Page 43 of Accidental Blood Lust
FOURTEEN
ROMAN
My hackles go down and my wolf fully relaxes finally once we’re back in our territory, safely inside the compound with Lochlan and Jareth on either side of me.
“Oh wow, that was crazy.” Loch’s words are slightly slurred, and he punctuates them with a giggle. He stumbles a step and then turns unsteadily on his feet to face Jare and me, grabbing our jaws in each one of his hands and giggling again. “Are you two going to kiss again? It wasss kinda sexy.”
“Shit, what’s wrong with him?” I growl, gently taking his face in my hands and looking into his eyes. His pupils are dilated and it looks like there’s a faint glow around his irises. “Is it some kind of fae spell? Did they do something to him?”
Cassius moves closer, bringing his nose up to the side of Loch’s neck. A threatening sound rumbles instinctively in my throat, and I bare my human-shaped teeth at him. He responds to my protective posturing with an eye roll and inhales deeply. I have a damn good nose, but all I can smell is Loch’s intoxicating scent and way too much of the fae realm clinging to him, obscuring anything else like an overpowering cologne.
“He’ll be fine,” Cas declares. “He fed on a fae. Probably a lot, considering how loopy he is. Fae blood is good shit, but it’sbasically absinthe. A little sip of it and you’ll feel incredible, too much and you’re drunk until you work it all out of your system. Some vamps become addicts after their first taste and spend centuries as fae pets just to get the occasional taste.”
“Great, another thing for us to worry about,” Jare mutters.
“He’ll be fine,” I repeat Cas’s first assurance through clenched teeth. “Is there anything we can do to help him clear it from his system faster?”
“Some of your blood will help, and then he really just needs to sleep it off and prepare for an epic hangover tomorrow.”
“Okay, thanks.” I realize everyone else is still lingering, and I nod to each of them. “Thanks to all of you for your help. I owe you each a favor.”
Loch gets sympathetic pats on the back from everyone and promises to check in on him tomorrow, and then the three of us are alone. I pick a few strange purple leaves out of Loch’s hair and brush some of the unkempt strands off of his forehead while he just stares at me with a look of dazed adoration that makes my heart thunder and fills my wolf with a deep sense of satisfaction.
“Come on, your room is just around the corner.”
“Don’t leave me,” he gasps and reaches for me, digging his fingers into my biceps a little too roughly.
I wince and pry his sharp talons out of my skin, warm blood trickling down the backs of my arms for a second before the wounds heal.
“We won’t leave you. I’m going to feed you, and then we’re going to stay with you while you get some sleep, okay?” I run my fingers soothingly through his hair again, and he nods, then sways into me. I laugh, sweeping him easily into my arms to carry him since he’s so unsteady on his feet.
I glance back at Jareth, and the look on his face is like a dagger straight through my chest. He knows, or at least hesuspects, and I can’t lie to him much longer. One problem at a time though.
“You coming?” I take a step in the direction of Loch’s room and tilt my head to beckon Jare after us. He hesitates, and another quiet growl vibrates in my throat. “Come on, Jare. He’s going to want to see you when he sobers up. If you go home now, he’s just going to pop up in your garden in the morning.”
He sighs and follows me.
JARETH
Roman laysLoch down gently in his bed. It’s impossible not to notice the tender way he keeps touching him, brushing his hair back and stroking his fingertips over Loch’s forehead, his cheekbones, his jaw, like he can’t stop himself, like he doesn’t even realize he’s doing it.
Roman looks over his shoulder at me with concern in his eyes. “Are you okay seeing me feed him? You can take a shower if you don’t want to be here for it.”
I’m sure he’s worried that seeing Loch feed will trigger my trauma, or maybe he just doesn’t want me to see how intimate it will be, since they’re?—
No. I can’t bring myself to even think the word.
I don’t need to torture myself with any of this. He’s wrong; when Loch wakes up, I’ll be the last thing on his mind. I should just go home and leave them to their happily ever after. I can hardly breathe though even thinking about it. I want to scream and cry and fucking break something. I want to tell Roman to forget I ever existed and to just let me grow old in my forest all alone. But for some goddamn reason, I shake my head instead and make my way over to take a seat on the foot of the bed.
Roman watches me silently for several long seconds before he turns his attention back to Loch.
“I can’t believe you both came to find me. You’re both so sexy and pretty and nice,” Loch rambles, and I can tell Roman is trying not to laugh.
“You’re welcome,” he says patiently, tugging the collar of his shirt to the side and tilting his head to give Loch access to his jugular. “I want you to have a little drink, so you’ll start to feel better, and then you’re going to get some rest.”
Lochlan barely hesitates, his fangs elongating and sharpening almost instantly and his face twisting into something predatory and terrifying, but somehow beautiful at the same time. He sinks his teeth into Roman’s throat, and Roman gasps, his eyelids fluttering and his expression melting into one of pure bliss. I was right, it is intimate. More than that, it’s sensual.
I must be some kind of masochist, because even though my heart feels completely fucking shattered, it beats faster. Roman pulls Loch onto his lap, sliding his hands down to cup Loch’s ass, both of them letting out soft moans as he feeds. My cock swells and my breathing speeds up to match my thundering heart rate. There must be something truly wrong with me that this is turning me on even though I know I’m losing them both.
