Damn him! A wave of anger surged through her veins, scorching her blood that he would demand this from her. She scrambled after the fallen whip, picked it up, and eyes squeezed tight unable to look, she let it fly. She had no idea how to hold back a strike even if she wanted to. A hiss cut through the air. A hard thwack of leather against flesh echoed in the silent chamber.
The whip’s recoil caught her arm, the sharp sting made little impact. All she heard were the sounds of the horrid strikes. One. Two. Three…
Tears seeped past her closed lids. God! She could feel every damn lash as if on her own skin. There was no way to tell which of them suffered more; Blaéz, because of his need, or her because she was the one inflicting pain on the man she loved. Unable to go on with this cruelty, she opened her eyes.
Oh, God!Her horror knew no end. Bloody lines crisscrossed against the old ones on his back. The whip fell from her hand. Her knees gave out and she slid to the cold stone floor, pain squeezing her lungs. More tears fell.
Blaéz crouched in front of her. With gentle fingers, he wiped her cheek. “Darci—”
“No!” Knocking his hand away, she shot to her feet. “I hate you—I hate you for making me do this, for making me hurt you!” Most of all she hated that she couldn’t be enough for him. Feeling as if she couldn’t breathe, her heart constricting, she wheeled around and dashed through the darkened tunnel as if the very evil that had forced her hand were after her.
“Darci, stop.”
She ignored him and ran harder. The next second, he was there. He grabbed her around the waist.
“No!” She fought him, struggled to break free. He swept her into his arms and carried her back into the chamber. Her fear intensified. “Oh God,pleasedon’t ask me to do that again.”
“Shhh, love.” His arms tightened around her, his anger seemed to bleed out of him. “Those strikes didn’t hurt. But they meant more to me than all the busted ribs and broken bones I’ve collected—”
Holding him tight, Darci felt the fresh welts on his back beneath her hands. Bile rushed to her throat. As he lowered her to her feet, she swayed, shaking like a leaf in a storm.
“Ah hell,a leannan...”Remorse flashed in his eyes, he exhaled heavily. “I’m sorry I forced you. I was so mad that you wouldn’t understand. You demanded I stop, but if I do, there will be no return for me. Pain helps keep me focused. Anchored.”
He closed the distance she put between them, laid a hand over the welts on her arm from the backlash, and healed her.
“Without a soul, I only see right or wrong,” he said quietly. “There is no in-between for me, or so I’ve been told. I sense a transgression committed, then the person must be held accountable…” A chilling pause. “I went back to the cages because I wanted to destroy the bastards after what I’d discovered. But I found him first—”
Frowning, Darci leaned back, her gaze racing over his face. “I don’t understand—found who?”
“The one who sent those miscreants after you, outside the library. Don’t worry, they’ve been dealt with.” At the utterly cold and ruthless look in his eyes, Darci didn’t ask what he’d done. Those fiends had hurt her and God knew whom else.
But how could she let him go back to that awful place, get brutalized just to keep him sane? Steeling her spine, she pushed away from him and wiped her face dry with the back of her hand. “We have to find your soul.”
“Go to Hell?” He smiled a little. “They’d be on you like flies with your bright soul. No, little sun, just me.”
Paralyzing fear gripped her of what could happen if he went back. “No-no. That demon will kill you after what you did to him. I meant speak to someone—a demon, an angel to help—surely you must know somebody?”
Blaéz didn’t respond. He curled a lock of her hair around his finger and drew her closer. “I don’t want to talk about this morbidness any longer. Kiss me.”
“God, Blaéz—” She let out a frustrated breath. “You’re so stubborn—”
“Fine. I’ll kiss you, then.” He slid his lips over hers.
She struggled to think, but with his distracting mouth roaming her face and trailing kisses along her jaw, her body melted against his. He licked a path down her throat. Her mind cloudy with desire, she inhaled a shaky breath, eased back and asked, “Why do you call melittle sun?”
He gently stroked her cheek with his knuckles. Eyes tender. “I existed in a world of darkness…I thought I was dead…then you opened your front door, and I took my first breath.Youbreathed life back into me.”
Her throat tightened. Tears misted her eyes, his words healing the bruises in her heart.
She reached up kissed him. He cupped her face, his tongue sweeping inside her mouth, claiming hers. And the world slowed down until it was just the two of them. He tasted of heat, of wild sensuality, but most of all, he tasted like the man she loved.
His hands dropped to her bottom and pulled her closer. She shifted and his erection pressed into the V of her thighs. His kiss grew demanding. Embers of desire shimmered awake.
As if in response to her spiraling need, Blaéz stripped off her tank top. With warm, callused palms, he cupped her breasts. Lowering his head, he grasped her nipple with his lips and suckled, alternating between hard pulls and light licks. “God…” she moaned. Desire raw and needy returned, coalescing into an achy need.
* * *
Satisfaction spilled through Blaéz as Darci’s nails bit into his biceps. The scent of her arousal, warm and musky, tormented him. He released her stiff, swollen nipple and made quick work of stripping her free from her pajama pants. Naked, she was breathtaking, her face flushed with desire. Her moist, lush lips parted as she panted for air.
