I woke sometime later. How long I’d been asleep, I wasn’t sure, but I was in Ian’s arms and that’s what mattered. He was asleep. I lay there and watched him.
How could I not have known? This was the man I’d loved since the day I laid eyes on him. Okay well, maybe not the day I laid eyes on him. I had thought he was a murderous banshee at first, but after getting to know him I found he was kind and caring. He hid these qualities under a rough exterior, but I saw through it and fell for him.
I lifted my hand, noticing most of the pain was gone, and ran my fingers along his cheek. His eyes flew open and met mine.
“Hi,” he whispered.
“Hi.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Better, not all that great, but better. I’m not throbbing everywhere anymore, but I’m still sore as hell.” I glanced at my arms seeing that the bruises and cuts were still there. “How long have I been out?”
“You have been in and out of consciousness for around forty-eight hours. It is now nine o’clock in the morning on the third day.”
“Two days? Um, not to be ungrateful or anything, but why didn’t you heal me?”
“Your body was too weak. Banshee essence may have been too much for it to handle. There was a possibility it could have killed you. Though, after that last nightmare, I did give you my blood. It strengthened you without sending you into shock. I wanted to help. It was the only way I could.”
“Thank you. I feel much better, so thank you. Am I by chance strong enough for essence now?” I may not be able to erase the memories of what Gabriel had done to me, but I wanted to at least get rid of the physical evidence.
He lowered his face to the side of my neck. Banshees have an excellent and unique sense of smell. They can tell if someone is sick or healthy by their scent. It’s a helpful survival tool since feeding from an unwell mortal can have negative effects on a banshee.
He pressed his lips to my skin as he took a deep breath. “You are. Do you feel ready?”
“Yes, but do you mind if I clean up a bit before we start? I feel gross.”
“You are beautiful. However, I understand the need for comfort.” He helped me out of the bed.
He helped me to the bathroom and began to enter with me.
“Do you mind waiting out here? I want to do this alone.”
“Fine, but you cannot take a shower alone. You are not yet steady enough. Wash in the sink. I will be right here. Leave it unlocked.”
I needed to see what that bastard had done to me before it disappeared. I didn’t want Ian there to see my reaction. It was too personal to share, even with him.
Using the wall and counter to get to the sink, I looked up to my reflection and gasped in shock. My eyes were two purple balloons, the whites were blood red. My lips were split in multiple places and so swollen they looked like I’d gone on a collagen injection spree. My entire face was one giant swollen, black-and-blue, bloody mess thanks to Gabriel’s faeritonium knuckle guards.
I lifted my nightshirt to see what other damage remained. I gagged when I saw the rest of my body. There were bruises, cuts, and teeth marks all over, mostly in the softest spots. My breasts still had bruises in the shape of handprints. The brand on my torso was a vicious shade of red.
Unable to hold myself up any longer, I fell to the floor in tears. Ian was beside me in an instant. He dropped to the floor and pulled me into his lap.
“Hush, my love, it is over, he will never touch you again.”
I now had a better understanding of what Juliana had been saying. Ian could promise me it was over, tell me I was safe, but it was going to take a lot more than promises for me to feel secure again.
He held me, rocking from side to side, until I stopped crying. Then he helped me stand. This time he stayed while I brushed my teeth and splashed water on my face. Washing it would be too painful, but the cool water helped to revive me.
“Well, that’s as good as I’m gonna get,” I said, trying to avoid my reflection.
He carried me to the bed and laid me down before sliding in next to me and pulling the covers over us both. He was wearing only boxer shorts. I gave a sigh of pleasure as his bare leg rubbed against mine. We rolled onto our sides and wrapped our arms around each other.
“Ready?” he whispered.
“As I’ll ever be.” I pressed my battered lips to his perfect ones. He needed no further encouragement, but he kept it light and gentle, knowing I was still sore. When I parted my lips, he opened his aura.
His essence enveloped me in warmth, and I relaxed into it with a contented sigh. I rolled onto my back, Ian moving with me so his body was covering mine. I let my hands roam over his back, caressing slowly, while he stroked me in return. The tenderness of the moment brought tears to my eyes.
All too soon Ian asked, “How are you feeling now?”
“Much better.” I felt only a little pain. Since his power went to my wounds instead of boosting my own, I had less of the euphoria. A quick survey showed that the bruises were a sickly shade of green, a sign they were healing, and the cuts were significantly smaller. We lay in silence, holding each other for a long while before I spoke again, “So… I know while you are feeding from a mortal you can feel their emotions. Um, so technically I was feeding from you, so uh, what I felt…”
“Is how I feel.”
“Oh… wow,” I breathed.
We kissed, stroked, caressed, and held each other for what felt like an eternity. While his essence had brought me pleasure, kissing him without it was more amazing. It was only us, him alone making me weak in the knees, not his essence.
“Am I hurting you?”
“No, I was just thinking how much I love this… being with you.”
“I feel the same. I love everything about you. Even that smart mouth of yours.”
“You do?”
“I do,” he whispered before suddenly calling out, “Come in,” just before a soft knock sounded at the door.
Sheryl stepped through the door and averted her eyes, but not before I could see the hurt in them. “Do you want anything from the store?”
“Food,” I responded, even though I wasn’t hungry. Food might aid my healing body and I should probably have some.
“Yeah, but what?”
“Where’s Bryce? He knows what I like. Ask him to make you a list, please.”
Sheryl turned and left. I realized I was still filthy, and smelly.
“I have to take a shower.”
I wiggled out from beneath him and made my way to the bathroom. As the water warmed up, I brushed my teeth and hair. When I tried to run the brush through my hair, it got stuck in the crusted, matted mess.
“Ick! How could Ian want to kiss this?”
“Because ‘this’ is beautiful.”
“Damn, you can be quiet when you want to be.” I looked over at him. “Whatcha doin?”
“I think you should allow me to wash your hair in the sink first.” He pulled the shampoo from the shower.
“Why?”
“Because it is—”
“Caked with blood,” I finished for him, my voice cracking.
“Yes, well… You will feel much better once you are clean.”
He washed my hair three times before the water ran clear again. “Will you be okay if I leave or do you want me to stay?”