Blood Stained Tranquility (18 page)

“Mavrak . . . tell me what’s wrong.”

His hands tightened around the covers. “It . . . it hurts.”

Eve swallowed, trying to breathe past the huge lump that shot into her throat. “Oh, babe. What hurts?”

He rubbed his face against her pelvic bone, sniffing her skin. “Want you so badly, my female.”

She gasped as a rush of wetness shot out of her. Zeniel groaned, his tongue flicking out and licking her mound. Eve couldn’t stop the way her legs widened and her hips came off the bed, trying to bring him closer.

Zen clenched his teeth, a pained sound hissing through. “Need you so bad. I can’t . . . too much noise . . . their sins . . .”

She stopped moving, understanding dawning. He was too sensitive and they were barely three hundred feet away from at least a thousand beings. She may not have known her new friends all that long, but there was no way they weren’t guilty of at least five or six different things.

Cyake was downstairs, and she’d heard the tales.

Fuck!
She
was guilty of a crime.

“You want to punish me?” she asked on a gasp, eyes wide and locked on the back of his head.

Zen’s head shot up, his red irises glowing inside his black eyes. “No! Never you. You’re not guilty . . . you’re my mate.”

Eve wanted to ask how that could be, but pressed her lips together and stayed shut. There was something churning in her, something demanding the war demon between her thighs. It was telling her that she could control him, that by
right
,
she owned him.

And it had very little to do with the
R’mannev,
although that factored in as well.

“How about we leave? We can go somewhere private. Where it’s just you and me.” Although she had no clue what corner of the Universe they could go to where there would be no other beings around. She reached down and placed her hand on his cheek, smoothing her thumb across his cheekbone. “Does that sound good? Just you and me, and then you can have me.”

His eyes squeezed shut. The shiver that went through him curved his back like a big, great cat.

He let go of the covers, reaching up and running his thumb across her upper lip. “Fuck. Yes.
Please
.”

She held back the urge to bite down on the digit. Closing her eyes, she willed a pair of sweats and a T-shirt on. Zen gave a little, angry noise, clearly displeased with the fact that she’d just covered herself up.

“Let’s go,” she said softly. “Let’s get somewhere private, cool?”

He nodded just as the door to his room opened. Instantly, an insane look took over his face, his eyes widening to a point that frightened her.

“Eve, are you okay? I felt your energy levels spiking, just wanted to make sure—Oh, fuck . . . Zen, you’re here. Didn’t feel you. Sorry guys. Didn’t mean t—”

Zeniel jumped off the bed, turning to face Vedlyl. “
You.
”

“Zen!” Eve cried, following after him.

A blast of power slammed out of Zeniel, and the answering wave that shot out of her nearly sent her flying off her feet.

What the fuck is going on?

Vedlyl fell against the wall, his eyes narrowed. “Zen, control it. Let me out of here. I’m too juiced. I haven’t been able to feed myself, yet.”

Feed himself? What the hell was he talking about? Not that it mattered. From her spot behind Zeniel, Eve could see the red and black glow coming from his eyes.

She grabbed onto his shoulders, pulling him close to her. “Listen to me. Please. Stop.”

“You have no idea what he’s done. He deserves to die more than most.”

Vedlyl? The kind, charming God of Medicine? He was
that
guilty of something?

There was no way she could believe it. Except, another dangerous growl made her look at Ved, and what she saw unhinged her jaw.

A black scar had appeared on the right side of his face, starting at his forehead and cutting across his eyebrow, his eye, and reaching down to his cheek. His irises turned red—a fractured, angry, distorted mess inside his now black eyes. He’d bared his teeth at Zen, jerking as he buried his fingers knuckle deep inside the wall.

What the . . .

“Evesse, move!” Zen tried to move her out of the way, his gentle hold completely at odds with the rage on his face.

The shadows leaked from his eyes. He was going to kill Ved. She had no idea what the god had done, or what the hell he’d just become, but she couldn’t let it happen. She couldn’t.

Stop him.
The sound whispered through her.

“Stop!” She screamed, giving into the internal command and issuing her own. A boom sounded out in the room, and she realized too late that most of her energy had gone with it

The bed broke, landing in a heap on the floor. The small waterfall in the corner shattered. Pieces of the ceiling trickled down to the ground.

Zen stumbled back, the surprised look on his face matching her own. His eyes switched back to blue-and-gray, and the relief that hit her was so staggering it made her dizzy.

“Eve!” he cried out, flashing in front of her and catching her.

Again with the damned weakness. It robbed her of everything, sending the world into a tailspin. She grabbed onto Zen’s shoulders, digging her nails in and hoping to break through his skin. She needed the smell of his blood. It would keep her there, energize her. She could be dead and she’d find a way back just to get at that shit.

A groan from Vedlyl’s direction caught her attention. He was still holding onto the wall, his body jacking up and down, his monstrous glare locked on Zeniel like he was itching for a fight.

No. He was. She could see it on every inch of him. He was
starving
for battle.

“What . . . what
are
you?” she asked. Not that she was able to wait around for an answer. The weakness smothered her, dragging her under as if she had no damn say in the matter. Which, apparently, she did not.

Chapter 13

“Forgive me Father, for I have sinned. I never meant for it to end up this way . . .”

“I needed the money. End result justifies the means, right? Or some shit like that. Whatever . . . now I’ll be able to get them kicks I need to impress the boys.”

“That little bitch. She doesn’t deserve a man like him. With her out of the way, he’ll be all mine . . .”

Who the hell had left a television on? And what kind of fucked-up channel had they tuned to? Eve lifted her head, groaning at the stampeding horses that ran gleefully across her forehead. She squinted an eye open. Saw nothing but bright light. Closed it. Decided to try it again—

Wait. Whatever was under her felt familiar. Staggeringly familiar.

“Evesse?”

Oh, that voice. It had the power to reach her in any state, and it did its job, all right. Her headache rushed away, going back to wherever it had come from. Evesse peeled back her lids, focusing on her male.

That’s when she noticed where they were, and the achingly familiar surroundings had her sitting straight up.

“Easy, there,” Zeniel said when she winced and clutched her forehead.

They were lying on her bed. Her
old
bed. From before.

Evesse dropped her hand and took a good look around. Nope. Her brain wasn’t playing tricks on her. Not with the visuals, at least. Although she couldn’t pinpoint any sound. No television. No radio. Some cars outside, sure, but nothing of what she’d been hearing before.

Zeniel’s palm covered her entire shoulder. “You okay?”

Evesse let him pull her back. When he settled her with her back to his chest, nestled under his shoulder, heat rushed through her. He smoothed her hair away from her face. Pressed his nose and lips to her jaw, inhaling. She almost jumped him right there. Damn it, the size of him made her want to mount him as if he was a bull and hang on for dear life.

She snuggled back into him, enjoying the rumble that vibrated his ribcage. “Why are we in my studio?”

Zeniel paused, inhaling deep. “It was the first place I thought to come . . . I come here sometimes. A lot, actually. Smells like you, and your memories are here. It helped.”

He didn’t finish. He didn’t have to. She knew.

He had been going there every time he’d missed her and needed to be close to her.

Eve flipped over in a flash, throwing one leg over his hip so she could burrow close. Zen hummed at that, those large hands circling her waist and dragging her all the way into him. She cupped his face, staring into gray and blue. She had no clue how she’d helped him get back in control. Nor did she really care right then. Only one thing was on her mind.

“I want you,” she mumbled right up against his lips. Nothing existed outside of her need to finally feel him inside her.

“I’m still juiced, as Vedlyl put it. Mavrak wants to come out right now, because of you and the sinners outside.”

Well, fuck.

She pulled back. “You’re saying I make it worse?”

Zeniel tightened his hold on her, not letting her get too far. “Yes . . . no. Damn it, I don’t know anymore.”

“He’s not as bad as you think.”

“Eve, you saw what almost happened back there with Ved.”

“But I spoke to Mavrak, he likes me.”

Zen smirked. “He’d have to be a fucking vegetable not to.”

She crossed her arms, fighting to keep the pout off her face. “That just makes me want to fuck you more.”

He gave her a playful slap on the ass. Which did nothing but make her jiggle up and down on his engorged dick. They both hissed, her hips pressing down, and his practically jumping off the bed. More jiggling.

“Damn it. I just need to get it together for a bit. Then I can—”

She grabbed onto his shoulders, biting her lip when she felt all those muscles flexing. Gritting her teeth, she asked, “What do you need to do to get it together?”

Zen had closed his eyes and was leaning his head back on the headboard, looking for all the world like the sexiest, most fuckable thing she’d ever seen.

“I don’t know. Meditate, probably.
Not
come in my jeans.”

It took everything she had in her, but Eve managed to get off his lap. The promise of what she’d do to him once he got back in control made her strong. Well, maybe not strong, but when you needed something to hold onto, you grabbed onto whatever was available.

“I’ll go shower, give you some time.” She paused. Getting naked was probably a big no-no. She’d probably end up masturbating, calling out for him. And he’d tear down her door to get at her. She just knew it.

Oh, Lordy.

He sat up, his body curling into itself from the strain of remaining on the bed. “Eve,” he half-growled, half-choked, his eyes wide. “What the hell were you thinking just now?”

“Nothing,” she squeaked, backing away from the bed. “I’ll go shower now. Do your thing.”

The stare he gave her told her how close he was to launching himself off the bed and dragging her back to it.

Standing there, staring at him, Eve was nothing more than a five-foot-three-inch lump of hunger, both physical and emotional. If she didn’t move away from him fast, she was going to say fuck the consequences, forget his concerns, and forcefully take him right there.

“Eve!
What
are you thinking about? Gods damn . . . woman . . . killing me. Your scent—”

“I’m going!”

Spinning around, she rushed into her bathroom, almost skidding across the floor in her haste to get inside. Once in there, though, she was slapped with a truckload of weirdness that she had no idea how to handle.

The bathroom was still the same as she’d left it. White, tiled floor. White, cheaply painted walls. Cozy bathtub with brown tinted, glass doors. Her blue, gray and purple toothbrush waved hello from its spot inside the holder. Funny, out of all the thoughts going through her head right then, the one she zoomed in on most was how that toothbrush now reminded her of Ismini’s eyes.

God. They’d both been human the last time she’d been here. For her part, Eve had known nothing of gods or what was out there.