Ties That Bind: The Bellum Sisters 3 (paranormal erotic romance) (30 page)

CHAPTER 38

Kearny's eyes popped open as he groaned. Someone was jabbing at his stomach with something hard and unforgiving.

He jerked to a sitting position with his fists pulled tight ready to fly. A woman with dark skin, darker than Rosa's, stepped back from him, her hands raised in a defensive pose.

“I'm Nanu, the healer. I'm just stitching you up.”

He smelled her before he saw her. Rosa came up from behind him. She looked raw like she'd hadn't slept in days and her eyes were puffy and red from crying.

“What's wrong baby?” His voice sounded too hoarse from not being used. That and his tongue felt brittle as dried wood. He needed blood. She surprised him. She knelt over him pressing a dozen kisses across his chapped lips and holding his head in her hands. “It's all right. I'm okay.” She made a half-sob, half-laughing noise and pulled away, her lips trembling in a smile.

“I thought you were going to die.”

His chest felt entirely too tight at her words. He didn't know what to say so he just pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her, his heart beating with an emotion he hadn't felt in a long time.

She stepped away after a minute. “Let Nanu stitch you up so we can get you out of here.”

He smiled at the order. “Yes, ma'am.”

Nanu stitched him up in no time and offered him pain meds that he refused. His stomach hurt but it wasn't anything he hadn't dealt with before. Once he got some blood in him he'd feel even better.

Rosa had to help him stand up. His legs wobbled like rubber bands and his upper body felt too heavy to be supported by his weak legs. He hated looking so frail in front of her; hated even more that he had to lean on her just to stay upright. She only smiled up at him and his worries eased just like that.

“I missed you.” They moved slowly out of the medical ward taking it one step at a time.

“I missed you too, bambino.”

They stopped at the foot of a staircase that looked so long the image of them spun in his head with a dizzy spell. But she only tightened her arm around his waist and helped him up the stairs one foot at a time. God, he loved her. He smiled at the thought and when she caught it and raised an eyebrow in question he merely shrugged. He didn't think she was ready to hear that yet. He'd tell her at the right time.

She helped him into a guest room furnished with two dressers, a huge arching window, tall ceilings, and an adjourning bathroom. The idea of a shower almost gave him enough energy to take one but after the journey up the stairs his muscles started to tremble from exertion. She pressed him against the bed and he fell on it with a groan. She instantly lifted his shirt to inspect his bandage.

“Are you okay? Did that hurt? Maybe I should get you that pain medicine.” She looked away in thought. “Or I could make you some. Maybe the healer has herbs or I can have that demon Draven port me back to my shop or—”

“Kiss me.” He enjoyed the surprise and pleasure that fleeted over her face.

“What?”

He would have laughed but his stomach felt raw and he didn't want to tear the stitches. “You heard me, Rosa.”

Her cheeks darkened with color and then she leaned down and placed her lips over his. Soft, smooth like silk or satin or some kind of fabric he didn't recognize. But no flimsy material could hold anything on her, not with the heat and pressure she added. Her scent teased him, soft and delicate. Fresh like a flower. Her tongue darted across his lips, wetting them, then pushed inside. He groaned. His body hardened at her womanly taste at the slippery glide of her much thinner, smaller tongue. His hand curled into her hair, pulling her closer but she broke away breathing in an unsteady way that made him grin.

“We can't...not until your wound is better.”

“That's a shame.” He meant it too.

She laughed a little. “Can I get you anything?”

His eyes fell to her neck. The animal in him wanted her to part her hair off her neck so he could see the pumping pulse there. His hands crushed the comforter in hard fists.

“Blood. I need blood.”

Her eyebrow flew up in that pretty way and another blush darkened her cheeks. Her hand fluttered to her throat. “Mine?”

His cock jerked in his pants at the huskiness in her voice. His turned equally low. “No, Tyrian will have some here.”
Get out before I take yours
. He wet his lips, his eyes closing as he tried to imagine what she'd taste like. That only made him harder, made his mouth drier though. “Please go.”

“You can have mine,” she said softly.

He tensed, the points of his fangs throbbing in time to his cock. She had no idea what she was asking, what it meant. He couldn't take her blood and not her body. No matter how much he wanted to feel her wet heat wrapped around his cock again, he couldn't do it. He needed to get strong again.

He looked her straight in the eyes. “That means a lot to me. I promise to take you up on that as soon as I can do sit-ups without breaking my stitches. But right now, if I take your neck...” his mind wandered off as he envisioned taking her inner thigh right next to her pussy. He almost started panting. “If I do then I'm going to fuck you. It's going to be hard and fast, and now is not the time, baby.”

Her chest rose and fell in fast waves but she slowly backed up then fled out the door. Shit. That hadn't gone well. As his mind tried to figure out if he'd ever see her again or if she'd just gone to get him some blood, he also thought about the demons that had attacked him.

They were good. Trained like fucking assassins, which made since. They'd had a purpose coming to Telal's headquarters: to kill Telal and everyone in their path. Kearnyn didn't wish to be in Telal's shoes right now. He couldn't begin to understand how he felt. He'd never really known his own five. Some died of illnesses before they were even twelve, and, well, those who were still alive turned their backs on him when they found out what he'd become. Like it was his fault. He ground his teeth but stopped as his fang almost cut his tongue.

Sometime later, a soft knock sounded at the door and Rosa came in with a plastic container filled with red. His tongue watered. She gave him a wobbly smile and handed the container to him. He tore it out of her hands and was chugging it in big gulps in the next second. He closed his eyes in pleasure. He hadn't realized just how thirsty he'd been. His taste buds opened up, absorbing the delicious taste. The blood fueled his body moistening his muscles and cells, powering him up. He finished the entire container and wanted more but he refrained from asking her to get some.

If he took too much he could make himself sick. He wouldn't vomit the blood up but he'd get tired and lethargic from overeating and it'd take him at least a day to adjust to it.

She took the empty container from him and set it aside. “Can I sleep with you?”

He almost laughed because there was no way she
wasn't
sleeping with him tonight. “Yeah, get over here.”

She pulled off her dress and he groaned. She wore nothing under it. Not a stitch on her beautiful body. Only all natural woman, just how he liked it. She didn't flush with embarrassment either and he smiled. Good to know she was adjusting to him, because he planned to see her body a lot more in the future.

She cuddled up next to him but didn't touch his stomach.

That night, he slept like a rock.

CHAPTER 39

After slow, passionate lovemaking with Lily, Telal grabbed a quick shower and dressed in some clothes provided by Tyrian. The clothes weren't his usual fair but they fit. Plus, he had to admit, wearing suits got bothersome. Not enough pockets and even the smallest of spills resulted in a dry cleaning bill. The money didn't bother him but it always felt like a hassle, one necessary to his job.

The forest green cargo pants, black tee, and boots worked out better than he thought. If he were fully equipped with his favorite weapons, his knives since he'd always favored them in hand-to-hand combat, he'd have enough pockets to put all his extra gear. Lily came up beside him with a satisfied expression that showed just how sated he'd made her. His chest swelled with a mixture of possessiveness and pride. He had the urge to grin at her and say, “Yeah, I did that, baby.” But he didn't. He wasn't going to make himself look like a fool even if he did feel that way.

“Ready?” she said.

Nodding, they went downstairs to a meeting he'd call with everyone. All the Bellum sisters were there along with their mates and even Kearnyn felt well enough to attend. Rosa sat next to him, their hands clasped together.

Telal's stomach felt jittery. He'd awoken early in the morning and had lay there with Lily wrapped in his arms as he'd thought…planned. He weighed the pros and cons of all the possible situations the best he could. He'd miss something, he knew. Last time he'd had no idea his brother was the king or his father dead. At least in some ways that knowledge might help him to succeed. He still teetered on the edge though. What he really wanted to do and what needed to be done were two different scenarios. And in this case, not just for him, but also for Lily and his people, he had to do the latter.

Lily tried to pull him down in the seat by her but he pulled away. He needed space from her right now. He stood in front of the group and crossed his arms.

“I'm going to overthrow Alrik from the throne.” His eyes caught Lily's expression and he frowned. She looked sad or disappointed. Isn't this what she'd wanted? Why she'd supported him?

“Share the details,” Tyrian said.

“Since we have no choice but to drop in announced we can't use stealth to our advantage. They're going to see us. I believe since Alrik has sent assassins after us he may even be expecting an attack.”

“I and the Warriors will back you,” Tyrian said. His mate gasped and squeezed his hand in a tight grip. Telal looked away from the emotional sight.

“So will my men.” Lyonis' mate didn't look scared but nodded slowly as if she was ready to take arms and go down there with him. He almost laughed. The Bellum family was so diverse yet similar it rattled his mind.

“We'll go late at night so most of the royalty will be asleep. I don't want innocents dying if we can avoid it. We'll storm the castle. But Alrik's mine.” His eyes met the understanding nods of the group. Seeing their acceptance actually helped him to resolve to do this, he realized. He felt better after getting their agreement, like he wasn't doing this alone.

“When do we start?” Lily's curious question, met with her soft beseeching gaze, made his chest pull tight.

“Just so we understand each other, you're not going. None of the women are.”

Anger darkened her face and she stood, her voice almost a yell. “What? You need us down there. Me especially and what about Rosa? She can help with any healing if it's necessary.”

Telal didn't voice the fact that whether Rosa wanted to go, even if he'd allow, should be her decision because he honestly didn't want to fight with her. He cared for her and whether or not he made it out of the rift as king, he wanted her to be safe in Tyrian's castle.

“You are not going. None of the women are. Rosa will stay here and help the injured after it's done.” He paused. “Besides, we can't take a legion of men with us. Only a small group.”

“Why?” Chloe said.

“Because I can only port in as many people as I can touch. It'd take hours to port in even half the Atal Warriors, and that will only exhaust my powers. I'll need them to go up against Alrik.”

Tyrian nodded. “He's right. Even with Henry, Draven, and Rayn helping to port people in. Sitting around while waiting for more help to arrive isn't going to help the surprise attack.”

“I'll make a detailed list of who's going, though if you don't want to you don't have to go. It's entirely up to you. I'll get the list out by the end of today. We'll attack four days from today.”

Lily's eyes widened. Had she realized that he'd planned the attack around her new moon? He did. He wanted to be here for this, to be with her for his final days. Hopefully by then his powers will be back in full force.

“That's all for now.” The room cleared out except for Lily who came at him with a pointed finger and hard steps.

“I'm going with you dammit. I haven't sat around this whole time planning to help you just to sit here twiddling my thumbs while you could get hurt.”

“It'd bother you if I got hurt?” he said softly. The notion gave him a peculiar feeling in his chest, something like happiness.

He thought she might explode from her reaction. “Bother me? My god I—”

She stopped and the silence that followed was deafening. It felt as though the floor just dropped out from under his feet and he was free-falling in the air with his arms and legs kicking nothing but air around him. Then he landed with a crush that jarred him back to reality.

“You love me?” His body felt strained and tense, torn between wanting to flee and squeeze the life out of her.

She crossed her arms and looked away, a bright blush covering her cheeks. “I do not.” Her stiff words brought a smile to his face and a joy in his heart that he'd never felt before.

“Don't lie to me, Lily.”

She gawked at him. “Don't use the imperial voice on me. We've had sex.”

“What does that have to do with it?” He hadn’t realized he liked her switches between mood and until now. She was just so...cute. God, now he was going to blush.

Her mouth opened and closed several times. “That means you can't order me to do anything.”

He couldn't help himself. He stepped forward, lowered his voice. “If I told you to take off your clothes for me you would.”

Her eyelids drooped but then shot right back open. “Nope. Nope. Don't turn this around like that. I'm going with you and you can't stop me.”

“I couldn't take it if you went with me.” He hadn't meant to say something so blatantly true but she'd broken down something inside him, and he didn't want to lie to her. She deserved better than that.

Her expression softened. He couldn't keep from touching her anymore so he threaded his fingers in her hair. Her eyes narrowed on his, bright and clear. “You love me.”

His hand fell from her hair, his lips dropping into a flat line. “No.” Those eyes, he swore, were trying to see inside him. He took a step back, ready to leave. He didn't need this foolishness from her, not now.

“Stop.” It wasn't the command but the plea in her voice that kept his feet from moving. She flattened her hands against his chest and he stretched out his neck to loosen the muscles before looking away. He couldn't look at her like this, pleading. It made him feel raw inside. Scratched with vicious nails from the inside out. It reminded him of being a child in the rift and his brother Alrik begging him to take him into the fields to play. He had the same plea, the same eagerness, and the same wide eyes. God, his heart felt crushed.

“You do, don't you?”

“This isn't about me,” he said after a minute.

She took a deep breath and it came out shaky. “Okay then. Let me tell you something.” He stiffened, but something strange happened, his heart started pounding. Not the pounding of arousal or fear but the hard slow steady thump of anticipation, building and building inside him until the beat of it resonated in his ears. He wanted to hear what she said.
Had
to hear it.

“Telal, I love you. I wasn't going to tell you yet but I don't think I have much more time.” Her voice faltered, thickened with sorrow. He barely managed to refrain from ordering her not to cry and pulling her into his arms. The only reason he managed not to grab her was because her words had rooted him in place like a statue. He was frozen, slowly trying to absorb her words. He just learned that it was one thing to assume Lily loved him and another to hear the words from her mouth.

“If you go and... don't come back. What am I supposed to do?” Her clear eyes wobbled then tears spilled down her cheeks. The sight of them crushed his heart in a brutal fist. He felt humbled. No one had ever loved him like that, said those words to him and meant it like she did. He felt so undeserving. Like a dirty old fool.

“Then you understand why you can't come with me, Lily.” He pulled her into his arms if only so he didn't have to see her tears anymore, which were really droplets meant to crush a man's soul.

They held each other for what felt like a long time. She was the first to pull away. He hesitated to let her go. Her face had dried of tears and he felt his shirt wet from where she'd laid her head. A part of him was actually proud, happy in fact, that he'd been able to help her stop from crying in some way.

He looked down at her and caught her smile; it curled from a grin into a full-blow smile that melted his heart. “You
do
love me.” Then she stood up on her toes, kissed him, and left the room with a certain bounce to her step.

Telal stood there, baffled, confused, and elated for some time. He swallowed over his dry throat and raised his hand to stop her, but he didn't know what to say. It might take him some time to work through all his emotions and everything that had just happened, but he did know one thing. He loved Lily Bellum.