The Lady of Toryn Anthology (Lady of Toryn trilogy) (43 page)

Her next word was smothered as
his mouth came down on hers, hard.

Ashlyn squeaked in surprise,
tried to turn her head to the side, but he dragged their linked hands above her
head, and braced his other hand next to her temple, so that her face was
trapped and she couldn’t move.

What was he
doing?
Determined not to let him break down her defenses, Ashlyn
dropped the knife and struggled to get her other arm free, to push him away. A
few heartbeats later, he finally released her, his hands moving to frame her
face.

Her blood was roaring in her
ears, singing a faint melody that was somehow familiar and welcoming, and even
though Ashlyn
meant
to push him off,
she
meant
to draw her fist back and
punch the hell out of him- somehow she found herself pulling him closer instead,
her fingers sliding into his hair as his mouth moved against hers. The
combination of his lips and hands and the warming effect of the
resist
stane were intoxicating.

His teeth scraped against her
lower lip, and she paused, tasting her own blood on his tongue.

He hesitated at her sharp intake
of breath, and pulled back, ruby gaze taking in her shallow breathing, the
blood smeared across her mouth. Ashlyn returned the stare unabashedly. She
didn’t often have a chance to look Drake in the eye without feeling embarrassed
about it.

After a long moment, he sighed
and eased himself off her, sitting back on the grass and rubbing a hand across
his eyes exhaustedly.

At length, Ashlyn sat up, aching
all over from the numerous brutal battles she’d fought today. It felt…surreal.
He’d gone from rage and bloodlust to…well…lust of another kind, all too quickly
for her to keep up with.

Drake tied the cord at the back
of his neck to hold the
resist
stane
in place. “Let me see,” he said, leaning closer. When Ashlyn tilted her head to
the side, he swept her hair back behind her shoulder, his breath hissing
between his teeth as he surveyed the puncture wounds on her neck. His fingers
warmed against her neck, a green glow lighting his face briefly as he healed
her.

Ashlyn shifted, staring at the
moonlit blades of grass, and wondering if the entire world had changed in the
last few moments, or if she was simply seeing it more clearly now.

There was something to be said
for a kiss from the man you’d pined over for three years. It certainly wasn’t
anything close to what her muddled brain had been able to imagine, and hugely
different from the limited experience she’d had previously.

Vargo’s kisses had teased her-
tempted her with the allure of the unknown, the beauty of possibilities.

Kissing Drake was…different. Like
watching the sunrise after a lifetime of darkness, or tasting a delicacy that
was the only one of its kind. Each sensation was heightened, the breath in her
lungs tasting of sweet dew and the fresh hint of rain, the sounds of the night
like a symphony to her senses.

When her eyes flicked to Drake,
she was surprised to see that he was staring right at her, his expression
bleak.

“Thanks,” she said lamely,
feeling a little foolish.

He shook his head, fingers still
against her neck. He looked completely at a loss as to how to respond, but when
his gaze returned to hers, there was a resolve in his eyes.

He was going to apologize. He was
going to pull a typical Drake, backtrack and run away- and Ashlyn realized
suddenly how dangerous this was, being caught under the spell of a vampire when
he displayed such an obvious aversion to her affection.

“Don’t worry about it,” she
blurted out, and pulled away before he could say anything. His hand fell from
her neck.

“Ashlyn,” he said gently.
“Don’t.”

“Don’t…what?” She smiled
humorlessly as she repeated his own words back to him, and took a slow, deep
breath. “The last time I tried to talk to you about…us…you said I was asking
you to be something you couldn’t. Stop confusing me. I’m not asking you to be
anything but who you are, Drake. This-” she motioned awkwardly to her
blood-streaked neck- “this is who you are.”

Drake shook his head. “This is
what
I am. It has nothing to do with
who
I am. And that night…” He hesitated,
clearly conflicted. “Ashlyn, that night…”

“You don’t have to explain to
me,” she said. It was not an experience she particularly wanted to relive
anyway. She raised her hands, tucking her hair behind her ears and averting her
gaze.

“Stop.” Unexpectedly, he grabbed
her wrists.

Rather than flinching, she glared
up at him. “What’s going to happen now?” she said angrily. “I’m really
confused. Are you going to pretend I don’t exist every time Trace comes around?
Walk away the next time I try to tell you what I’m feeling? Thanks, but no
thanks.
 
I’ve had enough heartbreak for
one lifetime.”

He lowered his hands but didn’t
release her wrists, frowning. “What does Trace have to do with anything?”

“You tell me. What is she to
you?”

“She’s…” He paused, eyes searching
hers. “Ashlyn, why are you asking me?”

“Why did you kiss me?” she shot
back. “Why the hell do you keep confusing me like this?”

“Why do you keep coming back to
me?” he snarled. He stood abruptly, and turned away, the quaking of his body
like a drum in Ashlyn’s ears under her heightened senses. She watched his hands
trembling at his sides, a lump in her throat.

The way he’d looked that day at
North Camp Inn- so carefree and happy- was emblazoned in her mind’s eye, a
horrible point of contrast to the enraged monster that stood before her now.

She shifted, sitting cross-legged
and folding her hands neatly in her lap. “I make things difficult for you,
don’t I,” she said sadly.

He didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”

She pursed her lips, staring at
her hands and wondering how much of life consisted of destiny. Had she created
this connection between them on her own? How could she have been so completely
enamored if their fates weren’t somehow intertwined? Could she have truly
fallen for Drake if they weren’t meant to be together?

She didn’t realize he had knelt
in front of her until his hands covered hers. Ashlyn looked up reluctantly,
trying not to think about how she was setting herself up for yet another
rejection from him.

“I push you away, and yet you
always seem to find a way back to me,” he said, and his eyes were solemn
despite the curve to his mouth. He reached up to tuck a lock of hair behind her
ear, and his touch was tentative and gentle. “Tell me. What do you want?”

“Me?” she said numbly, and he
nodded. His grip tightened on her fingers, a welcome pressure that distracted
her from the confusing jumble of her thoughts.

She swallowed hard, and met his
gaze, knowing that her heart was in her eyes. “I want you.”

He nodded again, thoughtfully,
looking as though he’d expected her answer. “Why?”

Ashlyn smiled despite herself, an
easy grin that might have been followed up with a snarky comeback if it had
been anyone else kneeling in front of her. Drake was so serious now, and this
was not a situation she’d ever expected to find herself in. She remembered the
day he’d carried her away from Soryl, let her cry in his arms, and said exactly
the right words to her. He’d been the man she needed then, the man she had
always wanted him to be, but she hadn’t realized exactly how deeply she cared
for him until the night .he’d rejected her.

“Because I love you, stupid,” she
said wryly, knowing that ignoring the feeling wouldn’t make it go away any more
than ignoring Drake would make him disappear. She was both elated and miserable
at finally being able to say it out loud, but there was also a sense of
defiance in her words. Despite his attempts to rebuff her, Ashlyn’s emotions
hadn’t changed. A fifteen-year old girl’s childish crush was one thing, but
genuine, lasting love was quite another.

“Where is Skye?” she asked,
wanting to change the subject.

Drake sighed, and raised a hand
to his chin, rubbing pensively as he looked around. “I don’t know. I was
fighting the soldiers and he ran. Then I came after you.”

“So considerate of you,” she
muttered.

“We shared blood,” he reminded
her. “We share a bond now that cannot be broken, even if I am without
resist.
”

“So I’m the first person you’re
going to try to murder every time you snap?”

Drake rolled his eyes. “You view
things so negatively.”

“Oh, will you…ugh. Whatever. My
dad is in the cave behind the waterfall. Assuming you’re done with your bloody
rampage, can you please give me a hand with him? He could really use some
mending right now.”

“Ashlyn.”

She looked up, exasperated.
“What?”

He tilted her chin up with his
fingers and leaned down, placing a firm kiss on her lips. “Thank you.”

He was talking about how she’d
saved his psychotic vampire butt with
resist,
of course, and Ashlyn knew she should make some snarky comeback, but her
mind was completely blank. She blushed furiously, unsure what to make of his
behavior. “Um…no problem.”

Chapter 6

Let Go

After all the indecision and
heartbreak, Ashlyn had expected there to be some ambivalence regarding what had
happened with Drake. She supposed, at the very least, that she ought to feel
guilty for kissing Drake when Vargo was waiting for her in Toryn.

Somehow though, she couldn’t find
it in herself to be unhappy. She was giddy inside, feeling alive and hopeful
for the first time in a long while, and when she opened her eyes in the morning
to find herself curled against Drake’s side, his arm draped protectively over
her shoulders, she smiled to herself and snuggled closer.

She’d fallen asleep alone,
leaning up against the cave wall and shivering from the cold. Despite their
kiss just hours before, Drake’s closeness now came as a surprise. His words and
demeanor while he was tending to her father last night had been no different
from his usual solemn, distant countenance. He had carefully set the bone in
her father’s arm and healed it, then done his best to smooth over the skin that
was scabbed and scarred from frequent bloodletting. But there was nothing he
could do for Lord Li’s anemic state. Only time would heal that affliction.

Drake had echoed Ashlyn’s
sentiments regarding the danger of trying to use the
heal
stane on the black horse, and had agreed to leave the injury
alone till daylight. Ashlyn suspected he would try to heal the gelding’s leg
anyway if it wasn’t better this morning, since they both knew that it was
essential they return to Toryn as soon as possible.

From the back of the cave, a
voice croaked her name. “A…Ashlyn.” Her father’s voice was rusty from disuse,
barely audible over the roar of the waterfall.

Ashlyn scrambled out from
underneath Drake’s arm and dashed to Lord Li’s side. “Dad! I’m so glad you’re
awake,” she whispered, wanting to hug him but unsure if it would be
appropriate. “Can I get you anything?”

“Water,” he rasped, and she
rushed to get a canteen. She smiled hesitantly at Drake, who was just waking
up, and one corner of the vampire’s mouth curved in tired acknowledgment. He
looked exhausted. He obviously hadn’t slept as well as she had.

She helped to prop her father’s
head up while he drank, and wiped some droplets from the corner of his mouth
with her glove when he was finished. She moved to put the canteen back in the
saddle bag, but his fingers fluttered weakly, reaching for her hand. Ashlyn sat
cross-legged beside him and threaded her fingers through his, unsure of what to
say.

“I thought…I thought you were
dead,” he said to her, eyes half-lidded as he struggled to stay awake.

“You know me better than that,”
she said, smiling as she brushed a lock of unkempt hair from his forehead. “But
you weren’t the only one that Kou deceived.”

“Kou…Devlyn.” Now Lord Li did
close his eyes, and a tear squeezed out one corner and made its way down his
temple. “I…misjudged…him.”

Ashlyn grimaced. “It must be a
weakness of the Li bloodline. I did, too.”

“He is no…better than…Lord
Angelo. He must…be stopped.”

“I’m not sure if Skye was able to
kill him last night or not,” she said, “but if he’s still alive, I’ll find him
and put an end to this. Don’t worry, Dad. I won’t let you down.”

Her dad nodded faintly, his eyes
fluttering shut again. Ashlyn leaned down to kiss his hand, reveling at the
feel of his knuckles against her cheek. She’d spent so long pushing aside her
emotions for the sake of Toryn, trying to convince herself that she could kill
her father if it became necessary, that it seemed surreal to be here with him
now. She wished he was stronger so they could talk. It had been three years
since she’d last seen him, and there was a lot to catch up on.

After a long moment, she tucked
his hand back under the blanket and stood. When she turned, Drake was kneeling
next to his horse, light scattering through the curtain of water and
highlighting his dark silhouette.