Ties That Bind: The Bellum Sisters 3 (paranormal erotic romance) (26 page)

CHAPTER 33

Lily came to with a startled cry on her throat. It registered that what she'd seen had been a dream. No, not a dream, but a vision. But she couldn't recall it. As soon as she came into consciousness the vision faded from her like an ocean's wave swept it away. She squeezed her eyes shut. Fuck, she had to remember it! It was important.

She punched the mattress beneath her and the bitter scent of dust reached her nose making her sneeze. AT once, the muscles in her stomach tensed at the sneeze and then everything came to her in a rush, her dream forgotten as the all the aches in her body awakened.

“God,” she groaned.

She inspected the damage. Her stomach had a vicious bruise the size of a grapefruit and was multicolored with yellows, reds, and blues. She rolled her shoulder back and winced at the sharp pain. Well, that arm was useless for now. Everything else seemed in working order so she got off the bed and stopped dead.

“Telal!”

His body was on the floor, his face flat on it, his arms and legs sprawled. He looked like a murder victim lying there just waiting to have chalk drawn around his body.

“Telal?” She pushed the hair out of his face. When his lashes fluttered a sob left her and she realized just how scared she'd been.

It took some effort but eventually she got him rolled over onto his back so she could assess his injuries. He looked battered and pale but no obvious bleeding anywhere. She made quick work of opening his shirt and found she was wrong about the blood. He had two wounds on his chest. One near the center that looked as though it'd barely missed his heart and the other in the meat of his shoulder. What startled her most about the wounds was the greenish tint surrounding the outlying skin from the wound.

Lily sat back and tried to figure out what to do. She had no clue where she was but the place smelled heavily of mildew and dust. Moving quickly, she found a bathroom and rummaged through it for any kind of medical supplies. She cursed, finding nothing. She went to the kitchen, slamming open every cabinet and drawer until she was almost shaking by time she finished. Nothing, not even so much as a band aid.

She heard a deep groan and ran into the bedroom. Telal's eyes were slowly opening, his lips pulling to a tight grimace.

“Telal! Are you okay?” Her voice shook and she realized that wasn't the only thing. Her hands trembled and even her stomach felt like it was vibrating. Fear and panic threatened to overwhelm her and she wished like hell she had her herbs with her to make her special juice. Just to calm her nerves.

“Lily?” His voice was a mere croak.

“I'll be right back.” She darted for the kitchen and poured a glass of water, thankful the water didn't come out brown or sludgy. She took it back to him and lifted his head, pressing the glass to his lips. He took in a good five sips before he jerked his head away.

His eyes opened all the way and he scanned the room and sighed. “God, I feel like shit.”

A choking laugh left her and a stupid tear slid down her cheek. He looked up at her and his eyes narrowed on the betraying tear. His hand slid up and a finger caught it.

“You cry for me?”

She nodded because she was afraid if she tried to speak she'd sound like a horse. “What can I do to help?”

He grunted and started to sit up. “There's nothing you can do. I just need time.”

“What's happened to your skin? It's green.”

He looked down at his chest. “Oh that? It's poison.” He stood and rocked on his feet. She immediately stood and wrapped an arm around his waist to brace him.

“What kind of poison?”
Please don't say the killing kind.

“It removes my magic from me. I'm pretty sure I'm completely depleted.” He closed his eyes and sighed. “Yes, I am.”

“How do you know? What did you try to do just now?”

“Port us to Tyrian's castle. It looks like we'll have to travel the old-fashioned way.” He started to the bathroom adjoining the bedroom and with each step he seemed to grow stronger, steadier.

“How long will it last?” she asked, following him.

He reached into the shower and turned it on. When steam billowed out from the stall something like a smile curled his mouth. “I knew there was a reason I kept this place.”

“How long?” she insisted.

He shrugged. “Could be as long as week. I don't know. I got two darts shot in me and they stayed long enough to release all the poison.” He pulled off his suit shirt with a fierce grimace and started unbuttoning his pants.

“Who were they?” She didn't want to admit it, but she was scared. Really scared. Even seeing the demon she and her sisters summoned from the rift in London didn't scare her as badly as this. If only she had her medicine, then everything would be all right. He got into the shower and she realized how itchy her skin felt. So she undressed too and got in beside him. He didn't say anything so she sidled up next to him. The shower wasn't nearly the size of the one they'd been in together. It had only a normal showerhead meant for a single person.

“Demons.”

She sighed. “I know that. But who were they and why were they trying to kill us?”

“Alrik,” was his only answer.

A bar of soap still wrapped in its package sat on an indented ledge in the shower. Lily opened it and started making her hands sudsy to clean herself.

“What are you going to do?”

Telal slammed his fist in the shower; the bang sounded so loud in the close confines that she jerked back, her foot slid in the water and she fell back against the shower wall, her shoulders landing hard.

“Ow. What was that for?” She rubbed at her shoulders blades and when she met his eyes she saw he was furious. “What?” she said more softly.

He tore the soap from her hands. “I'm not doing anything right now. What would you have me do, Lily?”

She suddenly felt like they were back in his rec room having the same conversation they'd left off at. “Well, do you think he'll send more of those...demons?”

“Probably.”

“Then are we going into hiding or something? Is that why we're here...wherever we are?”

He soaped his whole body and his hair then rinsed off under the spray. Then without a word, he stepped out of the shower completely wet and left the bathroom. Lily wanted nothing more than to curl up on the floor of the shower and let the water rain over her. She hated the feeling; hated even more that tears filled her eyes at his retreating back. She should be happy she knew that they were still alive. But she wasn't. Her emotions were a torrent of negative energy swirling around in her like a hurricane. She wanted to cry; she wanted to scream at Telal. Most of all, she wanted her juice because that always made her feel better.

With robotic movements, she washed herself then her hair. The water turned cold and she let it pour over her as goose bumps beaded her arms and legs. It did felt good. It seemed to numb her skin which mirrored how she felt inside. Ignoring Telal, ignoring everything she in the tub and let the water drown her in its frigidity.

Tears came and she let them. Let the harsh sound of the water drown her out. She wasn't sure what she cried for. For making it out alive, for Telal's fucked up problems or the way he treated her, or because she was so much further away now from saving her mother. Or maybe because she was so fucking weak it made her sick. Made her sick that she needed her special little concoction just to deal with life. Without it all she wanted to do was curl up in her house and never leave, never speak to anyone.

The water turned off. Blinking, Lily looked up to see a strong golden arm pressing down on the handle. She didn't know why but that made her cry harder, made her heart squeeze so tight she thought it might burst. He grabbed her by the waist and picked her up into his arms. She couldn't bear to look at him, to let him see how pathetic she was, so she buried her face in his shoulder.

He carried her to the bed and set her onto it. His body followed hers and wrapped around her. He felt so incredibly warm against her cold wet skin. She shivered hard as her body tried to meet his temperature. At some point she managed to stop crying and just stared numbly at the wall as he held her.

“This wasn't how it was supposed to be,” she said, her voice hollow.

“I know.”

“I just wanted to be with you.” Her chest squeezed tight with the urge to cry but she bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut until the feeling went away.

“I know.” He paused then added much more softly. “I think I wanted that too.”

Her eyes widened and she turned around in his arms. His blue hair was matted to his pillow and shoulders in a wet clump. His golden skin looked better but the color was still dim compared to how he usually looked.

“What do you mean?” She told her heart not to get its hopes up, but it didn’t listen. It was ready to hang on to every word he said.

He looked away for a moment then caught her gaze again. Soft, warm eyes met hers, no lies hidden in there. “I could have kicked you out. I could have made you leave at any time, but, a part of me didn't want to.” His brow pinched and she knew it was because he didn't like his reaction to her. But for her, her heart thumped wildly in her chest.

“Why didn't you?” she asked so softly.

He looked away this time and didn't answer for so long she didn't think he would. “Something about you makes me come alive, makes me wish I was different.”

She swallowed hard. “Different how?”

He rolled onto his back with a sigh, one arm bending over the top of his head. “I don't know. More free, I suppose. Less controlled.”

Guilt suddenly pulled in her belly and now she looked away. A part of her now wanted to tell him that the only reason she acted the way she did was because of a drug-like mixture she drank daily. That she started drinking after she summoned a demon and was so consumed with guilt and worry for her sister Chloe that she'd wanted to hole herself up in her room and never come out. What would he think of that? She wondered. Nothing good.

But her feelings for him had never been a lie, not even close. He'd captured her attention from the moment she met him. He'd been like an untouchable God, so superior and smart. She'd wanted to pick his brain for knowledge while curled on his lap kissing him. That feeling had grown, though. What had started as excited butterflies every time she saw him turned into a needy pool in the pit of her stomach. And now? Now she'd spent the last several weeks together. They'd been nearly killed, nearly imprisoned, and had shared their bodies. Now her heart tugged every time she saw him. The few glimpses of a smile he gave her made her feel a thousand times lighter, like she'd never need that potion again.

“I like you just the way you are.” It sounded so cheesy she laughed. His eyes crinkled around the corners then his deep laughter followed. “Lame but true. I do. I've liked you from the first moment I set eyes on you.”

His expression turned grim. “I wanted to run hard and fast.”

Her mouth fell open and she slapped his arm as female indignation swept up through her. His heavy laughter floated over her though, but she still pouted.

“Not nice,” she said.

He nodded. “True enough.” His eyes locked on hers turning serious in a second. “But do you know why I wanted to run?” She shook her head mutely. “Because you scared me. I saw you with your free smiles, bubbly laughter and it felt good having it aimed at me. You looked at me not like I was a demon, but a man you could want. I liked that. I liked that a lot.” His voice grew even deeper, softer. As his words resonated in her addled mind he stiffened then sat up in the bed.

She knew after what he just revealed that he was ready to retreat and pretend it didn't happen. But she wasn't going to let that happen. Lily sat up and wrapped her arms around his chest, pressed her breasts against the warm skin of his back.

“It's all right. Just...be with me.” She felt as though she was secretly asking more from him but even she wasn't sure what, exactly.

He stood and she stifled her disappointment as a chill brushed over her where his body had kept her warm. Her nipples hardened at the chill and she crossed an arm across them. He turned around though and her heart started to thump. He was so big, so strong. A golden god of sorts. The blue hair, so surreal looking one would think it was a dye job, but not on him. He'd never do something so fake.

He leaned down, his fists landing on either side of her hips in the mattress, denting the material. His gaze roamed over her eyes, her lips. “I used to look forward to your letters.”

She laughed. It was either that or have a heart attack from shock. “No way.” His body moved in, cornering her and she leaned back and back until she fell flat across the mattress.

“Yes. Sometimes I'd read them half a dozen times. I could almost hear your voice talking to me. One in particular I kept.”

“So you did toss them in the fire!” She grinned because that had been a guess purely on her part.

He caught her bottom lip with his teeth and tugged. An answering jolt of arousal sparked inside her, made her breath catch. He released and growled a deep vibrating sound that went straight to her core.

“I did. But not all of them. I kept one.”