Page 54 of Sophie's Ruin
“You’re apologizing for leaving my side? You didn’t choose that, Henry. You were torn away from me and tortured. You can’t apologize for that.”
“Circumstances do not matter. I’m still sorry I couldn’t be there when you needed me the most.”
“I need you now. I needed you yesterday when I—” The air got snagged in my throat.
Henry’s eyes narrowed. “When you what? Sophie, what did you do?” he asked, stepping closer and caging me in.
“I did what had to be done.” I lifted my chin. “I avenged your pain and suffering.”
Henry swallowed thickly. “What did you do?” he asked again as his nostrils flared. “Emeric,” he said low, picking up on the vampire’s faint scent on me. “Is he?—”
“Dead. He burned with the rising sun, pinned to the slope of the mountain in his region. The same mountain I brought down on the rest of his clan who were with him.”
Henry sucked in a sharp breath, staggering back as if my words had scorched him.
“You killed them all?” he asked quietly, as if it pained him to say it aloud.
“I did.” Emeric’s family might still be alive, but they were as good as dead, trapped under the rubble with no way to feed or escape. “And I’d do it again. Iwilldo it again when I find the remaining clan leaders.”
“You’re—”
“A monster. I know. But if you think that scares me, you’re mistaken.”
“It should scare you. It should terrify you.”
“You know what I’m terrified of? Losing you.”
“I don’t want to lose you, either, but it feels like that is what’s happening right now. I’m losing you to the darkness.”
Oh, how mistaken he was.
“Do not be afraid,” I said, reaching up to cup his face. He flinched at my touch as if it burned him, and my heart twisted at his reaction. “I’ll be back when I’m done killing the ones who hurt you.”
“Let me help you,” he begged, his eyes pleading.
Excitement flared in my chest. “Help me? Do you want to help me hunt them down?”
“No. I want you to stay here with me so I can help you fight the darkness.”
“Fight the darkness? I no longer fight the darkness. It fightswithme, helping me defeat our enemies. We are on the same side.”
“No, that’s just what the darkness wants you to believe.”
“And I believe it. I do,” I told him, lowering my hands from his cheeks.
He moved then, clasping the back of my neck and my waist, resting his forehead against mine.
“Please, let me help you. If you want me to beg on my knees, I will. I don’t want to lose you.”
“You won’t,” I assured him before I kissed him.
He kissed me back deeply, hungrily, and I melted into him, my hands fisting in his shirt. A whimpering sound escaped when he bit my lower lip, drawing blood. The sweet taste mixed with the rich and smoky flavor of him invaded my senses, setting them on fire. I became desperate for him, every stroke of my tongue a plea and a demand. He pushed me back against the wall and lifted me up so I could wrap my legs around his lower back. A harsh groan left him when he rocked his hips into me, and I gasped against his lips as desire pulsed between my thighs.
Was he as desperate for me as I was for him? I thought he looked at me differently now, but perhaps the primal, wild part of him was drawn to my dark side, excited by the violent acts I’d committed. Unless…he was just trying to distract me; to keep me here, wrapped up in him for as long as he could. A part of me wanted to give in, to lose myself in him, but the burning desire in my blood quickly turned to ice. Right now, my thirst for revenge was stronger than my hunger for Henry. I abruptly broke the kiss, dropping my feet to the floor and shoving at his hard chest to put some distance between us. His black eyes were wide as he stared at me, breathing heavily.
“We’ll be back together soon,” I promised, glimmering out before I could change my mind and stay in his arms forever.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” Damien said, when I appeared in the central region of the country, known as the Lowlands.
