Refugee (The Captive Series Book 3) (8 page)

“If Gideon is anything like he used to
be, that girl is here willingly. He never abused a human that
didn’t agree to it and he never would have possessed a blood slave.
His tastes are more salacious than most, but he was never
cruel.”

“Those teeth, the
paintings…”

“I’m sure there’s an explanation, and
perhaps he will eventually give it to us, but until then you need
to be a little more understanding and open minded. Though there may
be things in our pasts that we are not proud of, we are not all
monsters. If you are willing to look past my faults and the sins of
my past, you should be willing to at least give Gideon and the
others a chance.

“I wouldn’t have brought you here if I
thought Gideon was dangerous.”

“Vampires and people change,” she
whispered, her eyes raking over him.

Self-hatred flared through him, he
shook his head as he looked away from her. “I don’t think he’s
changed as much as he’s trying to portray. That girl is not unhappy
here Aria.”

She shook her head as she turned away.
Her fingers trembled as she untied the knot of her cloak. Though he
wasn’t sure if she wanted his help right now he pulled it free of
her. The material slithered to the floor; she didn’t bother to pick
it up. He watched her as she placed her bow and arrows by the bed;
he was disturbed by how thin she had become again.

“Oh, a shower!”

With those excited words, she was gone,
vanishing through the doorway in a flash. He couldn’t help but
smile as the sound of running water filled the room. He admired the
delight she found in things that he had taken for granted. He
remained by the door as she moved around the bathroom gathering
soaps and shampoos in her arms with an eagerness that caused him to
laugh softly.

His laughter vanished in an instant as
she shed the bindings from her arms and dropped them to the floor.
The smell of her blood assaulted him. She disappeared from sight
again, the water flow changed as she stepped beneath the shower
head. He hurt. It was a physical ache so intense that he couldn’t
focus on anything else. She was humming in the shower, a melodious
sound that drew him forward a step, and then another, and another.
He was trembling, trying so hard to stop moving that his muscles
throbbed from the restraint he tried, and failed, to exert over
himself.

The water turned off. She was wrapping
a towel around herself when he stepped into the bathroom doorway.
He didn’t know what he was doing, didn’t know what it was he
intended as she finished tucking the towel into place. Her back was
to him, her head bowed as her dark hair tumbled about her shoulders
in curly wet waves. He could hear the beat of her heart and smell
her blood in the cloying steam that filled the air.

She grabbed a brush then wiped the
mirror with the palm of her hand. Her eyes widened, she jumped in
surprise as she spotted him in the reflective surface. There was a
brief moment where her surprise turned into a small smile, which
swiftly faded away. Her hands grasped the towel as she turned
slowly toward him, her heartbeat accelerating.

He should leave, but instead he found
himself drawn toward her like a moth to a flame. He found himself
standing before her when he’d had every intention of turning away
and leaving the room. He should get as far from her as possible
until he was well fed and stable enough to trust himself in her
presence again. His hand trembled as he brushed the hair back from
her very fragile, very delicate neck. Her pulse leapt wildly, a
subtle breath escaped her as his fingers pressed against the
previous marks he’d left upon her.

His fangs sprang forward; his vision
was clouded by the hunger pulsing through him. “Yes,” she
breathed.

“Too soon.” They were the only two
words he was able to choke out.

“It’s been almost a day, I’m fine. Your
blood strengthened me.” She pulled his hand away, tilting her neck
so that he had a better view of his marks on her.

He wanted to fight, wanted to tell her
no. But it didn’t matter, he was no longer in control of himself,
no longer sensible enough to tell her no, to tell himself no. He
was tempted to lurch forward and drive his fangs into her as he bit
deep, finally easing the fire that had almost consumed him. He
somehow found the strength not to give into that urge; he couldn’t
injure her in such a way. She shuddered as he pulled her against
him; darkened by desire her eyes were fearless as her arms entwined
around his neck.

She clung to him, so trusting and
giving, so unknowing of the ferocious thirst clamoring through him
as she offered her vein to him. He was braced against her as he
struggled to find the strength to pull away, to walk out of this
room and find someone else. But there was no one else, there was
only her.

The scent of her blood engulfed him;
her heartbeat invaded his body and took over his senses. As he bit
deep, her sweet life giving blood surged into his mouth, flowed
through his body and filled his dehydrated cells. Instantly the
clamoring that had encased him began to ease. A groan of ecstasy
escaped him as he became lost in her.  

CHAPTER 5

It was sometime later before Aria
stirred. She was drowsy, her muscles felt weak, but the strange
sensation of being sated clung to her. Her fingers curled, she had
expected to find the unyielding bite of the ground but instead she
felt the solid muscle of Braith’s chest, and the yielding give of a
mattress. She was momentarily confused, she barely recalled the
last time she’d been in a bed, or the last time she had awoken with
Braith still beside her.

But he was beneath her now.

She allowed herself to simply drift in
the pleasure of that realization and managed to doze off once more.
He was still with her when she woke again feeling more refreshed
and a little livelier. She lifted her head slowly, blinking down at
him as she found him staring back at her. The glasses, thankfully,
were not in place.

Though his eyes were filled with
concern, the lines around his lips and eyes had nearly vanished.
The strain he had been exhibiting, the nearly mechanical movements
he had been going through were gone as he gazed at her. Her blood
had revitalized him, his body had been nourished. She stretched and
pressed closer to him as she was swamped with the realization that
she had been the one to give him what he so desperately
needed.

“How do you feel?”

“A little tired,” she admitted. “How
long have I been out?”

“A while.”

Uneasiness filled her. “We were
supposed to only be an hour Braith.”

“It’s fine.”

“But Gideon is waiting for us and he
doesn’t seem all that patient. William…”

“I took care of it Aria, and William is
with Ashby, you don’t have to worry.”

Of course she had to worry, her brother
was stuck in this place and she was curled up sleeping with Braith.
“We should go.”

She went to climb out of the bed but he
grabbed hold of her, pulling her back. “Braith…”

“Wait Arianna, just wait.” His left
hand entwined in her hair, she became acutely aware of the fact
that she was only wearing a towel as it dropped a little. “It
shouldn’t have happened like that. I was out of
control.”

“You can’t keep denying yourself, and
I’m fine.”

His fingers brushed nimbly along the
top of the towel. Her heart lurched as excitement pulsed through
her and her mouth went dry. Her skin tingled and heated everywhere
he touched. “You’re fine this time, but next time…”

“Next time I will be fine too because
you are going to start feeding better. If you insist on not using
other humans as much, fine.” That was just fine and dandy with her
also, but she couldn’t stand to see him suffering anymore. “But
you’re going to have to use them more when animals aren’t readily
available.”

His jaw clenched and unclenched as he
studied her. “How are you so accepting of all of this, of me? I
hurt you.”

She tilted her head to study him. “You
didn’t hurt me.”

He pushed himself up, launching to his
feet as he stalked across the room. She watched him, sensing
something more beneath the tension radiating from him. “Not just
today Aria, but the first time I took your blood, in the woods, the
fact that I was previously engaged. The other blood
slaves.”

She recoiled at the reminder of all of
those things. She felt the blood drain from her face but somehow
managed to keep her chin up as she glared at him. “And I left you
in that palace Braith. My pride wounded us both when I left with
Jack. I didn’t believe in you, and because of that I drove you to
those slaves; I drove you to your lowest depths of depravation. How
do you forgive me for that?”

“You didn’t almost kill me.”

“I shot an arrow at you!” she
snapped.

His head tilted to the side, his dark
hair spilled across his forehead. “That hardly counts.”

Irritation flared through her, she
clasped the towel to her as she knelt on the bed to face him. “Then
give me another one and this time I’ll make it count!” His grin
infuriated her. Huffing a little she clutched the towel as she
shimmied her way inelegantly off the bed.

He grasped hold of her arm before she
disappeared into the bathroom; he held it tenderly as she glared
angrily up at him. “Aria…”

“Love isn’t about perfection Braith!
It’s about understanding and forgiveness, it’s about giving and
taking in equal measure. I gave my blood to you. I forgave you for
things that you are struggling to forgive yourself for, because I
love you. I know that you have done some awful things, and you have
hurt me, just as I have hurt you. You gave up a life of opulence,
grace, and a vast supply of blood for a life of deserts and
fighting and starvation for me. I willingly gave you my blood
because I would do anything for you also.

“That is love Braith. I’m seventeen and
even I know that. Maybe you should learn.”

She jerked her arm free of his
slackened grasp and didn’t look back as she stormed into the
bathroom and slammed the door. She gasped in a breath as she leaned
against the door; all of her pleasure from earlier had evaporated.
He was such an infuriating ass sometimes.

She realized only too late that there
were no clothes in here for her. Crap, she thought as she released
an aggravated breath. She had just blown up on him, and now she was
going to have to go back out there to ask him for clothes. It was
humiliating.

She remained leaning against the door,
reluctant to face him again. A low knock reminded her that it was
impossible to hide. She opened the door to find his large and
imposing frame standing before her holding a dress which looked
tiny in his hands.

“I thought you might require some
clothing.”

She scrunched her nose as she nodded.
“I do.”

“Gideon had it sent up while you were
sleeping.” She eyed the dress warily as he stepped into the room.
She hadn’t worn one of these horrible garments since her time in
the palace, and had hoped to never have to wear one again. She took
the dress from him, barely meeting his gaze as she draped it over
her arm. “I’ll button it for you after you slide it on.”

He turned away as she dropped the towel
and slipped the dress over her head. His fingers were gentle as he
buttoned the back with surprising ease. Pulling her hair over her
shoulders, he covered the fresh marks upon her neck with it as he
turned her around to face him.

“I need you to know I’m not a complete
monster.”

She started in surprise, that’s what
this was about. “I know that Braith, I never thought you were.” She
sought to give him comfort as her fingers wrapped around his
wrists. “The past can’t be undone, but it doesn’t define you. It’s
our future actions that will show who we really are, what we’ll
become.”

“I hope so.”

“They will,” she promised him. “I’m
sorry I yelled at you.”

He smiled wanly. “I deserved it.” She
wasn’t going to argue with that. He kissed her forehead soothingly.
“I never had anyone to teach me about love before.”

Her hands constricted on his forearms,
tears burned her eyes. He was stronger than her, faster and more
powerful, his life had been one of pleasure and luxury, hers one of
struggle and starvation, yet she realized now that she had gotten
the better deal. She knew what it was like to have people that
loved her. His siblings, at least Melinda and Jack, seemed to care
for each other, but they weren’t anywhere near as close as she was
with William and Daniel. Yes, her mother had been killed, but she
had died for her children. Her father had never hidden the fact
that he loved his kids, even if he had never been overly
affectionate with them, and even when the rebellion had too often
come first. Her entire life had been about love, his had been about
cruelty. It was amazing he had turned out as wonderful as he
had.

“I’ll teach you,” she vowed.

“You already have.” Tears spilled down
her cheeks as he lifted her face and kissed her tenderly. She
embraced him, reluctant to have the moment end, but knowing that it
must. It was time to return to reality. “We have to go
downstairs.”