac flinched, but when his fingers gently brushed Isaac’s jaw, sliding down to curl around his throat, his lips parted. This time, when his throat bobbed, Shadrach felt it against his palm.
“Why?” Isaac rasped. Looking up at him like this, Shadrach could almost imagine they were in the middle of a far different activity, one that would be much more enjoyable for both of them.
He didn’t know how to answer that. “There’s just something about you…”
Isaac licked his lips, and it took everything Shadrach had not to bend down and taste him.
“I may not have a lot to live for,” Isaac said baldly, his gaze darkening, “but I don’t want to die here.”
