Page 24 of A Kiss From a Revenant
“Always.”
9
NORY
Golden sunlight streams into my eyes, rousing me from a deep slumber.
Blinking against the offending light, I take in my familiar room. Everything is just as I left it the night before. My worn boots are resting against the wall while my cloak hangs from the lone peg beside the door. The wrinkled fabric of my scarlet gown lies in a pool at the foot of my bed. Fresh laundry remains in folded stacks that I have yet to put away.
The only unusual thing in this room is the male body spooned around me.
His soft skin rests me. The weight of his arm along my side and his soft breaths against my shoulder send a delicious shiver through me. Eryx had removed his cloak and armor last night as we shared a warm bath to wash away the night’s chill. The sight of his tall form, adorned with lean muscles, had stolen my breath.
There was nothing about him that was human. Dark blood flowed in his gray veins. He was not human—but neither was he a monster. At least he wasn’t to me. His primal nature and formidable form excite me. I desire him above all else.Watching the bath water lap at his pale skin had ignited another inferno of lust inside of me.
It led me to seek him out and join our bodies together once more. We had come at the same moment amongst the cooling water before he lifted my trembling body from the tub. Depositing us both on the bed, he gathered me to him before we both fell asleep.
After our teeth-clenching rounds of lovemaking, it seems my revevant needs his sleep. His eyes remain closed—his pale lips are parted slightly as he dreams. In the silence of the morning, I take him in, careful not to move and rouse him. Sunlight dances across the sharp angles of his face, making his pale skin glow. He doesn’t seem so foreboding in sleep. Instead, all I can see is Eryx…the male I care for.
That feels too simple a word to describe my feelings towards Eryx. After last night, things have changed between us. I can still feel him inside me. The phantom imprint of his body lingers along my skin. The threads of our souls weave together in a new, permanent pattern that cannot be undone. Most shockingly of all, I no longer feel alone.
Eryx is with me now, and I know we will never be parted.
Even as I think it, uneasiness rises within me like a wave. These feelings he’s stirred inside me are dangerous—making me uncertain of the future for the first time in years. Despite my heart's urging to yield to him completely, I can’t shake this feeling that our time together is rapidly dwindling. The thought of not having him causes my heart to pound.
How has he managed to become so integral to me in such a short amount of time?
You would be fine if he left,a traitorous voice whispers.Life would be simple again, and you’d have enough money to do as you please. Alone.
I shake myself to silence that errant voice. These warringfeelings have left me off-kilter. I don’t have to make any decisions—at least not right now. I hope that is.
A soft clicking sound makes my eyes snag at the clock on the wall. The hands read well past eight in the morning. With a deep sigh, I stretch my arms above my head. Customers will be arriving soon to collect their garments. No doubt Kindell will return to give thanks for her husband’s demise—surely he’s been found by now. It’s likely to be quite the gossip today, and I’ll have to feign my ignorance of the whole ordeal.
The stirring beside makes me turn in his grasp. Eryx’s eyes blink open, and pale yellow light glows from within his sockets. A lazy grin curves his lips as his hand tightens along my bare hip.
“Good morning,” he purrs in his deep voice.
“Morning.” Warmth envelopes my cheeks as I feel his cock harden against me. “My customers will be arriving in an hour to collect their orders.”
Eryx nods, but makes no move to release me. He does the opposite, dragging me into his chest. The quilt slips from my shoulders and bares my breasts to his hungry gaze. Eryx’s thin fingers cup my breasts before gently rubbing my nipples, encouraging them into stiff peaks. I moan at the touch as my body begins to heat.
“The world seeks to take you away from me this morning,” he murmurs. “How are you feeling?”
I force my heavy-lidded eyes open as he continues to work me.
“Perfect. More than perfect.”
“Happy?” he asks. I hear the unease in his voice.
Meeting his gaze with my own, I cup his cheek, laying bare the desire for him in my eyes, and I nod. There is no room for uncertainty between us. I watch as his body relaxes and leans down to capture my nipple in his mouth. Moaning against him, I cradle his head to me, urging him to taste me more.
After a few devastating licks of his tongue, he releases my nipple with a pop. Arousal spreads down my inner thighs, desperate for relief. Eryx inhales deeply, a wicked smile on his mouth.
“In all the damned centuries I’ve prowled this world, I’ve never felt like this before. Blood fulfilled me—it was the only thing I ever craved—but now I could live off your taste alone. Until the world around us crumbles into dust.” Flames roar to life in his eyes. “You are a madness—burrowing under my skin and into my dead heart.”
The organ remains still, never pounding in the same rhythm mine does. With a growl, his lips capture mine in a searing kiss. Pushing me back onto the mused sheets, he falls between my spread thighs. I moan as his mouth leaves me to kiss a trail of fire down my throat. My hips lift to rub my wetness along his hard cock. The ridges tease my clit and make more arousal leak from me.
“You are my madness, too.” My breathy confession comes as he latches onto my breast again. “With you, I can be who I truly am.”
