Page 34 of The Sins That Bleed
My heart stutters, but I’m grateful when she closes her eyes, no longer getting the sense that she is staring right into my soul. I head back into the bathroom and clean away the evidence of her injuries. I carry the ruined clothes, cloth, and towels through to the kitchen garbage can.
When everything is in order, I bring her bag back into the room and place it next to her side of the bed. There might be something in there that she needs. I glance up and see that her eyes are still closed, so I unzip the bag and rummage around.
I don’t find anything out of the ordinary that will tell me anything about what happened to her tonight. I give up and zip it closed, my knees cracking as I rise to my feet.
I stand there watching her for a moment, trying to contemplate what to do now. I wasn’t tired before I found her bleeding in my shower, but all the adrenaline and worry has done a number on me and I’m ready to pass out.
I decide lying next to her to get some rest won’t hurt, and should anything happen or she needs anything, I’ll be right next to her to help. I strip out of my clothes and fold them in a pile on the floor, deciding I’ll check them tomorrow for blood. I leave my boxers on and grab a pair of shorts from the drawer, not wanting her to be uncomfortable.
I climb on the bed, trying not to jostle her body in fear that I might hurt her, moving the sheets with me but not getting underneath them. I roll onto my side and soak in her side profile. She’s breathtaking, ethereal even when she’s wounded. Her long lashes fan out and her lips are stained from her signature red lipstick. If I were a painter, she would be my masterpiece, but I know I’d never be able to truly capture her magnificence.
“I’m not going anywhere, mon chéri.” Her whisper makes me blush and I’m glad she hasn’t opened her eyes to see it, not that there’s much light in the room.
She at least sounds a little better now, her speech less laboured. I roll onto my back and stare at the ceiling, thinking to myself how absurd this all is, how it’s nearly identical to the dream I had last night. Except she was wrapped up in my arms with my head tucked into her neck.
No holes in her chest or the threat of her dying looming over us like the grim reaper.
There’s one thing I need to know if I’m to get my sleep tonight. “Why didn’t you wait for me in here or my lounge, Valeska?”
It doesn’t make sense why she’d waste energy getting to the bathroom when she could have waited by the window for me to find her. Any other time I’d think it was to fuck with me, but I’ve seen a different side to her tonight, a vulnerable side.
“I didn’t want to get blood all over your apartment. I know you don’t like a mess.”
I close my eyes at her revelation and a tiny piece of my ice-cold heart melts. That she would be so considerate even with the possibility that she was bleeding out,dying. The small smile stays on my face even as I drift into sleep, dreaming that her hand is in mine as we lay next to each other in this bizarre twist of fate.
CHAPTER 16
Rotten
VALESKA
The first rays of the morning sun scratch a path through the bedroom window, threatening to reach out a claw towards where I lay in the bed.
In Rai’s bed.
Shit.
I barely got any sleep as my body mended itself, each tendon stitching back together making me want to climb out of my skin. It’s uncomfortable and painful but not excruciating—nothing is as painful as having a silver dagger tear through you.
Or a husband who abuses you.
I think back to last night. Everything had been planned to make it an easy move. I should have known better, because ever since I made my first move to help Rai and Nico with this case, things have gone wrong.
There’s no way I’d have gone back to Sunny in the state I was in last night. She’d called it when I joked about it being an easy job. She’d have helped me first, but ripped into me once I was healed enough to take it, and then done everything she could to pull the plug on this plan.
I can’t let that happen. I won’t let her worry about me when she’s already been through enough. This is my vendetta, mypurpose on this earth to stop the rot of sin wielded by men as they ruin others.
I look over to where Rai is sleeping; he looks so at peace next to me and I can’t help the way my dead heart feels heavier as it makes a useless wish, one where this was my reality. I take it as my sign to leave before he can ask me any more questions. I barely hid my eyes from him last night in my weakened state, keeping them closed as much as I could.
I ease myself up. The worst part is healed but I still need more time to recover, and to feed. If I fed directly from a human I’d be fine by now, but that’s not an option. I ignore the call from Rai’s life source as the scent permeates the air. I would rather be eliminated from this world than take it from him. Especially without asking.
I’ll have to settle for a hit on my infuser, the one that’s not in my bag after I convinced myself I’d be in and out of the holding facility. This wasn’t my finest moment, I’ll admit.
I got cocky.
I slip out of the bed, careful not to pull the sheets as I go. The chill of the apartment hits my exposed legs, Rai’s T-shirt barely covers me to mid-thigh. It’s then I remember that my clothes were soaked in blood and he said he would clean up, leaving me with nothing to wear.
I look over my shoulder to his sleeping form. The sheets have slipped down his chest. The hard ridges that make up the sculpted muscles are tempting me to trace them with my tongue. I tear my eyes away so I don’t add fuel to the fire raging in my throat.
