Dante shivers as my hands come up under his arms to wrap around his chest.Without any warning I latch on to the place where his shoulder meets his neck. My teeth sinking in enoughso I taste his blood on my tongue, the abilities inside me flashing with so much powerI see stars.
The bedroom door slams open and there stands a panting Ares, his eyes blown wide, fully black. I drag Dante even closerto me,not letting go of my prey.
Weakly, Dante raises his arm to stave off his brother. Ares’s shoulders fall, the perceived threat gone. Only I remain.
His acceptance allows the animal inside me to let go of the hold she has on me. She senses that Ares isn’t a beast she wants to tussle with, she isn’t eager for a fight, but she won’t admit he would beat her either.
These thoughts, though my own, filter though my consciousness as if separate. Ares describing his dark self tickles my memory. My mouth aches again, this time it’s sharp and quick. My teeth pull free from Dante’s shoulder. I lap at the red smear left behind, my eyes locked on Ares. He places his hands deep into his pockets, watching me.
I have a second to look over his wrinkled shirt. As my beast recedes, she smiles in triumph. At my urging he put back on his mussed clothes from earlier, he didn’t like it, but he did it for me. I thought it would look too obvious if we both went out in different clothes. She understands mightisn’t the only way to get what she wants. Giving a nod of respect in my direction, she curls around the power inside me that tastes of Dante.
I’m slow to let Dante go, and even though I’m fully myself again, I find it easier not to face him or Ares so I duck behind his shoulder. Thankfully Milo and Ollie stayed in the bathroom for most of the more violent aspects of my newest ability. I let my forehead fall to Dante’s back. Ashamed that I let myself bite him, hurt him, in any way.
When I try to pull my hands free from his chest, I feel Dante’s hands snap up to mine and hold them in place. He squeezes my fingers then spins to face me. I look down at my feet, curling my toes in the black blanket, noting thatthe stripes are gone from my skin, and my nails have returned to normal as well.
Dante wraps his arms around me, not giving me time to escape. I don’t even hug him back, I don’t deserve to. A knot forms in my throat. I can still taste the metallic tang of his blood in my mouth.
I stifle a sob and my shoulders jerk with the effort. How the hell will I ever be able to control that part of myself? I tuck my head under Dante’s chin when I hear the snap of the door closing, Ihave no idea if Ares and the others are in the room or if they left us alone. Dante pulls his torso away from me, but I fight not to look at him.
“I can’t… I am so sorry.” I shake my head, I can’t believe how I acted. If he would have done something like thatto mewhen we met, I would have run for the hills.
“Laura.” Dante’s deep voice curls around my name and the beast raises her head, I look up at him from under my lashes. His eyes are a little wild, like he can’t see enough of me as he gazes down at me. I smooth my cheek against his bare chest, liking the way I can smell myself on his skin.
His hands dig into my hips and he lifts me off the bed, and then sets my feet on the ground. He towers over me, his head bent so his forehead touches mine. “Don’t hide from me,” Dante pleads, his words a whispered rasp.
“I bit you,” I utter slowly, like there’ssomeway he doesn’t know what just happened.
“You didn’t hurt me.” I open my mouth to argue, but he stops me by placing his finger over my lips. “When you bit me, were you trying to hurt me?”
I shake my head in denial, before I even think about his question. None of it was to hurt him, show him he was mine, yes, but not hurt him.
“Look.” Dante baresthe side of his neckand the bite that should still be fresh is sealed over,a couple of pink spots where my teeth punctured his flesh are all that remains.
I reach forward to run my finger over the spots, not trusting my eyes when only fading scars are visible. My brows furrow in confusion. Dante’s eyes close when I touch his skin. “Nothing you did was wrong sweetheart, but it was my fault.”
I snatch my hand away from Dante. How could be blame himself for what I did? He grabs my hand again, laying it over his chest, I can feel the heat of his skin under my palm, the rapid beat of his heart. “Let me explain,” he offers, crowding even closer to me.
When I don’t argue he continues, his head dipping low to whisper in my ear. “I knew you weren’t just taking a shower.” My body goes rigid at his words. “I thought I was under control, but then when we walked in this room, I could smell you.” I purse my lips, this isn’t something I want to talk about right now. “I knew I was baiting you.”
“What do you mean?”
“I could feel your abilitiescresting when we would train, but you fought it.” I swallow, knowing he’s telling the truth. I did fight it, I didn’t want to deal with learning another ability. “I knew I could push you, speak to that part of youthatyou’ve been afraid to accept.”
A little guilt settles in my chest. I have been afraid of what I might turn into. I want to make an excuse for myself, sayit was only because we’ve been dealing with so much, but that’s not the whole truth. So, I keep my mouth shut. I let the truth of his confession sink in. What he did wasn’t right. I don’t like that he pushed me into something I wasn’t ready for.
I pull away from him, angry and hurt at myself and Dante. He lets me go, his arms falling to his side with a defeated slump. “I wasn’t thinkingclearly,it’s not an excuse. I know I was wrong.” Dante lowers his head and steps back, putting more distance between us.
An ache forms over my heart. I bring my hand up over my chest and rub, trying to ease the pang. I open my mouth to tell him it’s okay, but I can’t find the right words. Dante turns away from me, preparing to leave the room. He’s putting more than physical distance between us.
“Dante?” His name is all I manage. Fear of rejection has my plea turning to ash on my tongue. He doesn’t turn, but he looks over his shoulder at me. He doesn’t say a word. “Are you leaving me?” Tears prick the corners of my eyes and the lump is back in my throat.
“I took something from youthatyou weren’t ready to give. I don’t deserve to be here with you. I’m an animal.” Histone is flat. He says the words as if they are an eventuality that he’s been fighting.
A fire sparks in my chest. “Do not walk out that door,” I order, my voice hard. Dante turns to face me. His chin tipped up in defiance. I take a few steps, closing the distance between us. His eyes shift, going from a feigned indifference to something closer to hesitation.
“You pushed me. I wasn’t ready. And that’s not okay.” He swallows, his eyes shuttering again. “But you know what would be worse?” He gives a barely discernable shake of his head in denial. “It would be much worse if you left because of it. I can handle a mistake, I know you weren’t trying to hurt me.” I use his own words on him, hoping he’ll understand. It may upset me, but that doesn’t mean I can’t or don’t want to forgive him. “What I can’t handle is thinking you’ll leave me every time we disagree or have an issue.”
Another bob of his throat as he swallows. “Ijustwanted to give you some space. Let the others make you feel better.”
