“Aria.” The word, breathed so hopefully, held so much love in it that her deadened heart broke. It was different now, completely still, but it was his and always would be. “Aria.”
“I’m alive,” she whispered.
His two fingers on her palm twitched a little. Her eyelids fluttered open again to find him lying across from her. He was magnificent, beautiful, and heartbreakingly lost as his gaze searched her face. The world was brighter, he was brighter. The scars around his eyes were more clearly visible; everything was more clearly visible. For the first time she noticed that the beautiful blue band encircling his irises was actually filled with flecks of sapphire and azure that fascinated her.
“Aria?”
Those two fingers were featherlike against her cheek, just barely there, a whisper caress that made her crave more. He was hesitant to touch her though, and she didn’t blame him after the events that had just unfolded. The faintest touch had been too much. It had grated on her nerve endings to the point that it felt like hot coals were continuously being pressed against her skin. She’d been wearing a nightgown but at one point she knew she had ripped it off of herself, unable to take the thin material against her skin anymore. She still felt raw, but it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as it had been.
“I think I’m ok, I think I made it.”
He reverently searched her face, he seemed almost afraid to believe that what she was saying was true. He looked nearly as broken and beaten as she felt. Lines that she’d never noticed before were etched into his face, there were dark shadows under his eyes, and his hair was matted to his forehead. They both smelled, she realized dimly, and she almost laughed out loud at the realization. She’d been hideously smelly when he’d first claimed her as his blood slave, and she was just as bad now that he’d claimed her again. This time, forever.
“How do you feel?” he inquired.
“Like I died,” she answered honestly.
His fingers skimmed over her cheeks as he traced a line to her lips. Shock flickered through her as she felt a tingling, prickling sensation in response to his tender prodding at her canines. Amazement filled her when they lengthened and sharpened against his finger. Her gaze flickered to his wrist and the two red marks marring the inside of it.
She traced the bite mark as she frowned. “Did I do this?”
“You did.”
She didn’t know what to make of that, part of her wanted to cry and the other part was strangely titillated. She didn’t recall doing it, but she had a dim memory of something sweet and delicious filling her. She vaguely recalled something that had managed to break through the anguish for just a brief moment, and now she understood why. “Did I hurt you?”
“Nowhere near as much as I hurt you.”
“You didn’t do anything I didn’t ask for. We both wanted this.” She managed a wan smile. “And it worked.”
He still looked as if he wasn’t completely convinced. “It appears to have.” She seized hold of his hand, wincing as the motion made her abused muscles throb. “You’re still in pain,” he accused.
“I’m sore,” she admitted. “But it’s much better than it was.”
His hand spread out across her face as he cradled it. “Perhaps a bath….”
“Sounds incredible,” she agreed eagerly.
He moved gingerly from the bed, careful not to disturb her as he left the room. She listened as he moved around the attached bathroom, surprised by the intensity of the sounds, the acuteness with which she heard them. She’d been so determined to get it over with, to do it, that she hadn’t thought about what it would be like after. What the world would become to her newly deadened but yet enhanced body. It was as frightening as it was astonishing.
Water was turned on; she could almost feel the heat of it already blessedly encompassing her tender body. He was back beside her, his eyes troubled as he knelt at her side. “Can I?” he asked as he held his arms out to her.
Aria remained unmoving as she warily stared at his arms. She desperately longed to be in them, but the memory of the pain was still fresh in her mind. She gathered her courage as she managed a small nod. She braced herself as his arms gingerly slid underneath her. It was a little uncomfortable, but that was swiftly buried beneath the rush of pleasure that flooded her sensitized skin. Her toes curled as she pressed closer to him, mesmerized by the thrill that shot through her at the feel of his bare skin against hers. Skin, she was beginning to realize, that might always feel this electrified by his touch.
“It’s different,” she breathed. “It’s all so much more… intense.”
His brow furrowed, he stopped walking to study her. “Is it unpleasant?”
“No, just somewhat overwhelming. The world is clearer, it’s louder; my skin feels as if lightning bolts are zapping through it. It’s an amazing feeling but it’s, ah it’s…”
“It’s inhuman,” he supplied.
“Yes,” she whispered. “Is this what you feel like all the time?”
“I was born this way Aria, I’ve never known anything different. I’ll help you through it though; we will get you through this.”
“I’ve no doubt,” she replied with a small smile as she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned her head into the warm hollow of his throat.
“Can you stand?”
The question, asked days ago, would have offended her. Now she had to think about it. “I’m not sure,” she hated to admit.
He sat her on the edge of the tub. Steam rose up around her, warming her as it floated in the air. He knelt before her and reached around to test the heat of the water. His hands rested on her knees as he leaned closer to her. The feel of him enveloped her; it warmed her more than the heat of the bath on her back. He pushed the hair over her shoulders, his fingers lingered upon his marks on her skin. The bites left by his father and brother had faded rapidly during her transition, and were barely visible anymore. She didn’t think she’d even be able to see them anymore if she was still human.
His hands were gentle as he helped ease her into the tub. A moan of pleasure escaped as she was engulfed in the blessed heat of the water. “We stink,” she mumbled.
“We do,” he agreed as he grabbed a bar of soap and shampoo from the sink. “It’s been an endless three days.”
“Is that how long it was?”