Page 79 of Taste of Death

And yet every time I looked at the door, my feet felt cemented in place. Then I looked at the bed and could have flown across the room to be next to Amy. It was so much easier to stay in the comfort of this room, the comfort of her, and ignore the world outside.

When she stirred, I looked away from the window and toward the bed, not wanting to miss how adorable she looked when she woke.

“How long was I out?” she asked on a jaw-cracking yawn.

“About an hour.” I went to the bed and rested my arm on the foot post. “How do you feel?”

She tried to hide her grin behind the sheet, but I saw the apples of her cheeks and her eyes twinkling. “How do you think?”

“Tell me. I want to know.”

Amy pushed the covers down and stretched with a groan. I heard bones popping, and then a massive sigh of satisfaction.

“Like a brand-new woman,” she admitted. “I’ve never felt so… refreshed, and just sogood. Like I’ve slept for a hundred years and I needed it.”

My chest swelled with pride. “I’m glad to hear that.” Not only had all the orgasms released pleasure from her, I hoped they released much of the tension and self-consciousness that she carried about her body. I had meant every word that I said to her as well, and hoped she took them to heart.

Amy seemed to notice something in my expression and her smile fell. “What’s wrong?”

When I couldn’t answer her right away, she crawled across the bed and came up to her knees in front of me. Her arms looped around my neck and mine automatically slid around her waist. As my head lowered, she kissed my brow before letting her forehead meet mine.

“I have to get this over with,” I whispered.

She nodded, understanding. “Do you want me to come with you?”

I wanted to tell her no, that she should wait for me here. It would be safest, even though there was no risk of Evin escaping the basement. I didn’t want the sight of him frightening her.

But more than that, I didn’t want to give him the privilege of seeing her.

When he wasn’t outright tormenting me, Evin’s favorite pastime was seducing any female I got close to, even if we were just friendly. If I talked to anyone with romantic potential, he’d slap me on the back in congratulations then turn around and made sure I’d walk in on them fucking a week later. Usually in my room.

It was an irrational fear now, I knew. But if there was anything left of my brother in that monster, he would see how much Amy meant to me and even though he couldn’t, he wouldwantto use my feelings for her to hurt me. Maybe even more than before, considering I’d kept him prisoner for the last fifty years.

What I realized though, as I had paced the room and watched Amy sleep, was that I couldn’t go down there alone. I needed her with me.

“Please?” My arms tightened around her waist. “Will you?”

She brushed a soft kiss, all lips and no fangs, against my mouth. “Let me get dressed.”

I released her, watching her slide from the bed and walk barefoot to my walk-in closet.

My brother, my father—hell, anyone in my clan would have seen emotional support from a woman as weakness. The men of Rathka’s Order saw any female as only good for blood, sex, and occasionally, children.

Naturally, that begged a question. If they were so strong and I so weak, why was I the only one left?

Survival was the ultimate measure of strength, was it not? In the end, everything came down to that, a simple binary of yes or no. You survived or you didn’t.

I did. They didn’t.

I had the power to shape my own life, to create my own legacy. They could only control me from the grave if I allowed it.

Tonight, I revoked that permission.

Amy returned wearing a different T-shirt and a pair of leggings. “Do you want to get dressed too?” she said, blatantly eying my bare chest. “Or has the shirt famine become even more dire?”

I laughed, grateful to her for breaking the tension as I reached for yesterday’s shirt on the floor. “Things could get messy. I’d rather not get anything on my skin, so this one might become a casualty.”

“How sad. We’ll have to throw a funeral. For the shirt, not your brother.” I chuckled while fastening my buttons and Amy winced. “I’m sorry. Was that too far?”

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