We’re blood bound,I wanted to say, but held back. In his eyes, my words wouldn’t make it so. Darius would need to remember that bond on his own, or it wouldn’t matter to him.
“That very well may be, but I’m also not…” His eyes darted toward the IV bag. “I’m not in the best physical condition right now. I’m not sure that I could restrain myself. If I hurt you, even inadvertently…”
His eyes were pained. The thought of hurting me had upset him.
Hope surged inside me. Since I’d last spoken with him in the basement of Inferno, he’d clearly regained some of his awareness. His humanity. The fact that he was even thinking about my safety rather than trying to talk me into freeing him was a good sign.
“Lean forward,” I said again, and he finally obeyed.
With new urgency, I worked at the locks and buckles and hinges at the back of the straightjacket until I’d gotten them all undone.
I pulled the jacked off, revealing his bare arms and chest, freeing him from the confines of this monstrous form of torture. It was as heavy as a bulletproof vest. I had no idea what it was made out of.
I tossed it to the ground. As long as I had a say in this, he’d never be forced into that thing again.
Darius kept his arms at his sides on the couch, slowly flexing his muscles. His pale skin began to regain some of its color. “That’s… better,” he sighed.
“We’re not done yet.” I reached up to unhook the IV, pressing my fingers against the skin of his neck. At my touch, he shivered, his thighs tightening around my legs.
Without the straightjacket, the IV was the last thing keeping him even remotely restrained. Once I disconnected it, the hawthorn would wear off quickly, and he’d regain his full strength.
If he decided to hurt me…
My hands trembled, but there was no going back now. He needed to know I believed in him. Trusted him. Ididtrust him.
Gently, slowly, I slid out the needle. A trickle of blood ran down to his collarbone.
And he was totally free.
“Brave move,” he whispered through a smile. “Or maybe reckless. Either way… Thank you, little brawler.”
“Darius!” I leaned forward and cupped his face, my heart ready to burst. “You remembered something!”
“I… did?”
“Little brawler! That’s what you call me.” I lowered my mouth to his, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. He hesitated only a moment before parting his lips, allowing me to deepen our kiss. Darius sighed into my mouth, a low moan rising from his chest.
I pulled back, searching his face. When our eyes met, something sparked in his. He was coming back to me. I could feel it.
“That’s right,” I urged, willing that spark to ignite into a flame. A fire. “You know me, Darius Beaumont. In every way that counts. Every way that means something, youknowme.”
“I…” Slowly, he lifted a hand to my face, tracing my brow bone with his fingertips. His touch was soft and gentle, a caress, a whisper.
His touch was all Darius.
I climbed into his lap, straddling him, sliding my hands into his silky dark hair. It’d gotten longer since we’d first met, almost to his shoulders now, and I tangled my fingers into it, drawing him closer.
His eyes darkened with a desire that bordered on pure, primal hunger, but he was no longer cold. No longer distant.
“I miss you,” I said, emotion breaking my voice. It had only been days since we’d held each other in that cabin in the Shadowrealm, but even that had been too long, especially after nearly losing him.
“I’m right here, love.” His gaze swept down my face, lowering to the pulse point on my neck. Beneath me, his cock stiffened under the thin sweat pants, already teasing me, making me wet.
I clenched my thighs to stave off the ache, and another low moan escaped his lips, his eyes fluttering closed.
“I’m yours,” I whispered, rocking forward against his hard length. “Always.”
Darius brought his mouth to my neck, his hands sliding up the back of my shirt. His touch set me on fire, every movement agonizingly slow, devastatingly perfect.
