Damian's Oracle by Lizzy Ford Page B

him - not just his blood - roared through her. He
kissed her gently, tasting her, savoring her. At his prodding, she
opened her mouth. His mouth was hot, his flavor as addictive as his
blood. He nipped at her lips, his tongue darting in and out of her
mouth. He pressed her back against the couch, and she yielded, her
hands touching his face, his soft hair, his neck. Touching him sent
warm energy racing through her blood. Maybe he had a harem of women
at his beck and call, but she couldn’t see herself with any other
man. Ever.
    “You believe me now?” he whispered against
her lips, pulling away.
    She sighed in response.
    “The offer’s always open,” he assured her.
“Now drink.”
    He placed his bloodied wrist to her mouth.
She closed her eyes, body on fire as she drank from him while
imagining what his mouth could do to the rest of her body. When she
was sated, she pushed his arm away. He had turned away again and
was chewing his knuckle.
    “Why do you do that?” she asked, embarrassed
when her voice came out husky. “Are you in pain?”
    “Not the kind you’d understand.”
    “What do you mean not the kind I’d
understand?” she persisted, standing. “I don’t want to hurt you,
Damian.”
    His eyes were closed. He gave a hoarse, husky
laugh at her words.
    “I mean, when you do that, I want to fuck
you, and if you don’t leave like, NOW, I’m gonna drag you into my
bed and - ”
    She ran before he finished, emotions roiling
and high off the kiss and his blood. Though she couldn’t see her
own fate, she began to suspect which direction it’d take her
in.
    “Any day now!” he shouted as he passed her
room to leave.
     
    * * *
    She stood in a dark, cold place, gazing at
the hunched form in the corner. She couldn’t tell if he was human
or beast. While afraid, she knew whatever he was, he needed
help. Her help.
    Darian stirred, pushing himself farther into
the corner. She approached and knelt a safe distance from him,
trying hard to see into the darkness of the corner. She couldn’t
make him out.
    “ What do you want from me?”she
whispered.
    “ Free me.”
    While his form was large enough to be a man
the size of Damian’s Guardians, his voice was terrified and
gravelly, as if he hadn’t ever spoken to anyone.
    “ Are you ok?” she asked, creeping
forward.
    He began to cry, the soul-deep weeping of a
man who’d lost all and spent his tormented life in a level of hell
she’d never be able to imagine. The sound made her gut twist and
her chest tighten. Tears formed in her eyes at the heartbreaking
sound of his pain. She moved closer and held out her hand. He
reached for her, but his scarred hand passed through hers, as if
all that remained of him was a ghost of the man he’d been. She made
out the shape of the bottom of a tattoo on his bicep, what looked
like a half-sun. The rest was shrouded in darkness.
    Darian wouldn’t leave her alone. The scene
played over and over in her thoughts, growing stronger until he was
as vivid during daylight as he had been at night. She rubbed her
temples then issued a challenging glare to the contents of the
pantry, furious once more she could eat none of the wonderful
things it held.
    “Gods. She does this a few times a day. She
can’t eat food, but she refuses to admit it to herself,” Han
explained to Pierre. “Since you’ll be her new – “
    “Babysitter,” she interjected.
    “Exactly. You’ll be holding her hair for her
in the bathroom several times a day.”
    “She cannot eat?” Pierre asked with a
frown.
    “No. She’s blood bound.”
    His look turned from disappointed to
approving.
    “Bien.”
    “I want food,” Sofia said with a sigh.
    Damian hadn’t returned the night before. She
wondered again whether or not he had a harem elsewhere. That
thought coupled with her nightmare made her even angrier at not
being able to eat.
    “Go eat,” Han grumbled.
    “No.”
    “Fine. Let him sleep. He had a rough night
anyway. I know you’re mad