Page 70 of Revenant

It’s selfish—how my body reacts to the admission. He needs to eat—feed I guess is the correct term. But given my most recent experience, I would like to be naive to the thought of him being different. But at the end of the day, they’re all blood sucking monsters that need it to survive.

It makes my stomach recoil.

If the bloodlust made Eryx do what he did, what’s stopping the rest of them from doing the same?

My power thrums against my bones, memories from Eryx floating to the surface, all the fear and anxiety fueling the fire burning in my stomach. Bastian presses a finger against the crease in my eyebrows, pulling me back to the present—effectively calming the storm.

“I know it’s terrifying, but you have no idea what you do to me. What your scent does to me. It overloads my system, and I have to fight every second to be the charming, respectful vampire you’ve grown to adore.” He smiles like it’s funny, but guilt gnaws at my insides. Is being around me so miserable that he has to fight whatever urge that’s been engrained in him for who knows how long, just to be near me?

“I’m sorry. I—”

He grabs my chin, “What have I said about apologizing?”

I gulp, my eyes ping-ponging from his mouth and back up again. Suddenly I find myself fighting my own urge. One I can only imagine is just as carnal. “As much as I would love for you to have your way with me, I’m afraid, given the circumstances, it’s not the right time.”

Rejection is a tough pill to swallow, stinging all the way down to dissipating heat leaving my core. His grip turns punishing. “Don’t think for one bloody minute I don’t want you. Alicent…God. I’ve wanted you since the moment my eyes found yours in the cafeteria. The control I’m having to exude? Trust when I say it’s not for me, but for you.” His thumb traces my bottom lip. “Because if I had it my way, you’d be on top of my cock, riding me until you couldn’t fucking walk.”

Just like that, the ache in my core returns, and I have to squeeze my legs together to find some sort of relief. The front door opens and shuts, effectively transporting me out of my lustful thoughts. “You better get some clothes before the others get any ideas.” He winks, liquifying any resolve I was carrying.

Bastian quickly grabs me a shirt and sweats from the dresser, and I don’t have the heart to tell him I’m going to be swimming in them. He leaves the room to give me privacy, which seems crazy considering he washed my very naked body not just a few hours ago.

Voices trickle in through the thin door, and I’m praying Eryx doesn’t make an appearance. I roll the band of the pants a few times and tie the strings as tight as they’ll go, but I still find myself holding them up just in case. The shirt nearly reaches my knees, and I know with absolute certainty it belongs to Bastian, despite being in Koen’s room.

More questions run rampant. Why are his clothes here? Do they all keep clothes in each other’s rooms? Did he bring these for me when he heard I was here? So many questions, not enough answers.

I take a deep breath, ignoring the fact that I probably look crazy, my hair still slightly damp and tangled from sleeping. When I open the door, I’m hit with a wave of relief to find not only Bastian, but Koen and Elias there as well.

Unsurprisingly, Pryce is nowhere in sight. I try to let it simmer, push it aside, and focus on the present. But just because I don’t need him, doesn’t mean his absence stings any less.

Aside from Bastian, everyone else freezes, treating me as a wounded animal that might snap. The moment I take a step forward, Elias is at my side, putting his arm around me as though he couldn’t bear the thought of being away any longer. “I want to ask how you’re doing, but that seems a bit redundant at this point,” he tells me, worry undercutting his calm.

“I’m alright.” Not good, not okay. Just alright. Because I have to be. I don’t have the luxury of wallowing in my despair, given the circumstances. But I don’t think I want to.

Eryx doesn’t deserve it.

For all the carnage he’s left, he’ll get it back tenfold. I’ll make sure of it. I look toward Bastian, knowing he heard my thoughts loud and clear. He takes a sip of the amber liquid in his glass, and I find myself grateful it isn’t red.

“As much as I love wearing whoever’s clothes are on my body...” I look pointedly at Bastian, knowing I could never mistake the smell for anyone else. “I would like to go grab some of my own stuff.” The guys all look toward each other, like they’re telepathically trying to come up with a solution.

“I can go get whatever you need,” Koen offers, setting his drink down like he’s about to run out the door.

“Thanks, but I’m not sure how I feel about you all rummaging through my stuff.”

“Bold of you to assume we haven’t already,” Bastian chimes in from the side, giving me a curious look because I can’t tell if he’s lying or not.

Ignoring him, I continue, “Would one of you be willing to take me?” The last thing I want is to be alone and have the devil himself make another appearance. Normally, I would say I could take care of myself, but given what’s already transpired…even I’m willing to admit I’m no match for him.

“I’ll go,” they all say in unison. I smile, grateful for every one of them. I look up at Elias. “You think if he comes back, you’ll be able to handle him?” He looks affronted. Well, he is his brother, after all. I know they’ve all been together for a long time, but blood is blood, whatever that’s worth.

“I mean this with the most sincerity.” He grabs my wrist, his thumb settling over the quick flutter of my pulse, and holds it. “If he puts a toe in your direction, I’ll chain him up, bleed him out, and starve him myself.” Guess that answers where his loyalty lies.

I stare at him, my heart swelling with gratitude. I pull away from him, not needing him to see the submissive mess his words make me.

“Alright, we’ll be back,” he announces. “Then we need to come up with a game plan.”

Truthfully, I’m excited for this time with Elias, however short it may be. We haven’t seen each other since our time in the library, and suddenly everything that’s going on slips into the back of my mind, images of me riding his cock and how he looked when he came undone is pushed to the forefront.

Fuck…and also to Bastian’s.