Page 22 of To Crave Darkly
His exasperation with me was apparent. He slumped back into the chair next to the bed and sighed deeply. He rested his elbow on the chair arm and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was clearly exhausted and vexed, and that almost had me feeling guilty about winding him up. Almost.
He had pissed me off, after all.
“Jasper?”
“Hmm?” he muttered softly as he brought his gaze back to mine. I would never tire of gazing into the depths of the blue that shone brightly in his eyes. They really were amazing.
“Are you ok?”
“Yes,” he answered, curtly. “I am perfectly healed.”
“Good. I’m glad.” I smiled tentatively at him. I really was glad he was alright. “What really happened to me?”
“I drained you to the point of death.” He said the words unflinchingly and I knew he was trying to scare me away from him, but it wasn’t going to work.
“And?” I said, encouraging him to continue.
“And then I tried to heal you with my blood, but your body rejected it. It seems that there is something about you that did not appreciate the taste. I brought you into the Conclave and we managed to bring you back from the brink of death.”
Great. There was more to me that I didn’t know. Urgh. Was I ever going to see the end of the unknown?
Jasper must have picked up on my confusion because he leaned forward to take my hand. “Whatever is going on, we will figure it out.”
“Thank you, I…” My words trailed off. A pulling sensation fluttered behind my ribs. It was familiar but I couldn’t place the feeling. It lingered like the remnants of a dream.
“Lori? Are you ok?” Jasper asked softly.
“I…” Wait a minute,wasI ok? Apart from the aches, nothing felt seriously wrong, but a sense of terror still clung to me. Something sinister rankled with me but I couldn’t place it. It was like I was trying to recall a memory, but it kept slipping through my fingers like wisps of smoke. Those black eyes flashed through my mind again and a searing hot pain spread across my lips, like a kiss leaving a blazing imprint. I sat bolt upright in the bed which caused Jasper to flinch in surprise.
“What is it?” he demanded, concern lacing his voice. But I wasn’t listening, not really. No, I was wholly focused on the images that were flooding my mind. Pieces of my dream filtered through my memory. The beach, the storm and crashing waves. The man with the angelic hair and eyes so black they were bottomless. How could I forget him?
Orion.
My eyes throbbed as it all came flooding back. The heat of an invisible flame seared the skin over my heart. Something was wrong. My eyes. God, they burned. I pressed the heels of my palms into them to try and stop it but that did nothing. It was like the fire was burning them from the inside out. So much pain.
“Make it stop!” I screamed. “Make it stop!”
Jasper grabbed my wrists and tried to pull my hands away from my face, but I wouldn’t let him.
“Look at me, Lori!” he shouted.
“I can’t, Jasper, it burns,” I sobbed.
“Let me look,” he coaxed. “Do something, dammit!” He must be shouting at one of the nurses. I could hear people rushing around and the monitors were beeping rapidly behind me. Shit. My heart was racing. My skin was on fire. I needed to calm down. The pain. It was too much. I couldn’t think past the pain. It swallowed any coherent thought and all I was left with was wave after wave of nauseating pain.
“Open your eyes, Lori.”
My breath hitched. I knew that voice. That deep, smoky voice. He was here and he was in my mind. The connection between us blazed brightly and I could feel his presence as solidly as if he were standing before me.
“I promise you will be fine.”
How was I supposed to believe that?
“If I had wanted to harm you, I would have done so on the beach.”
My god, could he hear my thoughts?
“God won’t help you now,”he drawled. Why did he have to sound like a prick?“Well, that isn’t very nice, is it?”
