Renegade (The Captive Series Book 2) (19 page)

“I need you to go into the other room
for a minute.”

“Braith…”

“Just for a minute Arianna, I don’t
want you to see this.”

Aria’s eyes widened. Horror, disbelief,
and disgust tore through her as she realized what he intended to
do. She wanted to argue with him, wanted to tell him no, but she
couldn’t find the words. They were outnumbered here, between Ashby
and the girl they were under constant threat of attack. But the
girl was tied up, defenseless. It wasn’t right. She was shaking her
head, trying to get the words out, but he was already pushing her
toward the door of another room.

“Braith wait,” she said frantically
clinging to his arms. “Don’t do this, not like this
Braith.”

“I’m not going to kill her,” he assured
her softly.

“But…”

“It’s ok Arianna; go on now, just for a
moment.”

She was frowning fiercely at him, but
he had already managed to navigate her through the doors and into a
room that appeared to be a library. Braith glanced around,
displeasure crossing his features as he took in the vast array of
books. “Braith?”

He kissed her quickly before spinning
away from her. “I just need some time alone with them, with him.
Stay in here.”

She didn’t have time to argue with him
as he closed the door. Anger and disbelief surged through when she
heard the click of the lock pop into place. Her hands fisted, she
bit her bottom lip in frustration as she fought the urge to race at
the door and pound on it until he opened it again. It would appear
childish, she knew that, but she also knew that she was not going
to be confined to this damn room, and she was not going to let him
order her around like this.

She spun toward the other doorway,
making her way swiftly through the other rooms. As she moved
through the ramshackle house the rooms and doorways became more
haphazard. It was easy to tell what had been the original house,
and what the newest additions to the massive tree structure were.
The floor creaked beneath her, but she was not afraid that it might
collapse, it seemed solid enough. She passed by an extended version
of the library, a rather large and surprisingly well equipped
kitchen, a den, three bedrooms, and two bathrooms with showers.
Wonderful showers that if they were here long enough, and things
settled down, she was going to enjoy.

Then, there were the empty rooms,
apparently built just to keep Ashby busy during his time of
confinement. The additions wound deeper through the forest,
branching off into new and different angles. Limbs from the trees
had been used for support and incorporated into the rambling
structure. Despite its empty air, and slightly lonely feel, there
was something about it the strange house that intrigued and soothed
her. She had always been more at home within the trees than
anywhere else; this was the kind of place that she could live in.
This was the kind of place that she could one day call home. It was
a strange realization, one that was shocking even to her as she’d
never thought of a stable home, but it felt right
somehow.

She came to the end of the structure,
stopping as she came face to face with the wall before her.
Frustration filled her, she had been hoping that this wandering
labyrinth somehow came back around on itself, but it did not.
Fighting the urge to kick the wall in anger, Aria fisted her hands
and spun back around. She wanted nothing more than to be with
Braith, but she was not going to be relegated to this small role,
she was not going to be ordered about and hidden away like a child
that could not fend for herself.

She could fend for herself; in fact she
was far better at it than almost anyone else she knew.

Maybe she wasn’t as quick and strong as
a vampire, but she had her own set of skills that elevated her
above most humans. She stormed back through the rooms, determined
to have it out with Braith. She was making her way through the
kitchen when he appeared in the doorway. She could see the barely
contained fury simmering beneath his surface; sense the thin thread
of control that he had over himself.

Aria froze as she took him in. He was
being pushy and overbearing, but for the first time she glimpsed
the fear he was trying to keep from her. The fear that he wasn’t
going to be able to keep her safe, that he would lose her. She also
saw the strain he was going through at having to face Ashby. The
stress that seeing the man that had betrayed him, and blinded him,
for nearly a hundred years was putting on him.

Braith’s eyes were smoldering, his
shoulders rigid. Need radiated from him, his hunger was nearly
palpable within the room. He had fed recently, but the stress of
their current situation was clearly wearing on him. She felt that
he hadn’t even realized how hard, strenuous, and draining this
would be on him.

She couldn’t promise him that they
would be safe, that they would make it through this, but she could
help to ease the burning hunger throbbing from him. She reached up,
pulling the collar of her shirt down, baring the fresh marks upon
her skin. His eyes sparked with yearning, she could see the press
of his fangs against the inside of his clamped mouth. A muscle
twitched in his cheek. She didn’t jump when he slammed his hand
against the wall, causing a few pots within one of the cabinets to
shift and fall with a soft rattle.

“It’s too soon. No.”

The words were grated at her, harsh
with the struggle he was waging with himself. “I can take
it.”

“You were hurt today, wounded.
No.”

He was going to fight her, she knew
that. No matter how much he needed this, her safety was number one
with him. And if he felt that he was going to hurt her, or that
this would be a danger to her, than he was not going to do it. But
she was far more stubborn then he was, and she wanted this just as
badly as he needed it. She was beginning to realize that she craved
him feeding from her as much as he craved her blood. Despite the
brief pain the experience brought her, it also brought moments of
pure, unadulterated joy. It was thrilling and wondrous to be able
to sustain him with blood, her body. It was exhilarating to have
him on her, in her, gaining strength from her. She may not be the
only one that he could gain such nourishment from, but she was the
only one that he wanted to feed from anymore, and he needed her
now. If he was going to have any sort of relief, she was the only
one that could give it to him.

Her heart thumped with the excitement
of that knowledge as she moved slowly toward him.
“Arianna.”

His voice was a soft plea, and though
all she wanted was to give him whatever he wanted, she could not
back down from this. He may not feel it was safe to feed from her
right now, but he did need to. She stopped before him. He reached
forward to pull her shirt up but she caught hold of his hand,
resting it against her chest, on top of her heartbeat.

“Do you feel that?” His eyes were dark,
stormy as he raised his gaze to hers. She knew that he could feel
it, it was impossible not to feel the fierce beat of it. “It’s
yours. I am yours Braith. I’m strong, I can handle this; take what
you need for me.”

Though he was still vibrating with
hunger, his eyes were also filled with awe. His fingers curled
against her chest, he bent to her kissing her forehead lightly,
then her cheek, and ear. “I am yours also Arianna, never doubt
that.”

“I never will,” she vowed.

His hand curled in her hair, caressing
her gently. Though his finger trailed over the old marks, he did
not bite her, but simply stood over her, soothing and stroking her.
He shuddered, his hard muscles rippled against her, she felt his
struggle, his weakening, his hunger. He kissed her neck softly, his
lips pulled slowly back. The hard press of his fangs caused her
heart to lurch with excitement, need blasted through her. A low
moan of pleasure escaped, her knees nearly buckled as he bit into
her, joining them completely. She was clinging to him, shaking as
waves of ecstasy crashed over her. No matter how awful the world
around them was, this exchange, this one moment of perfect bliss,
and pleasure, was worth every horror she was certain was coming
their way. If it wasn’t already here.

He pulled away from her, nuzzling her
gently, licking the lingering drops of blood from her skin. He had
not taken as much as he normally would have. “You need
more…”

“I’m fine.”

“Braith, you need to stay strong. You
need to take more.”

He cradled her face gently, stroking
her cheeks lightly. “It is too soon for you.”

She swallowed heavily, trying to rid
herself of the lump forming in her throat. Though the next words
were going to kill her, she managed to strangle them out. “Then you
must go to someone else.”

His hands stilled on her, he lifted her
face to him. She could not stop the tears that spilled down her
face, could not hide the pain that such a thought caused her. It
would be awful for him to turn to someone else for this, awful for
her, but he needed to feed. He needed to stay strong, especially
now, and she could not give him all that he needed at the moment.
Maybe one day, when there wasn’t so much pressure and strain on
him, she could be enough. But that was not today, and it probably
wasn’t going to be anytime soon. They both needed to accept the
fact that he would have to go somewhere else, to someone else, and
there was nothing that either of them could do to stop it from
happening.

“That thought does not make you
happy.”

She bit her bottom lip, shaking her
head at him as he wiped the tears away. “No, of course not. But I
would rather you stayed strong than have you get hurt because you
were hungry, or weak.”

“I will not be either one of those
things.”

“Braith…”

“I will find other ways Arianna. I will
substitute what you cannot give me with animals.”

“Is that the same?” she
whispered.

He smiled softly at her, kissing her
nose lightly. “It may not taste as good, but it is just as
nourishing. But then, nothing tastes as good as you.” She shook her
head at him as he pushed her hair back. “You’re the most delicious
thing I’ve ever encountered.”

Aria shuddered; a chill ran down her
spine as delight filtered through her body. “You don’t have to say
that,” she breathed.

“It’s true.” His hand was on her neck,
his palm pressed over the marks upon her. His marks. “I don’t want
anyone but you Arianna. The idea of it is repulsive to me,
especially since I know it hurts you.”

“I don’t want you to
suffer.”

“I will not suffer and I will not turn
to someone else. You are mine Arianna, you will always be mine.”
His voice rang with possessiveness, she could feel his tension
spiking again. It was the first time she realized that it wasn’t
just this entire situation that had him so out of sorts, but also
her. It was a frightening and disconcerting realization, she didn’t
know how to help him, how to ease the stress thrumming through him.
“The thought of you turning to someone else makes me want to
destroy this entire place. Makes me want to shred someone limb from
limb. I would not inflict such hurt upon you.”

She stared at him in surprise,
disturbed by the rapid change she sensed him. Disturbed by the fact
that she was a large part of the instability she sensed growing
inside of him. “I would never do that,” she promised. He was dark,
hard, and distant in a way that he had not been since she had first
met him within the palace walls. For a moment it seemed as if he
didn’t see her, as if he was trapped in the thought of her with
another man. “Braith, I would never turn to someone else. You are
the only one that has anything that I want.”

He swallowed heavily, she didn’t think
he was aware of the fact that his sudden instability had caused his
fangs to sprout forth again. He closed his eyes for a moment, when
he opened them again she was relieved to see a softening in his
gaze. “I know Arianna. I know you wouldn’t.”

“Never Braith. Never.” She hoped that
her insistence would help to get through to him, but she still
sensed something dark and turbulent beneath his calm outer surface.
His hand was tense upon her neck, his grip almost painful. “The
thought is repulsive to me Braith.”

“I know.”

“Then why do you seem so troubled? So
angry?”

He looked slightly startled by her
observation, his gaze darted to his hand. Horror rolled through his
gaze, his hand loosened on her. He shook his head, his eyes filled
with a self hatred that rattled her. He pulled his hand away,
taking a small step away from her. “I’m sorry Arianna; I did not
mean to hurt you.”

“You didn’t,” she assured him quickly,
terrified by the strange gap she felt widening between them. A gap
she didn’t understand, just as she didn’t understand what was going
on with him. She reached for his hand, grabbing it tightly in hers.
“Braith you could never hurt me.”

He did not look appeased by her words.
He didn’t even look as if he believed them. “We should
return.”

“Braith, what is wrong?” she demanded,
becoming frightened by the strange air that now encompassed
him.