Page 2 of These Deadly Dreams
I’m shutting down. A coping mechanism my body hasn’t needed to use since I met my guys. My heart rate slows and my breathing matches it. Numbness forms in my hands and feet, slowly spreading up my arms and legs. I’m burying my consciousness beneath layers and layers of fog. All so I don’t have to deal with what’s happening to me.
Kai must pick up on my rapidly shifting emotions because he turns to face me and grabs my hand. “I think we have heard about all she can handle right now. Her heart is sluggish, like she’s shutting down.”
He uses his fingers to turn my head so I’m looking at him, only I’m not looking at him. I’m looking through him. Not registering anything around me.
“Shit,” he curses. “Her skin is like ice. We need to get her home.”
I’m barely aware of Cade and Kai standing, pulling me up with them. Someone’s arm is around my waist, but I’m not sure whose it is. They lead me through the house and to the front door. Before we pull the door shut behind us, Aunt Madge says one last thing.
“It’s not a warehouse you’re looking for. Search for the sale of a building that caused a lot of discontent in the community about ten years ago.”
Cade mumbles his thanks, and the guys shuffle me to the car.
I don’t remember the drive home or the walk to Kai’s room. Everything is blurry and muffled around me. Almost like I’m existing underwater and the rest of the world isn’t. It’s like I’m moving in slow motion as Kai leads me to the bathroom and sits me on the counter.
“Hey,” he says quietly, gently taking my face in his hands.
His gray eyes swim in my vision, but they register through the fog. My beloved.
“It’s okay, baby girl.” His voice sounds strange, echoing inside my head. “We’re still here and we’re not going anywhere. We’ll figure this out together, okay? You’re not alone.”
I don’t really comprehend his words, but his voice is soothing. It’s like a melody that sings to my heart. Vaguely I hear water running, and soon the bathroom is filled with billowing steam. It’s like whatever in my brain is leaking out into the world.
Kai lifts my arms over my head and Cade steps into my narrow field of vision. His violet eyes hold mine as he pulls my shirt over my head. Something slithers down my arms and I look to see my bra fall to the floor. Cade lifts me from the counter and helps me keep my balance while Kai slides my leggings and panties down my legs.
It doesn’t click in my head that I’m now naked in Kai’s bathroom. I hear the rustle of clothing and the sound of lapping water, but I’m too stuck in my own head to care about what’s happening. Cade leads me to the edge of the sunken bath and Kai, who is already naked and in the water, lifts me up and slowly sinks into the heat with me tucked against his chest.
Instinct has me cuddling closer to him. He holds me tightly which I’m thankful for. I think if he let go, my body would float away. The hot water seeps under my skin and into my muscles. It feels good, and it starts to draw me out of the fog. Slowly…very slowly.
A naked Cade slides into my vision, sitting next to Kai, taking my legs and placing them in his lap. His violet eyes pierce deep into my soul, offering me a ladder to climb back to the surface. I’m not quite ready yet, though. His hands rub up and down my legs, a tether to the real world I hold on to so I don’t get lost.
After seconds, minutes, hours, days—I’m not really sure—I realize my fingers are grazing the skin of Kai’s chest. It’s smooth under my finger tips. Warmer than usual in the heat from the tub. I press my palm flat and his heart thumps steadily. In my own chest, my heart echoes his. The two beat together, twin drums forever fated to beat as one.
I raise my gaze to catch his. His gray eyes are shining as he watches me. So much emotion in that look, it makes my breath catch. I cut my gaze to Cade, and his violet eyes hold the same. Love, adoration, wonder, amazement. It’s all there. Laid out in their eyes and the way they hold me, like I’m something to be cherished and protected. Like I’m not some mythological monster sent to cause chaos and destruction.
Cade’s hands rub a little higher on my thighs, curving inward as they do so. My breath hitches, and by the smile gracing his lips, he knows exactly what he’s doing to me. He’s pulling me out of the fog. Bringing me back to the present.
“Come back to us, baby girl,” Kai whispers in my ear.
I shiver despite the heat of the water and my back arches involuntarily. Kai’s hand travels up my back to my neck where his fingers trace over his mark. Heat courses through my blood, a need only they can satisfy. Kai tangles his fingers in the strands of hair falling out of my messy bun, and he forces my head back. My eyes flutter shut. Anticipation grows as I wait for his lips to brush against mine. He doesn’t make me wait long.
The kiss is slow and gentle. It’s a reminder of everything waiting for me in the present. More of the fog dissipates as the kiss deepens and his lips pry mine open. I eagerly brush my tongue along his, tasting him, a flavor that is distinctly Kai.
Cade’s hands continue their exploration of my inner thighs. Each touch pulls me further away from the claws of my subconscious. I break away from Kai to look at Cade. His gaze is heated as his fingers dance perilously close to my center. In the water, I’m almost weightless and it is no effort at all to let my legs fall apart, inviting him in. He doesn’t take the invitation though. Instead, he moves his hands away, and I pout.
His chuckle washes over me as his hands trail up my hips and over my sides. Desire burns through me. My body craves more of him. More of both of them. He cups my breasts and rubs his thumb over my nipples, gently at first then increasingly harder until I’m gasping and arching into his touch. Kai’s fangs drag along the side of my neck and I let my head fall to the side, eager for the rush of euphoria his bite gives me.
He places a gentle kiss on my pulse point before his fangs sink deep into my skin. I cry out as the pain turns to pleasure and burns straight to my core. The pleasant ache of Cade’s thumbs on my nipples is magnified, the touch almost so good it hurts. He bends down to suck a nipple into his mouth and he grazes his teeth along the sensitive flesh. I grasp his hair in my hands, unsure if I want to push him away or pull him closer.
My core clenches with each pull Kai makes on my vein, and it’s still not enough.
“Please,” I beg. “I need more. I’m so empty.”
Cade pinches my other nipple before sliding his hand down my abdomen and slowly slipping his fingers through my folds. I arch off Kai’s lap but he brings his arm around my middle to hold me in place. When Cade finally slips a finger inside, I’m panting and needy. I clench around him as Kai pulls more of my life force into himself.
“You want more?” Cade asks in a deep, gravelly voice that makes me shiver.
“More, please, Cade. Give me more.”