Vein of Love (Blackest Gold Book 1) (30 page)

“It’s okay. It’s okay, Molly,” Tensley said, emitting an influx of biochemicals to heal her worst lacerations immediately and prevent further blood loss. He kissed her body all over, shushing her with gentle whispers. 

“I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe,” she cried, her hand fumbling across his tensed stomach as he continued healing her. “Where is he, Tensley? Where is he?”

He stroked her hair. “He’s dead, he can’t hurt you anymore, okay?”

That didn’t seem to help her. She gasped. “I can’t breathe!”

“Yes, you can. You’re all right.” Guiding her palm to stay firmly on his chest, he rubbed over her dainty hand, trying to soothe her. “Breathe, Molly, follow me.”

Beginning a slow, steady breath, she copied.

“That’s good, there you go.” He caressed her bare back, pressing their bodies together after he’d checked to ensure she wasn’t wounded anywhere else.

Their breathing synced, and he hadn’t ever felt that close to someone before in his life. It terrified him.

Tensley pulled off his shirt and began to wrap it around Molly. He fixed the shirt around her exposed body. “Did—” he swallowed thickly and tried to make sure his voice was even—“did he do anything to you?”

Molly shook her head weakly.

He took a deep breath, preparing to control his anger. “What happened?”

Molly wiped her tears away, smearing the dots of blood on her face. “He took me; I tried to fight back, but I couldn’t control my strength. And then I woke up, and he was trying to…” Her eyes welled again. “He tied me up with—” She cradled her left wrist awkwardly below her breasts, face pained.

His fists curled. “
He
broke your wrist.”

“I
did. To get out of the cuffs.”

He stared back at her face crumpling and before she could let the tears spill, he gently took her wrist and kissed it. “I’ll heal it, don’t worry, I got you.”

He breathed in heavily and stroked the wrist, leaning over and dropping soft kisses onto the raw skin. He felt fresh skin begin to form, the bones mend back into place, and didn’t move until they were fully healed as well.

“There. It’s all over now,” he whispered, tucking her snarled hair behind an ear.

She took a lengthy breath. “I want to see him.”

Tensley’s tender strokes stalled, and he stared at her. “Are you sure?” He couldn’t understand why she would want to see him. Closure?

She blinked hard. “Yes.”

He nodded and helped her stand, and she clung to his side as they walked back into Abaddon’s bedroom.

Molly’s gaze lingered on the dead body in front of them, her blessed eyes holding a fierce, animalistic fire. She kicked at Abaddon’s side hard and Tensley stared at her disgruntled expression. Her eyes held a fierce fire. When she glanced up at Tensley her cheeks were rosy with exhaustion, and she felt along her bloodied lip with the tip of her tongue.

He so badly wanted to fix that lip.

“Tensley?”

He returned the look. “What?”

“Take me home.”

He wrapped his arm underneath Molly’s legs and lifted her up, cradling her as he marched out of Abaddon’s hellish manor.

“You came back,” she muttered into his neck. “You didn’t leave me.”

He wanted to shoot down any hopes for them. He wanted to tell her he was still a monster. But––he didn’t have the heart to say anything. Instead, he walked in silence, listening to her breathing, her own heartbeat loud.

He’d tell her so later, even though he’d hate himself after.

He’d be the demon in a little while.

Now, he was her fiancé.

TENSLEY SNARLED AS
Illya dabbed more herbs onto the cuts he’d gotten in Abaddon’s manor. His fingers gripped the unstable counter in his kitchen.

Damn holy herbs.
Damn familiars throwing me into glass tables.

He was restless knowing that Molly was in the room down the hallway.

“Just hurry up,” he groaned.

“Patience,” Illya muttered. “You’ll heal faster with these.”

“My patience is about to kick your ass.” He tensed as the herbs singed his skin, hissing through his teeth.

“Since when was patience able to do that?”

Tensley growled in his throat. When Illya was done, he stood up, twisting his head to see the bandages spread over his back.
Not bad.

“You know we’ve just pissed them off even more, right?” Illya said, washing his hands in the kitchen sink.

Tensley gave him a hard look. “You might want to be more specific. I piss a lot of bastards off,” Tensley grumbled.

“The Hunters of Orion.”

“They should learn their place,” he spat. He grabbed a clean white T-shirt and pulled it over his head.

“They’re going to put her on their blacklist,” Illya said, turning off the water. “I’ve heard rumors about it underground.”

Tensley yanked the shirt over his stomach. “Why just her? I did just as much damage.”

“Probably because she’s easily disposable—she broke their sacred oath.”

Tensley ground his teeth together. He’d done just as much as Molly but now she was wanted.

“I’m gonna go check on her,” he huffed, trying to replace his worry with annoyance.

He walked down the hallway, taking deep breaths.
Be cool.

The door was slightly ajar as he approached and he found Molly newly changed into his clothes: an oversized T-shirt and baggy grey sweatpants that dwarfed her. She stood by the window, watching the outside world quietly.

She turned at his not-so-quiet footsteps. “Tensley, um, hi…”

He stuffed his hands into his pockets and leaned, trying to appear aloof and casual, distant. “I wanted to check on you. You shouldn’t be up and moving yet.” He nodded at her outfit. “See you found
my
clothes…”

She huffed. “Well, I didn’t feel very comfortable in your bloodied dress shirt and lacy white underwear.” Molly shivered, probably remembering Abaddon’s disturbing choice of lingerie.

“Okay, well you’re clean now, so lay back down,” Tensley ordered, snatching a few pillows from the bay window and propping them behind her head. “You might feel all right now because your body’s still in shock, but tomorrow will be an entirely different ballgame—a
painful
one.” She sighed loudly but obliged, twisting her body into the covers.

He eyed the bed for a second, and then decided it’d be best to keep boundaries that night. He looked at a chair next to the bed and marched toward it. He relaxed against its leather upholstery, but he wasn’t relaxed.

His heart burned, ate him alive, and all because of that damned gorgeous girl in the bed before him. She rested on her side, eying him softly. He ran a scarred finger across his bottom lip. “You should probably sleep.” 

She didn’t respond for a good few minutes. When she did, her voice was hoarse and thick. “The girl…the girl you were with at the Plaza, did you—?”

He froze. “
No
. I left immediately after you ran away.” He glared at the floor.

She audibly swallowed. “Oh.”

He shifted in the chair as she continued staring. “
Sleep
.” 

Again, silence consumed the dark room. He leaned closer, eyeing the large ring on her finger.

“Tensley?” His eyes left her hand and focused on her shaking lips. “You were never the monster. I realized after Abaddon took me that you’re
not
like him at all. Demons aren’t all the same. You were never the monster, Tensley,” she said, her voice going quiet. “I am.”

His chest grew lead-heavy. “No you’re not. You’re—”

“I saw her,” Molly whispered, interrupting him.

Tensley narrowed his eyes. “Who?”

“Lex. The hunters had her.”

“
What?
”

“I got her out, but then Cree came and I told her to run… You haven’t seen her?”

He pinched his brow.
Fuck.
“No, I haven’t.”

“I’m sure she’s fine. She’s a tough girl.”

He nodded; he’d have to look into that shortly—but for the time being, he only craved time with Molly.

Approval… It was something he had craved from his father, from his family, colleagues, even Evelyn, and he got it from Molly. Her hand grasped his and she pressed their linked hands under her cheek. Her eyes closed.

He forced himself not to pull back. As much as her tender affection terrified him, he wanted to be open to his emotions—but he couldn’t, too risky. His fingers fanned through her blonde curls and she curled into his touch.

He would stay there until she woke up, however long that took.

Damn.

I’m fucked.

WHEN MOLLY WOKE
,
she heard birds singing. With sleep in her eyes, she rubbed them and yawned. Tensley’s spare room was bright, streams of light seeping through the flapping curtains. The sore bones in her body rubbed together painfully as she shifted and cringed, screwing her eyes shut. 

Ugh, it hurts
.

Her head. Her ribs. Her chest.

She lifted the covers to look down at her legs, but her arms ached and she gave up with a heavy sigh. Tensley’s healing had addressed her surface wounds, but it would take weeks to feel normal again.

“You slept most of the night.” Her eyes swung to see Tensley still sitting comfortably in the faded leather armchair. His face was hard to read.

“Is everyone okay?”

He wrinkled his brow. “They were fine last night; nothing’s changed. You, on the other hand, are probably going to be sore for a few days.”

“Oh.” Molly didn’t know what else to say. She searched for something interesting, something thought-provoking, and came up short.

She sat covered in blankets and surrounded by massive pillows. None of that stuff had been there before; it was as if he’d bought the entirety of Bed Bath & Beyond to comfort her with. Tensley stared, making her uneasy. She went to sit up and groaned.

He stood up. “Don’t move. You’ll bruise yourself even more.” He examined her through the blankets as if he had X-ray vision. “If that’s possible.”

“Are September and Illya still here?”

He waved a hand. “Illya is, somewhere. September was here but she left.”

“Tensley,” she said, shifting her torso. The pain shot up her legs, and she let out a whimper.

“God damn it, I told you not to move.” Tensley pressed his hands to her shoulders, sending heat swirling in the depths of her stomach, and put another pillow behind her so she was propped up. Molly scrunched up her nose and bit her bottom lip, only to remember the cut on it.

Ow. Still very tender. 

“Why does everything have to hurt?” she said in a weird half-cry, half-laugh.

“I can try and help you heal faster. Muscle injuries and bruises are a little more difficult than surface wounds, but with the right amount of…closeness…it might work.” His voice was deep and husky.

When she peeked up at him, his chin was raised, eyes hooded and intense.

A faint blush caressed her cheeks. She’d love to be close to him.

Molly nodded and he took her mangled hand in his strong, large one. He caressed and kissed each knuckle, holding his lips there or dragging his tongue across the bluish bruises. To her surprise, after a few minutes the color had returned to normal and the pain subsided.

“It worked,” she marveled, examining the flawless skin. 

“Don’t sound so surprised, ciccia. You can tell me how talented I am,” he boasted, smiling lazily as he pulled the covers back. She didn’t try to fight against her own smile.

“Why do you keep calling me ‘ciccia’? What does it mean?”

Slowly, his eyes aligned with hers, and they were the softest she had ever seen them. No barrier, no annoyance—instead, tenderness that gripped her heart. “Sweetie.”

“
Sweetie
?” She gawked at him. “You’ve been calling me
sweetie
this whole time?”

“At first, as a snide remark, but now…” He gave her a steady, warm look that completed the sentence as he continued pulling the blanket off.

Tensley pushed the fabric of the huge T-shirt up to her chest and frowned at her mottled skin. “He bruised you badly.”

Molly held her breath, clenching a handful of covers. She grew uncomfortable as his eyes wandered over her exposed skin; she wanted him on her. “Yeah.”

“That bastard,” he said, glaring, the anger evident in his top lip.

“I gave him some bruises too,” she said, softly but urgently. His eyes flickered up to hers, an amused grin spreading across his plump lips.  

“That’s my girl.”

Her brows lifted. 
His girl?

He leaned over, placing his knees in between her legs, and tenderly pressed his lips to a few bruises on her abdomen. 

Oh god, oh god.

Her body shook, heating up quickly. Moving his way up, he kissed each discolored spot and her stomach flexed. Her toes curled. She was enthralled, captured by his mouth, by his gentle fingertips caressing her scorched flesh. His lips nibbled at her damaged stomach and she could feel her ribs begin to heal. The herbs didn’t compare to this type of healing—it was fast, strong, and overwhelming.

His mouth traced its way up to her chest and kissed the tops of her breasts. Once he reached her neck, she couldn’t feel her toes.

He eyed her mouth. She could almost feel her cut expanding and her lips craving his—but he’d said no kissing on the lips. Her chest tightened at the loss of affection from him.

Tensley’s eyes caught Molly’s. She hadn’t noticed how crazy his breathing was. His lips were pursed and full and swollen.

“It will heal,” she concluded, out of breath. Their noses skimmed each other’s.

Tensley looked between her hungry lips and her eyes. Leisurely, he lowered his head, eyes flickering back and forth. 

“I want to be the person who takes away the pain.” He breathed out. When his lips grazed hers, they were as soft as velvet.

Yes, please, yes.

Her heart stilled—and then all at once, thumped thunderously against her ribs. At first, his mouth only brushed against the cut. Her lower abdomen tingled at the touch. He stopped, slightly lifting his head, but not moving the rest of his body away. Again, his lips met hers and this time, she kissed back ever so gently.

He drew in her bottom lip and sucked, engulfing her in another overwhelming, breathtaking kiss. She wrapped her trembling arms around him, fingers combing through his hair. His chiseled stomach muscles pressed against hers, and he made a little noise in his throat, a hungry one, as she nibbled on his bottom lip. His hardness touched her thigh and she gasped as his lips reclaimed hers.

A knock came at the door. Molly paused for a second, but Tensley didn’t stop.

Another knock, more urgent.

“We’re busy!” he hollered before pressing a wicked kiss on her collarbone that left her moaning. Tensley sat up and leaned over to kiss her open mouth.

The door opened.

“Sorry to interrupt such an intimate moment,” a dark voice said.

Tensley froze, his whole body stiffening. His eyes bored into Molly’s, and he tried to catch his breath, to regain his composure.

“Close your eyes,” he whispered.

“Tensley—”

“
Close them.
”