Everafter Series 2 - Nevermore (28 page)

“What do you need to make a cure from that?” Malcolm asked.

“Nothing the Consortium lab doesn’t have already,” I assured him, shifting my weight from one foot to the other. I still felt amped up from Darren’s blood, and I wanted to put that energy to good use.

Helen moved close to me, her fingertips trailing over my bruised face and then down across my breastbone. “Let Harold do this, Valentine,” she said. “You’re injured. It won’t be long before you crash.”

When our gazes locked, one of her brows quirked knowingly before she looked away. Had she realized how I had subdued Darren? Would she hold that knowledge against me?

“But—”

“She’s right, love.” Alexa spun me to face her. “You’ve done so much. You’ve saved us all. Let someone else take over now. Come and rest with me.”

Her gaze pleaded with mine, and I capitulated without a fight. After so many weeks of fear and anguish, after the insurmountable distance that had gaped between us, after nearly losing her a second time…she was right. We just needed to be together.

Heedless of our audience, I dipped my head and brushed my lips across hers. “All right,” I whispered against her mouth. “I’m all yours.”

But the taste of Darren’s blood still lingered in my throat, and a small, niggling part of me couldn’t help but doubt the truth of that claim.

Chapter Twenty-three

As though by some unspoken agreement, we were silent as we made our way toward our room. My thoughts spun in the aftermath of the day’s events, and Alexa’s grip on my hand was a welcome anchor. When we reached the door, she raised her free palm to the scanner and tugged me inside. Only then did she let go, taking a few steps back to survey me from head to foot.

“Let’s get you cleaned up.”

“You’ll come with me?” I asked, not wanting to be separated from her for even a moment.

“Of course.”

While I undressed, Alexa perfected the water temperature. “Ready when you are,” she called as I painfully peeled off my bra and stared at myself in the mirror, steam clouds billowing around my head. My eye was swollen half-shut, the skin beneath red and puffy, and a deep bruise was already forming above my breasts.

“Oh, baby,” she said as I stepped into the shower. Her fingertips trailed tenderly along my chest. “That seems painful.”

“It’s not as bad as it looks.”

She smoothed her hand across the back of my neck, urging me closer. “That, or you’re still too keyed up to really feel it.” Her kiss was lingering. “Good thing I have exactly what you need to heal.”

I pulled back, frowning. She couldn’t be suggesting that I drink from her now, when only an hour ago she had almost died. “Baby, no, I—”

“I’m fine,” she cut in. “Better than fine. I feel great. So does the panther. It was such a relief to make the change.”

“Your
heart
stopped,” I said, regretting the harshness of my words even as they left my mouth. Looking down at the floor, I swallowed hard, back in those terrifying moments when I had believed her to be gone. “I’m sorry, I just—”

She gripped my chin and raised my head until I had to meet her eyes. “I know, Val. I know how scared you were. But I wish you could feel what it’s like, to change back.” She smiled. “The best way I can describe it is like…like a whole-body reset. Like waking up from a dream fully rested.”

She poured a dollop of shampoo into her palm. When I braced myself against the tiled walls, she began to massage it into my hair. “You’re not going to hurt me, love. You healed me. Now let me do the same for you.”

My heart constricted, and I very nearly confessed to drinking from Darren. I had
hurt her yet again. She just didn’t know it. But what else could I have done? Weaponless and weakening, I had resorted to the only defense I’d had left. If I hadn’t bitten him, he would have killed me, Alexa, and Sebastian, and he would have destroyed our best hope of creating a cure.

Oblivious to my inner turmoil, Alexa drew a bar of soap over my body. As she worked the lather over my skin, I began to feel the slow ebb of the blood high that had swept me along for much of the past hour. The pressure in my chest increased, and I focused on taking shallow breaths so as not to irritate the damaged tissue.

Alexa noticed right away. “The pain has gotten worse, hasn’t it?” When I nodded, she shut off the faucet and reached for a towel. “Step out, love.” She dried herself briskly and then focused on me, patting me down with gentle hands. I stood still, feeling the exhaustion creep over me, and surrendered to her loving touch.

Once we lay together under the bedcovers, I turned onto my side to face her, struggling not to wince as the movement aggravated my injuries. She lightly kissed the inflamed skin beneath my eye before trailing her lips down to brush over mine.

“Drink me,” she said against my mouth, her lips curling as my body tensed. “Don’t be afraid, Val. I want you to. I need to do this, to be this for you.”

I pulled back just enough to see the truth in her eyes. Alexa was my soul mate, and the events of the past few weeks hadn’t changed that. I loved her like no other, thirsted for her like no other. No one—not Clavier, not Darren,
no one
, could touch that.

I moved over her and braced myself on sore arms, then bent my head to her ear. “Thank you,” I whispered, before following the graceful line of her cheek down, down to where the large vein in her neck pulsed tantalizingly beneath my mouth. Never more than in that moment—the instant before my teeth pierced her willing flesh—did I
know
that she was mine and I was hers.

I slid into her with none of the violence that had attended my attack on Darren, and as the ambrosia of her blood touched my lips, she arched beneath me—not in pain, but in passion. Bright on my tongue, she flowed through me and the world regained its sharpness. The intoxicating scent of her, the sweetness of her skin beneath my lips, the rich tang of her life’s blood—all were magnified as my senses opened.

To taste her was to find myself.

My pain forgotten, I surged against her, groaning as I felt her wetness coat my thigh. Desire flamed down my spine, compelling me to draw more deeply from her vein.

“Oh God, Val.” Alexa’s hips rose and fell as she met my fervor with her own. “Please, touch me. Please, I need you, please…”

Her begging drove me wild. I skimmed my hand down along the curves of her torso, lingering in the dip between her abdomen and leg before entering her fully. I wanted her passion and took what I craved, feathering my tongue over her broken skin even as I curled my fingers deep inside her body. She cried out her assent, and I kept my movements strong and steady, driving her inexorably to the edge.

“With me,” she gasped, and I knew she was close. “With me, Val, please—”

I gloried in the sensation of her closing hard around me as the ecstasy took her, the white-hot rush of sensation sweeping over me just a few moments later. I raised my head as the pleasure coalesced and allowed the beauty of her release to push me to mine.

*

I woke from a dead sleep, blinking in the muted daylight that filtered through the window curtains. Tucked into the curve of my body, Alexa breathed deeply, her slumber undisturbed by whatever had awakened me. I smiled against the nape of her neck and tightened my arm around her, already sliding back into unconsciousness. I didn’t know what time it was and didn’t care; we both needed all the rest we could get.

And then I heard the buzzing. My phone. As smoothly as I could, I slid off the bed and grabbed it, checking the display. Karma. I darted into the bathroom in hopes of not waking Alexa.

“Hey,” I whispered.

“Val? Are you all right?”

“Yes, fine. Just trying to be quiet. Alexa’s sleeping.”

“I’m sorry to wake you,” she said. “But I thought you might want to know that Dr. Clavier has developed a successful treatment. He’s already administered it to the infected Weres in-house, including Constantine.”

Only when I exhaled in relief did I realize that the pain in my chest was a mild twinge. When I inspected my reflection, I was gratified to see no swelling at all; instead of turning into a prodigious shiner, the skin around my eye was tinted a muted yellow and green, as though the bruise was already a week old. Alexa’s blood truly was miraculous.

“That’s great news,” I said. “Is there some kind of plan in place for getting the word out to Weres across the city?”

“A press conference, I think. I’m not sure of the details, but I imagine Helen will want you to be there.”

“Maybe,” I said, still uncertain about the nature of my new relationship with Helen. Now that I was both blood prime
and the Missionary, I had a feeling she was going to try to manipulate me much more rigorously than she had been.

“How are you doing?” I asked, hearing the fatigue that weighed down her voice.

“I’m tired,” she said. “But now that we have a cure, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

“That’s good. That’s really good.”

“We all have you to thank,” she said.

“And I have you to thank,” I countered. “For helping me. For helping Alexa. Especially while she was sick.”

“I’m so glad she’s okay.” When the sound of knocking intruded on Karma’s end, I heard her get to her feet. “I have to go, Val. Talk to you soon.”

When I opened the bathroom door, I stood still for a moment, enjoying the sight of Alexa, now curled around one of the pillows, blinking adorably at me from across the room and looking for all the world like a sleepy cat.

“How do you do that?” I asked, sitting next to her so I could comb my fingers through her dark hair.

“Do what?” She abandoned the pillow and curled herself around me instead. When she rubbed her forehead against my thigh, I laughed.

“You really have contracted some feline mannerisms.”

“You like it,” she said, and kissed my knee.

“Mm.” I continued to stroke her, loving the feel of her breasts against my lower back, the comforting sound of her deep, even breaths. And then, it hit me: the nightmare was really over. Now we could be together again—not once every few weeks, but every single day. Healthy. Whole. The way we were supposed to be.

“What did Karma say?”

“She had good news.” I twisted to reach her shoulders, and she let out a deep sigh as I began to massage. “Clavier was successful in developing a treatment. They administered it to Constantine, and he seems to be fine.”

“Thank God,” she said, and even though her voice sounded more alert, she made no move to get up. I was glad. We needed this time—just the two of us, relaxing, free for the moment of any pressing demands.

After a while, she uncurled herself and pulled me down beside her. “What do you think will happen now?” she said. “Now that we have a cure, I mean. I can’t imagine things just going back to what passes for normal. Not with Brenner still out there.”

“Still gunning for the Consortium,” I added.

“Still gunning for
you
.” Alexa slid half on top of me. “We’re going to have to be careful.”

I looked up into her eyes, now dark in anger, and wished for the thousandth time that the Missionary hadn’t chosen me all those months ago. I had wanted us to have a good life together, a busy life made joyous by the fulfillment we found in each other and our work. Not a life in which we were continually beset on all sides by forces that wanted us separated or dead.

“Much as I hate to suggest it, maybe we should stay here for the time being.” Our apartment was vulnerable. Though apparently, so was the Consortium.

Alexa looked uncertain. “Maybe.” She rolled onto her side and I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. “God, I wish I knew who we could trust. I mean…I have total faith in Karma, but not in the information she receives from Malcolm. You know?”

“I know. I still can’t believe how long Helen managed to cover up that virus.”

We were silent for a while each lost in our own thoughts…until Alexa’s hands began to wander over my skin, tracing delicate patterns on my upper arm before shifting toward my breasts.

“How is your chest feeling today?” She brushed a kiss across the light bruise. “It looks much better. Your eye, too.”

“The pain is almost gone.” I shifted restlessly against the sheets as her lips skated lower.

“Almost gone. Hmm.” She raised her head, and my throat flared at the sensuous curve of her lips. “That’s not quite good enough for me, you know. I’m a perfectionist.”

“No,” I said, surrendering once again to her seduction. “You’re perfect.”

*

Later, while Alexa paid a visit to Constantine, I arranged to meet Olivia at a café two blocks from the hospital. She was already there when I arrived, cradling a cup of coffee as though it was the Hope Diamond. The smudges beneath her eyes were darker and I’d never seen her so pale. It was clear that she hadn’t slept in the day and a half since we’d last met. When she saw me, she threw her shoulders back and frowned, gathering the shreds of her energy around her like a ragged cloak.

“Val, what the hell is—”

I slid into the booth and grasped her hands. Her eyes went wide and her words petered out as she felt the vial I had concealed in my palm and was now pressing into hers.

“What’s this?”

“The only thing that will save Abby. She needs it as quickly as possible.” I shook my head when Olivia would have spoken again. “Listen to me. What you’re holding right now is an auto-injector, like the ones used for severe allergic reactions. All you have to do is remove the safety at the top and then press the tip firmly against Abby’s thigh. Hold it there for ten seconds.”

Olivia’s jaw clenched, and I could sense her inner struggle, the war between her personal and professional selves. “You’re sure this will work?”

“It worked for Alexa.”

Sudden tears blurred Olivia’s eyes. She stood quickly, taking the vial with her, and turned her back to me. “I don’t know what to say.”

I knew how difficult it was for her to take me at my word, to trust me blindly. I also knew that once Abby had recovered, Olivia wouldn’t rest until she had discovered the whole truth. The truth that would shatter her world.