Forever Touched (Touch of Vampire #5)

CHAPTER 17

17

ADALYN

I tried to walk on my own, but he wouldn’t let me.

The drive had only taken half an hour, but each mile had sucked more and more of my energy away. By the time we pulled up to a secluded house in the woods, I could barely keep my eyes open. I needed the comfort of my familiar, but I didn’t dare mention her. No one knew she existed but me, and it needed to stay that way.

As Everett scooped me into his arms and made for the house, I felt a presence in the darkness, right before a voice said, “Is she okay?”

“I don’t know,” Everett responded.

“Is she in shock?”

“Maybe. Probably.”

“What happened?”

“I’ll tell you later. I need to make sure she’s not injured first.”

Loch lapsed into silence, following closely in his brother’s wake. I tried to respond and tell him I was fine, but I was too tired. It was like something in my brain had short circuited, and I was now running on an old backup generator.

When we entered the house, I barely caught a glimpse of the interior before Everett whisked me up the stairs. There were only a few lights on, but I saw warm hardwoods and a massive wrought iron chandelier dangling from three stories above. He took me all the way up to the third floor, pausing only when Loch quietly called his name.

Turning to face his brother who’d followed us up the stairs, he said, “She’s safe with me, Loch. Father was right.”

Shock lit his brother’s face. Without another word, Everett turned into a bedroom. As he shouldered the door shut, we were immediately plunged into darkness. He easily maneuvered the room, though, his night vision similar to a cat’s. When he set me down on what felt like a bed, I finally spoke. “Can I have a light on, please?”

A lamp immediately switched on, confirming that there was no one in the room but us. My relief was instant. With a small sigh, I gathered my robe around me and started to curl up on the bed, already half asleep.

“I need to check you first,” Everett said.

“Can it wait until morning?” I mumbled, shutting my eyes.

“No. I need to know you’re okay. I can’t think straight until I do.”

My eyes fluttered back open and met his. Oh. He was seriously worried. Struggling into an upright position again, I dutifully perched on the bed’s edge and waited for his exam. He didn’t waste any time.

Crouching before me, he lifted a hand and brushed back my hair to reveal the damage Torres had caused. Based on how sticky my neck was, I assumed the puncture wounds from his bite were pretty bad. Everett touched my throat with such gentleness that I didn’t even flinch.

As he examined the weeping wound, his jaw hardened. “Do they always treat you like this?”

I blinked, wondering how honest I should be. Finally, I settled on admitting, “Not all of them. Torres is one of the rougher ones. Was .” I still couldn’t believe he was dead.

“Torres,” Everett bit out, trailing his hand up to my jaw. When his finger pressed on a particularly sore spot, I couldn’t hold back a small wince. “Did he do this too?”

I nodded .

His touch became featherlight, but sparks practically shot from his eyes. “I would kill him all over again if I could and make sure he suffered even more. Father won’t be pleased that one of his most trusted council members was involved in this.”

A swallow got stuck in my throat. Trying to play it cool, I casually asked, “Involved in what? Having sex with a blood whore? Because even the crown prince does that.”

He stilled. Uh oh. Maybe I’d pushed a bit too far.

As he lifted his eyes to mine, I struggled to keep calm. He couldn’t know how close I was to panicking right now. When he wouldn’t stop staring, I blurted, “What are you doing?”

His stare intensified. “Trying to read your thoughts.”

“Read my thoughts? ” Horrified, I adjusted the mask still covering my face out of habit. “No way. Fate might have thrown us together, but you are not reading my thoughts.”

“It doesn’t work that way. Now that you’ve started to accept the soulmate bond, our connection will only grow stronger. We won’t be able to hide our thoughts and feelings from each other.”

“Um, I didn’t accept the bond. Did you? ”

He shrugged. “I must have, or this wouldn’t be happening.”

“But we only learned about it this morning. When would we have—?”

Oh no. The intimate moment we’d shared in the rain.

I’d felt different afterward, like he’d ruined me for all other males. Like he’d claimed a piece of me. Not just a piece. All of me. And I’d liked it. Wanted it. And, dare I say it . . .

Accepted it.

I swore. Loudly .

Everett snorted. “My thoughts exactly.”

How was this possible? Fate must have a sick sense of humor. We didn’t even like each other. Well, we liked each other’s bodies. A lot . But a bond shouldn’t be based solely on sex. I would know.

“So, what now?” I asked, suddenly unsure of myself. It felt like my body had betrayed me somehow, forcing me to make a decision I hadn’t intended to make. This soulmate thing wasn’t going to work between us. There had to be a way to break it.

“I don’t know,” Everett replied, picking up my arm to examine the nasty cut I’d received during the fight. “But you need to drink my blood again. I can feel your pain, and it’s messing with my head.”

I pulled my arm free a bit too quickly. “It’s really not that bad. I’d rather heal naturally.”

He frowned, and I inwardly squirmed. “One drop of my blood will heal you in seconds. Why won’t you take it?”

“I just . . . I can’t, okay? I’m a . . . a vegan.” Spirits save me, that was pathetic.

Apparently, he thought so too. “Bull. You’re hiding something, and I want to know what it is.”

Sighing, I said, “Look, I’m extremely overwhelmed right now. Can I just clean up in the bathroom and go to bed, please? We can discuss this more in the morning.”

Or not.

I needed to leave at the crack of dawn and not a second later. I couldn’t risk Mistress’s wrath, and Pepper needed me. Without me there, she had no protection.

Everett stared at me far too intensely, but eventually, all he said was, “Fine, but this conversation isn’t over. I need to know what’s going on.”

“Why, because you’re the prince or because you’re my soulmate?” I snarkily replied.

“Both. ”

Frustrated, I threw my hands in the air, then winced as my battered body complained.

“That’s it.” Before I could protest, Everett scooped me up and strode to the adjoining bathroom. “If you won’t drink my blood, then you’re going to at least let me patch you up.”

I rolled my eyes but let him set me on the bathroom counter, watching as he pulled a first aid kit from a drawer. Still, I couldn’t help but mutter, “Whatever you say, bossy pants.”

Lifting an eyebrow, he turned on the faucet to wet a towel. “Did you just call me ‘bossy pants’?”

“If the shoe fits. Or pants.”

He wrung out the towel. “And what should I call you?”

“Huh?”

“Your name. I want to know your real name.” When I stiffened, he threw me a knowing look. “I know it isn’t Star.”

Out of habit, I reached up to touch my mask, then paused. He’d already seen the real me, so what was the point in pretending? I was still alive. Still in one piece. He hadn’t ripped the real me to shreds. He’d saved me more than once now. He’d come back for me, although I still couldn’t understand why.

There were still secrets between us, secrets that could get us both killed, but he’d seen me. He’d seen the real me, and he was still here. Still trying to help me. And that was enough to make me lower my guard. Not all the way, but I pulled off my mask and set it on the counter, then opened my mouth to say, “My name is Adalyn. Adalyn Elise Starr.”

A sudden emotion warmed my chest, an emotion that wasn’t mine.

Pleased. He was pleased .

“Adalyn,” he slowly said, testing the name out. The way it rolled off his tongue in a quiet rumble melted my insides. I stopped breathing as he reached up to touch my hair, running the sleek strands through his fingers. “It suits you.”

A shiver worked its way up my spine. A good one.

My gaze fell to his mouth, and I shivered again.

“That’s not a good idea.”

My eyes returned to his. “What?”

“Kissing me. It’ll lead to other things, and I don’t feel right doing that so soon after what you’ve been through.”

“ Kiss you? I wasn’t thinking about kissing you,” I quickly replied, frantically trying to shield my mind from him. It was one thing to peer inside someone else’s mind, but quite another to have them peer into yours . I was not okay with this. Not even a little.

“Maybe not,” he said, slipping his hand to the nape of my neck and raising the towel. As he gently wiped the blood from my throat, I held perfectly still so I wouldn’t do something stupid like kiss him. “But you want to kiss me. I can feel it.”

“So? I enjoy kissing you. Is that a crime?”

That insufferable mouth of his curved into a faint smirk. “Not at all. I enjoy kissing you too.”

Butterflies erupted in my stomach. We really needed to stop talking about kissing, because kissing was all I could think about now.

Desperate for a subject change, I blurted, “Do you still think I’m disgusting?”

He froze, and I immediately flogged myself for asking such a vulnerable question. What if he said yes? What if he hated that fate had chosen a witch to be his soulmate? A blood whore?

He was destined to become king of the entire vampire kingdom. He could have anyone he wanted. Did he secretly wish he’d never met me? If he hadn’t, our soulmate bond would still be dormant. He wouldn’t feel obligated to be with me.

The question left me feeling naked. I felt self conscious in a way I hadn’t felt in a long time. I wanted to take it back, but before I could, he quietly replied, “No, Adalyn. I don’t think you’re disgusting. I never should have said that.”

Tears of relief pricked my eyes. Quickly blinking them away, I said, “Well, I know why you did. You still blame witches for what happened to your brothers—and to the entire vampire kingdom, I suppose. I’m just a reminder of that.”

With a short sigh, he set down the towel and met my eyes. “You do remind me of what happened, but it’s not fair of me to put that burden on you. I put that burden on my brother’s mate once, and I almost lost him because of it. Even Loch knew that persecuting an entire race for what one witch did to him was wrong. But he and our younger brother Troy went along with my need for revenge, which led to the entire kingdom being cursed for a century and ultimately Troy’s death.

“I’m the one who should be blamed for that, not witches. They were just trying to protect their own the same way I was. Still, I’ve despised them all these years, unable to shake the rage I feel every time I remember how my brothers were tortured. Their innocence was stolen right under my very nose. They suffered because I failed in my responsibility to protect them, and I hate myself for that.”

Stunned that he’d opened himself up so completely to me, I struggled to respond. Loch had been right about him. He was still haunted by the past, carrying the weight of it like his personal cross to bear. He’d done some terrible things in the name of justice, but I could feel his confliction. His remorse .

He was no longer the monster he thought himself to be.

The realization took my breath away, and I impulsively leaned forward to kiss him. He tensed for a moment, then whispered my name like a prayer and kissed me back. In a matter of seconds, the kiss turned passionate, our tongues eagerly seeking each other out. Warmth unfurled in my belly, and I urged him closer by opening my legs. With a quiet groan, he stepped between them.

The second his hard erection brushed against my inner thigh, though, he pulled back with a hiss. “Adalyn, I can’t. I don’t want to hurt you.”

A protest sprang to my lips, my body aching for his attention. I could sense that he wanted this as much as I did, his desire making mine that much more intense. It would be so easy to reel him back in. One touch, one thought , and he wouldn’t be able to resist me.

But I suddenly hesitated, remembering how he’d respected my wishes yesterday in the rain. How he’d listened , sacrificing his own wants in favor of mine.

The tables were turned now. I had a chance to respect him in return, to honor his request despite how badly I wanted to tear off his clothes.

He didn’t want to hurt me, and that spoke volumes about who he was. It made me want to kiss him all over again, but instead, I nodded and quietly replied, “I understand.”

The abject relief on his face almost made me laugh.

Shaking my head, I waited for my lady bits to cool off before saying, “It’s for the best anyway. I’d probably fall asleep halfway through.”

A smirk tilted his mouth. “Not possible with me.”

“So cocky.”

“If the shoe fits.”

“Or pants,” I added, making the mistake of glancing at his groin. When I saw how hard he still was, my lady bits burst into flames once more.

Groaning, Everett stepped away so he could gently draw my legs together.

“You should, um,” I said, slightly out of breath. “You should finish patching me up now.”

“Yeah,” he replied, his voice strained.

Neither of us moved for a moment, as if afraid that we wouldn’t be able to control ourselves. Then we were both lunging for the first aid kit at the same time.

“Sorry.” I jerked my hands back as they made contact with his. “You . . . you do it.”

He didn’t comment, probably because he couldn’t. The air between us was still charged with electricity, and it was almost impossible not to react to it. Somehow, we managed to behave ourselves though, and he finished dressing my wounds in minutes.

When it was time for us to leave the bathroom, I was still slightly horny. He’d briefly entered an attached closet to replace his blood-soaked clothing with a pair of gray sweatpants and black t-shirt. Seeing him dressed so casually did funny things to my insides. Delicious things. I allowed my eyes to wander a bit, noticing the way his dick looked extra big in sweatpants.

Catching my stare, he rolled his eyes and muttered, “Okay, time for bed.”

Before I could hop off the counter, he scooped me up again and carried me to the bed. Still in nothing but a thin robe, I let him pull back the covers and tuck me in. The second my head touched the plush feather pillow, exhaustion finally caught up to me. My eyes slammed shut, and I started to drift off.

But as he left my side, I jerked my eyes back open and blurted, “Where are you going? ”

He paused. “To the chair in the corner. I don’t think I can sleep in a separate room from you tonight.”

That made two of us.

“Sleep here,” I said before I could think better of it, patting the mattress beside me. As uncertainty crossed his face, I quickly added, “It would make me feel better. Please?”

Nothing like guilt-tripping a guy into your bed, right? It felt strange wanting him beside me. I’d never actually slept with any of my clients before. They had me for an hour and that was it. But Everett didn’t feel like a client anymore, and I didn’t want to fall asleep in a strange house without him next to me.

When he continued to hesitate, I added with a smirk, “I’ll keep my hands to myself. And lips. And other things. Promise.”

He squeezed his eyes shut and groaned out, “You’re killing me, Adalyn.”

My stomach went crazy with butterflies again.

“I like when you say my name,” I openly confessed.

He slowly reopened his eyes. “It’s a beautiful name.”

At the intense way he looked at me, my toes curled. “Thanks. I’ve always liked it. Now, are you going to get into this bed, or do I have to make you?”

He huffed out a laugh. “No female has ever spoken to me the way you do.”

“Hmm. Probably because your scowl scares them into silence.”

He frowned. “What scowl?”

I pointed at him. “That one.”

He scoffed but didn’t argue. Suddenly losing the battle with sleep, I shut my eyes and sank into the mattress. Just as I was drifting off, I felt the mattress dip behind me. A moment later, Everett’s scent surrounded me. He still smelled of blood and violence, but also warmth and safety. When he reached out and tucked my body against his, I sighed in contentment.

This was the best thing I’d felt in years . Maybe ever.

Snuggling against him, I murmured, “Thank you.”

“For what?” he asked.

“For coming back.”

I was almost asleep when I felt him whisper against my hair, “Always.”