Salvation's Kiss (Tales Of Mython Book 1) by Kathryn Jayne (old books to read .TXT) 📗

more than happy to lend it to her. His sole focus became getting her out of this house as quickly as possible and uncovering where he needed to direct his building rage.

Conrad cradled her arm tenderly. Now that he’d applied some anti-inflammatory ointment and cleaned the wound at her elbow, he could see many criss-crossing silver scars. When she’d lifted her nightdress to reveal the latest one, she flinched as he growled, his hands trembling so much it took him three attempts to remove the ointment lid.

“Why the hell didn’t you say something sooner?” Conrad seethed, his finger examining the wound on her leg, noticing how it had sealed. He heard the protesting groan of wood as he realised his other hand gripped the chair’s leg, and he attempted to slacken his grasp. What he didn’t understand was why this monster was toying with her. The wounds had been healed, and yet the irritation on her arm confused him.

Vampires used saliva to seal their victims’ injuries. Often the regenerative power meant no scars or marks were left. Yet this man—who had apparently saved her in the park as well—always left scars. He couldn’t tell if it was his way of marking her, ensuring she remembered him in some twisted form of torture, or if there was something else going on that he wasn’t quite seeing. There was no reason she should be scarred so badly, or have any reaction to the use of siphons, if he was sealing the wounds afterwards. Another question that bothered him was why this vampire was using this method to extract her blood when he obviously craved the intimacy.

The chair cracked again, a reminder for him to take a deep breath. “People like him never stop, not once they know you’ll give in to them. He’ll just take more and more liberties. Ashley, you should have said something.”

“Why? It’s not like it would make a difference. He knows about me, he knows everything.”

“I could protect you.”

Grasping her hand, he searched her eyes, wondering if she even realised there was not a risk he wouldn’t take or a sacrifice he wouldn’t make for her. He would protect her with every ounce of his being, every gram of his power. If she would let him, he would make sure no one ever hurt her again. He would make her strong, teach her all he knew. She would be able to stand alone, and yet he would always protect her; not because she was weak, but because without her he would be nothing.

He dropped his gaze to the floor, feeling his desire building. He could lie to himself no longer, he loved her, he wanted her for his own, but fate was cruel, it mocked him. He loved her so much, yet he knew anything beyond friendship would be impossible as he would not be able to suppress his need, his desire, enough to keep her safe. She was everything to him, and he could never forgive anyone who brought her harm, especially if that someone ended up being him.

“From a vampire that’s who knows how old, who has measures in place to ensure my cooperation? I can’t even fend off his thrall.”

“Thrall? What did he…”

“Nothing. He wanted to make sure I knew he owned me.”

“He does not own you.” She flinched at the venom in his voice. He could feel the molten fury of his other-self begging for release. She had been wronged and, as an ifrit, he was not only aware of it, but was duty-bound to execute justice.

“He does. It’s not just the thrall, or him knowing what I did. He knows about my friends. He said if I don’t give him what he wants…” she shook her head, “and he knows about you, how I…” She trailed off but it was impossible not to notice the flushing of her cheeks.

“I won’t deny he has us at an advantage,” Conrad mused. “That doesn’t mean we can’t track him down. You said he uses syphons instead of biting. That means he has access to a Taphouse, or a supplier, and he knows about your personal life, so he probably attends or maybe teaches at the academy. Is there anything else you can tell me? Anything that stood out?”

She began to shake her head, pausing as a frown creased her brow. “It sounds silly, but I keep thinking I should know him. It’s hard to explain, but when I look in his eyes I feel like I’ve done it before, and he has this way of putting his hands on my shoulder… it’s hard to explain.”

“I’m going to start looking into it. Why don’t you take the guest room, get some sleep. You know you’ll be safe here, right?”

She gave a small nod. “Conrad, this is bad, isn’t it?” she whispered, accepting the hand he had offered to help her stand. He was reluctant to release her, his fingers disobeying his wish to pull away for longer than they should have.

“I think if he were going to tell someone he would have done so by now.” He led her to the guest room, pausing at the solid oak door awkwardly as he bid her goodnight. As he turned to leave, she reached out and the way her fingers caressed his arm stirred a shudder from his core. She was making this impossible.

“Will you stay with me, please? I don’t want to be alone.” Her witch eyes held him under her spell, rekindling the desire he fought so hard to dispel. She stepped closer, erasing what little distance there had been between them. The floorboards creaked as she lifted herself onto her tiptoes, her hands sliding behind his neck, setting his skin aflame. It would have been so easy to steal the kiss he so desperately craved. All he needed to do was to stay still. But he wasn’t going to do that. He wanted to protect her, not destroy her.

Her presence was like a drug,