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A whirl of energy yanked me back into solid form, and with it, the fire returned. My body stung like a million wasps tearing through my skin. Positioned differently than before, the muscles in my back were stiff as a board. The only relief I had was that I had been placed on something soft. It felt almost like clouds. I lay there for what felt like hours, unable to move, forced to feel. Time trudged slowly, making sure I couldn’t escape the fire again.

Reality paled in comparison to my dream, or at least I had thought it was one. Yet deep down, I knew better. That was something so vivid and so real. And Eliza’s face. My actual birth mother, that couldn’t have been a hallucination. I could have never known what she looked like on my own. Whatever had guided me through that past life fueled a fire I didn’t even know I could possess.

If that truly had been Victor, then he had no idea what was coming for him.

My thoughts spiraled through violent scenarios as the last of the blaze dulled. At first I couldn’t pin the release of my muscle, but as the sensation spread throughout my veins, I could feel it. It was a chilled rush like water running through a stream. It doused every burning limb until it was fully out. Feeling crept back in slowly as each small flame extinguished.

After what felt like hours, my fingers twitched. It was a slow process as each one drummed against the cotton beneath me. Minutes passed as another set of sensations overwhelmed me. All at once, sound seeped in. It was the first hum inside my ear, until it became Valentina’s breath whispering to me.

Her scent was what finally drew my eyes open. That sweet burnt sugar flooded my senses with relief. Turning my head I found her. Valentina’s bright smile stretched across her fangs, as she leaned over me whispering, “Happy birthday.”

TAINTED| CHAPTER 13

Birthday

Cushions cradled the back of my head, almost lovingly, as my eyes adjusted to the world with new renovations. The crimson silk curtains folded around Valentina in waves as they hung from the beam of oak. The fabric framed her decadently. It was like a ribbon of blood wrapping around her, tempting me towards her. Like she would be a delicious reward for all the suffering I had just endured.

Val had always been attractive to me, but I was able to push it down because of how horrifying she had been. But maybe it was the opposite. She wasn’t just a predator; she excited every fiber in me. I have just been unwilling to see it. The way she could possibly undo me with just a single touch would be marvelous, dangerous even. My fragile mind before couldn’t handle her in concept, but the version of me lying in this bed felt it. I could feel every part of her possible potential.

There was nothing else in the room in that moment as our gazes caught. Her brown pools liquefied with relief as sleep finally left my vision renewed with purpose, with her. There was a brightness in her at my return to the world that I didn’t think was possible. Valentina’s soul was there bare to me in that gaze. It's for me to take. Like she was just mine alone.

If I had to endure fire, to see that stare again, I would do it. Because it was forgotten, all that endurance of surviving couldn’t compete with where she had touched me. Valentina rested a hand on my cheek, her thumb tracing the edge of my jaw in slow, steady strokes. They were so warm, sending a heated jolt throughout my body. Even though it was sweet, it sent a wave of desire through me so deep it was unrecognizable. I had to close my eyes just for a second to savor the indecency.

“Did you hear me?” She whispered against the side of my ear, her breath gliding over my face effortlessly. It traveled through the inside of my nose like a melody to the soul. The invisible thread that had faded before was now stronger between us. There was flexibility about it, but it was iron that ran directly from my heart to hers.

When I finally opened my eyes again, her eyes were the first thing I searched for. This time it wasn’t those chocolate browns I saw first. For the first time, I saw her with absolute clarity. It was as if my eyes caught her spirit in natural light. It shimmered around her like sunlight. Her soul seemed to glow beneath her caramel skin, warm like honey—pure, unmistakably Valentina. It was light, it was pure, and it was Valentina. Nothing would ever compare to her again.

“Happy birthday,” She breathed again, just like before. Valentina’s thumb brushed my jaw once more, feathering toward my bottom lip. A wave of pleasure registered through my spine as I bit that bottom lip, looking down at her. Even her touch felt different. Every brush of her finger left warmth in its wake. Gods, if her perfume didn’t drive me insane before, it would now. Her scent filled my lungs, sweet and heady, almost divine.

Her elbow pressed into the mattress, shifting weight, pulling me closer. It was innocent in nature, but it was the wrong thing she could do. Val’s face was so close to mine now, her white curls draping over both of us in scented curtains. I could see the worry pressed in her brows as she took me in. She was probably overthinking every scenario I could be in, I could feel it in her thoughts, her body even. There was nothing wrong with me, far from it. It was her lips that my mind couldn’t stop running over. Those pink lips were perfect—I knew they’d be soft.

Without care, my hand rose between us steady and sure as I cupped her cheek. Valentina’s skin was softer than I remembered. It warmed my skin with something more than just wanted. It was needed. I didn’t know that it was possible that could, but it did. Her eyes went somewhere I had never seen. They matched my own with the same heat. Did I want to kiss her?

Yes I did.

Rising on my elbows, I pulled her into a kiss. There was no thought behind it, but I needed to feel her lips on mine. And when they finally were, I couldn’t let her break free. There was much of her that I needed and wanted to explore. Her lips were softer than I imagined, both full and fit perfectly in the curve of my own mouth. Valentina froze against me at first, surprised by my boldness. For a second, I thought about pulling away; her stun wore off. When she responded to me, there had been no shyness in her touch. Val pressed her own kiss into mine, matching me with her own curiosity.

There was an emergency in the way we worked in unison, a primal side unlocking beneath us both. I bit down on Valentina’s bottom for the briefest of seconds when she straddled my lap. Her thighs bracketed each of my hips as she sank fully into me. Val’s fingers tangled in my curls and shifted until our chests pressed together. Those brown eyes peered through the oceans of my blues as I let her lip free of my teeth. She didn’t hesitate to hiss playfully at my pause before pressing a kiss to my throat.

A shock ran through me as her lips trailed the pulse point that was throbbing beneath her lips. Valentina's warmth and her scent consumed me whole. Every part of me wanted to bow to her. My soul sang for her, and only she and I knew that to be true more than words themselves.

Her lips—her breath—were sweet. Sliding my arms around Valentina’s thigh and waist, I eased her beneath me as I hovered above her. My better mind was telling me I was taking things too far, but there was a more primal side I hadn’t even scratched the surface of. It was like we were thinking the same thing, the thread between us flaring as our gazes never broke. There was an unmistakable softness ebbing through our bodies in that moment.

My hand had a mind of its own as it slipped up the delicate red ruffles, the gathered fabric at her waist, until it found the dip between her collarbone and breast. I didn’t dare touch the swell as I moved higher. She held her breath, her chest stilling as she watched me. Valentina looked so innocent. Once I reached her neck, my fingers curved around her neck, and her eyes widened at the sensation. That alone sent a flutter through my stomach as I leaned down to press one more kiss on her delicate lips. This time, it was less urgent in its pace because I wanted to savor each touch before pulling back.

“Happy birthday indeed,” I whispered, my breath fanning against her face in waves. The sudden joy that had filled me left as something cut between us. It was a painless sensation, but I felt it at my core. The thread that had been so bright linking us felt frayed, not that it was gone, but dismissed for the moment. My head almost felt empty as Val’s mental weight lifted from me. I had just grown used to her there, and now it felt lost. As I tried to summon it back, I mirrored her earlier gesture, smoothing my thumb across her bottom lip.

She didn’t speak as her expression shifted from that beautiful haze of satisfaction to that same confusion I had. Valentina's hand lifted to my cheek; her brown eyes sharpened, searching through my blues. My heart fluttered against my chest as the thread between us pulled on her side. It was faint, but I felt her fist pounding against the blockage. I attempted digging through myself but was only met with caution and iron.

“What just happened?” I whispered breathlessly. There was tightness in my chest at the loss, we were so close but somehow felt a thousand miles away. Trailing a finger down her cheek I sighed. There were no words to explain the disconnect, all I knew was that I wanted it back.

Val’s eyes searched mine, as she cupped both of my cheeks. Pulling me closer to her, my forehead rested against hers. After a moment of silence she whispered, “I can’t hear your thoughts.” It was quiet before it became accusatory. “Did you put up a mental wall to keep me out?” Her voice was laced with hurt that pierced through my core. Even with the block gone I could still feel the spike of emotions that whirled through her body when they surged.

Grabbing her hand in mine, I let them intertwine together to sooth the wave that coursed through her. “I don’t even know how to do that.” I hesitated. “I knew you were there, but I wouldn’t shut you out.” I assured her. And it was true, that small space she had carved out now felt empty without her presence. “How do you even do that? Can I? Or is it a gift of yours?”

“It’s something only mated couples can share,” she whispered, as her body shifted against the sheets. Val broke our intertwined fingers to prop on one of her elbows. “It’s deeper than marriage.”

My heart skipped a beat at the omission. I remembered she had said we were mated, but I didn’t quite understand what that meant at first. Since she put it plainly, I couldn’t help but panic. I had nearly taken advantage of her in bed, and to her that wasn’t just for fun. This meant everything to her—and, surprisingly, it meant the same to me. I didn’t want to mess this up. This needed time. “Marriage?” I asked more to myself than her.