Page 126 of Imprisoned with the Vampire King

"Can you feel my pain?" I realized I'd never asked.

"I can't feel the pain itself, but I can feel you hurting."

Fuck.

"Then this is hard on you too. I don't want it to be my call. You get to decide," I finally said.

He studied me for a long moment. "Alright. We'll stay two more hours, so we're not here as long tomorrow. Then, we're going home. I'll let the fae know."

"Thanks."

"Thank you." He leaned toward me, taking my chin in his hand and tipping my head back so he could kiss me lightly.

He was typing on his phone moments later.

I managed one more bite of my taco before I set it back down on the plate and handed it to him.

Instead of getting up right away, I gave it a few minutes for my stomach to settle before I went back to hell. Err, to work.

Dante had to carry me to the car again, by the time I was done.

I was no longer convinced that I'd be ready in the morning, even though we'd only stayed for the extra two hours Dante decided on.

He wrapped me in a blanket he'd pulled out of the back of the car—it hadn't been there before, so he'd definitely brought it for me.

He buckled my seatbelt for me before going around the car and taking his seat. His hand slid beneath my blanket to rest on my thigh through the drive. I scooted closer so he could touch me easier.

My entire body ached.

My eyelids were heavy as he helped me out of the car. When I told him I would walk, he carried all of my weight while my bare feet dragged on the ground. I wasn’t completely sure where my shoes had gone, but I either remembered or had imagined taking them off in the car.

I protested the possibility of a shower, so Dante led me right to our bed, pulling me down to the mattress with him. I was mostly asleep when he got me out of my overalls and bra. Somehow, he managed to get most of his clothes off, too.

He coaxed my wings out before I crashed with my face tucked against his neck, my body sprawled out over the top of my giant vampire's.

My body still hurt when I woke up the next morning.

When I wrestled my eyelids open and saw a few cracks of light leaking through the places the blackout curtains met, I realized it wasn't morning at all.

Shit.

Dante was working from his phone with one hand, stroking my back lightly with his other.

"We're supposed to be at the prison," I mumbled, trying to pull myself off the sweaty, warm male that I would've preferred to stay plastered to for the next century.

Dante held me pressed against his chest, instead of letting me go. "The prisoners are all secured, and there's no rush to get the magic taken down. We're exactly where we need to be right now."

I made a noise of protest.

He lifted his hand to my wings, and stroked lightly. Not in a way that was meant to turn me on, but in one that would relax me.

It worked.

I melted against him, my eyelids lowering again.

"You're hurting, Angel. We're not going anywhere."

"I can handle it," I mumbled.