Awakening (8 page)

“You are not alone in this
, brother,” Auberon promised, putting a hand on Adam’s shoulder. “We will both go.”

Adam
lifted his head and met his brother’s eyes, “Thank you Auberon.”

Auberon gave a half smile before leaving his brother alone with the shell of Celeste
, wondering if Adam was going to be able to end the creature's existence before it was too late. If not, the two of them were going to have to figure out a way to kill the un-killable. Maybe sacrificing a
Thraell
was the final step they needed to take in order to be completely free; after all, the Goddess did say it was going to end soon. It figured it would be something impossible. Hell, it had taken the Blight fiasco to sever the telepathic connection to the Hive, to break free from their Mother. And that had required the unwitting help of Shaw and his mate.

If only they had a fallen angel to free them as their brother had all of those millennia ago.

With a sigh, Auberon made his way to the Paris
Adytum
, hoping a few hours spent with a couple of Calices would calm the restless beast within. His skin crawled with the need to completely break free from the Hive once and for all and if they had to figure out a way to kill a
Thraell
to do so than so be it, just so long as they were finally free.

Unfortunately,
Thraell
were like fucking cockroaches and would survive damn near everything. Hell, they survived a fucking nuclear blast only to die of old age, or whatever it was the
Thraell
succumbed to, long afterwards. He and Adam could dump the wretched creature in some desert; it would be surrounded by burning sand for as far as the eyes could see. Or they could drop it at the top of some soaring mountain and hope it fell into some icy crevice where it could freeze to death. Eventually. Or they could toss it into the middle of the sea and see if the thing could swim.

He'd figure out something, especially if it meant they would be free.

*****

As morning light began to spill into his room,
Adam rose from his seat next to the fireplace and walked over to the bed where the
Thraell
formerly known as Celeste lay sleeping. It would be waking soon and he knew what he had to do. It was sprawled out across his mattress, the sheet covering its torso leaving its slender limbs exposed. Its chocolate brown hair surrounding its head was still so rich, so luxurious and it nearly cost Adam his resolve. Of course in a few days, if he allowed it to live, that wonderful hair would be a tangled mass of snarls and dirt. When it woke those beautiful hazel eyes would open and there would be nothing there; they would be clouded and dead. It would howl, the growing frustration of physical desire never being sated, the hunger for blood twisting its insides apart. If he fucked up and the beast managed to escape it would ravage the countryside, destroying everything in its path and bringing undo attention to the world of the
Apocritae
.

Grabbing the pillow, he stood over the body no longer feeling anything. With his lips pressed together in a tight line, he put a knee on the bed then pressed the pillow to its face. After a moment, the body began to jerk, no longer able to breathe. Closing his eyes, the image of Celeste flashed into his mind, her warm smile and sparkling eyes.
In that moment he knew he could not kill her body.

Swallowing, he vowed to keep the
Thraell
from doing any harm; he would strive to fulfill its sexual needs, even offering his own blood to give it a moment's peace. It was the least he could do for Celeste, who was gone. He couldn’t leave her behind, he wouldn’t….

Flinging the pillow away, he remained on the bed, his back to the creature,
his head in his hands. He had been too arrogant, too blinded by his own powers to believe he could ever truly escape the suffocating Hive. Almost completely free and he had royally fucked up, managing to create his first
Thraell
.

“
Mmmm,” it murmured behind him, awakening.

He cringed, squeezing his eyes shut and damning himself for his complete lack of control
, for stealing her life. Its hand ran across his back and he flinched; he did not want to have sex with a
Thraell
, but for Celeste he would do anything. It would scream and claw, and as it aged, it would become stronger and more destructive; impossible to kill until it finally died of its own accord. He wasn't sure if he was going to survive life with a
Thraell
but after what he had done to her he didn't think he deserved to live.

Taking a fortifying breath to see what it was that he would be dealing with for the next several decades, he finally turned around. Under heavy lids, Celeste’s clear hazel eyes looked up at him, a serene smile on her soft lips.
“Hey, you.”

Jumping off of the bed and nearly tripping over his feet, he stared down at the miracle, not knowing what to think; not able to think at all. She was still pale, but there was a glow to her skin, a living glow. Her eyes, her beautiful hazel eyes, were not sunken, lifeless
; they were brilliant. Closing her eyes for a moment, she raised her arms above her head and stretched, the tops of her breasts peeking out over the sheet covering her body. It was not possible, especially after how much he fed from her. It was not possible!

“H…. How are you f-feeling this morning?” he stammered, trying
to recover some modicum of wits and failing spectacularly. Never had a human been drained so completely ever survived and remained, well, human. Never had a human been bit and remained human. They either became
Calix
if fed, or
Thraell
. This should not even be happening.

“I feel,” she smiled lazily, letting her arms cross beneath her head, thrusting the swells of her breasts outwards.
He couldn’t tear his eyes from the sublime swells of her breasts, struck dumb by their softness and the sound of her clear voice. How was it possible? She should no longer possess language skills; a
Thraell
’s transformation was swift. “Amazing.”

His eyes moved
from the two bite marks on either side of her neck to her pale lips, which were white due to dehydration. Was he dreaming? Hallucinating? There was absolutely no indication that the girl in front of him – that Celeste – had been affected by his deadly bite at all. It wasn’t possible; it was a miracle.

He couldn’t talk
or think or even move so he didn’t say anything else; he simply stared at her, his brain as slow as ice melting during a frozen night.

*****

Growing a little uncomfortable by his silence and the way he looked at her, the disbelief in his eyes, Celeste wrapped the sheet around her nakedness and stood up. Tilting her head to the side, she looked up at him and licked her unnaturally dry lips. Although she was incredibly thirsty, her tongue didn’t have the usual cottony, swollen feeling she usually experienced when she woke up needing something to drink. And other than a desperate thirst, she felt incredible, so alive. Except Adam was acting so strangely….

“Do you think we could maybe eat breakfast together? Perhaps get somethi
ng to drink? I am so… thirsty.”

When he didn’t respond, Celeste could feel her stomach begin to clench with the realization that she just gave herself to someone who only wanted a one-night stand and
who was probably wondering what the hell she was still doing in his room. Feeling a little sick and uncomfortable, she glanced around the room to find her clothes. She needed to get out of there before she embarrassed herself even further.

Licking her lips again, so damn thirsty, she took a fortifying breath and met
Adam’s eyes. He continued to just… stare at her with horror in the depths of those black eyes of his. She had to leave. Now. Her chest tightened and she forced herself to swallow, “Perhaps it would be best if I just go.”

He still didn’t speak as she awkwardly gathered up
her hopelessly wrinkled dress and underwear she had worn, clutching the sheet around her body. Feeling the burn of tears, and swallowing them back, she cursed her stupidity for fucking a stranger. Stupid stupid stupid.

Turning away from him, she lay the dress down, trying to figure out the best way to re-dress and get out of there with some of her quickly disappearing dignity intact. God,
Kim was going to kill her before comforting her as she cried; stupid, naïve Celeste went and slept with a god only to get dumped and crudely dismissed with a simple 'How are you feeling? Get the hell out of here….'

A warm hand wrapped itself around her upper arm, forcing her to turn around.
Adam looked at her, the confusion still in his obsidian eyes, but also… hope? He lowered his chin, holding her eyes with his, “Don’t leave.”

Her heart stopped for a moment before it thudded once… twice, trying to regain momentum. “Pardon me?”

“I don’t want you to go,” he repeated, turning her so they stood face to face. His palm slid down her arm until he held her hand in his. Celeste noticed that the robe he wore was black silk, hanging slightly open to reveal a triangle of his delectable skin. Even wearing a silk robe, he exuded masculine sexuality. The despair she felt a moment before was quickly fading as she recognized the passion flaring to life in Adam’s eyes, sending a little thrum of pleasure through her body.

“You… I’m not
a fuck ’em and leave ’em one night stand?” she hesitantly asked, afraid to hope but unable to prevent the joy and relief from welling up inside her.

“God
s, no,” he answered, his voice low and coarse. His eyes dipped to her neck and self-consciously her hand fluttered against one set of bite marks that marred her throat. He had bit her and instead of fretting over being an unwitting blood donor she just wanted him to make love to her again. And again; over and over, for all eternity.

Her lips tilted upwards in a hesitant smile; perhaps everything was going to be okay. Whatever it was
that had made him freeze seemed to have passed. Turning away from him, she looked down at the dress lying on the bed and murmured, “I should get dressed….”

He closed the
slight distance between them, pressing his body against hers as he pressed his lips against her neck. Her eyes closed in automatic response to his rapid seduction and a little moan of pleasure vibrated in her throat. Her muscles relaxed, all of her muscles relaxed, and her protective sheet fell to the floor and pooled around her feet. Celeste realized that he had untied his robe as the heat of his naked chest brushed against her bare back.

Grabbing her waist, he pulled her back against him so that she could feel exactly how much he wanted her to stay. Drawing his hands over her abdomen, her ribs, he cupped her breasts, squeezing the nipples between his thumbs and forefingers until she was arching her back, pressing the curve of her butt into his erection.
He pressed his lips against the shell of her ear and breathed, “I want you.”

“Yes,” she
rasped, waves of heat spreading through her body making her belly throb.

*****

Gently, he placed his hand on her back and bent her forward, placing little kisses down her spine. He grabbed her arms and placed them in front of her to support her torso. Reaching between her legs, he slid a finger into her searing sex, feeling the dampness that was already waiting for him. Smiling, he bent his knees and guided his raging erection into her moist heat, filling her completely. The gasp of delight sent a surge of triumph through him.

Leaning over her, one hand caressing her breast, one hand stroking her swollen clit, he thrust into her, over and over. The world darkened as his eyes turned bla
ck and his fangs grew as he once more lost himself in the sensation of Celeste. As she neared completion, he once again sank his teeth into the curve of her neck, letting her release wash through him. Her blood sang through his body as he pounded harder, keeping her orgasm going until he found his own release. Growling his pleasure, he held himself in place until every quake passed.

Rumbling
possessively, he collapsed against her back and they fell onto the bed. He placed his hands over hers, entwining their fingers. Her breath was hot and sweet against his cheek as she panted, “That was…. Mmmm.”

“
Amazing,” he breathed, not wanting to withdraw from the heat of her body. He closed his eyes as he pressed his cheek against her silky chocolate hair.

“
Adamanteros?” she murmured, obviously still a little dazed.

“Yes
, my heart?” he asked, trailing light kisses along her scalp, breathing in her sweet scent.

“
Did you really bite me?” she asked softly.

“Oh,
gods,” he hissed, pulling back from her, disengaging his body from hers and feeling the loss immediately. Standing quickly and turning away from her, he covered his eyes with his hands, realizing that he had just bit her again. AGAIN! Had he no control around this girl? “I am so sorry…. I cannot control myself.”