"Daddy would never hurt you."
"He wouldn't have meant to, but he would have if I had insisted on staying human. It is confusing, Isabelle, and it is frightening, but it’s worth it. I promise you that much."
"What do I do?" she whispered forlornly.
"I don't know sweetie."
Isabelle grew silent as she allowed herself to be somewhat comforted by her mother's warm embrace, but it wasn't enough. She had fought him so relentlessly, and he left because of it. Now all she wanted was to have him back. She wouldn't fight him now if he came back. She wished there was some way to bring him back, some way to reach out to him and tell him to come back. Tears slid down her cheeks as she closed her eyes.
The air was warm, and still, not even a breeze stirred it, and yet, something did. Isabelle sat up, and her gaze darted toward the woods.
"Isabelle," her mom said.
Her legs dropped to the ground, and she stood. She saw him then, standing at the edge of the forest, his eyes as black as the night surrounding him. Her heart leapt into her throat as happiness burst through her. For the first time in days, her body wasn't dying, and she could breathe without difficulty. The moonlight spilled over the rigid set of his jaw as he took a step forward. A small cry escaped, and her paralysis broke. She raced across the short distance separating them and threw her arms around his neck as tears of joy spilled down her cheeks.
Chapter Sixteen
A small growl of pleasure escaped him as he pulled her against him. All the tense anger and burning fire searing him for the last three days evaporated the instant he touched her. Everything was finally right, everything finally made sense again. Sera stood, nodded to him, and slipped away.
He wrapped his hand in Isabelle's hair, pulled her face out of his shoulder, and savagely claimed her mouth. She whimpered against the brutality of his kiss, but he couldn't stop himself, couldn't ease it. He needed her like a drowning man needed air. Needed her with a longing so powerful it shattered the tenuous thread of control he barely managed to hold on to for the past three days.
Her mouth parted beneath his, and he thrust his tongue inside to taste her. His control gradually returned as her sweetness washed over him. It caused the wildness within him to diminish as she eased the torment haunting his soul for centuries. She lifted the darkness clawing to break free of him over the past three days.
Her hands slid around his neck as she pressed herself firmly against him, returning his kiss with an urgency matching his own. He released her hair and grabbed her waist, lifting her. She gasped as he settled her on his waist and her long legs instinctively wrapped around him.
She gazed at him as tears slid down her cheeks, and her violet eyes smoldered with passion. She scanned his face reverently, looking at him as if she was afraid to believe he was here. Something inside him changed, something different came forth, something he’d never experienced before.
He cared for her more than anyone he’d ever met, he’d missed her, and he’d come to realize he liked her infuriating ways. He liked her laughter, her smile, her independence, her strength, her determination, and her courage. He even liked the little vindictive streak she exhibited with her brothers.
The past few days were nothing but hell for him. He couldn’t do anything but think about her. He could barely function, felt as if he was on fire as his veins burned with her absence. The demon within him was constantly at the forefront, and his sanity held by a tenuous thread that came close to shredding completely. He hadn't slept in three days as he'd been unable to settle down long enough to let his body relax enough for sleep, and he hadn't fed.
He’d nearly killed a man in a bar because the man accidentally bumped into him. Fortunately, he regained control of himself in time, but never before had he lost it like that. Not even with Ethan.
He had picked up a woman, taken her back to her place, determined to try and ease the burning in his body. Revulsion filled him the moment he touched her. He felt nothing for her, experienced no sense of arousal. He was so enraged, that he hadn't fed off her because he knew he would kill her if he did.
After that, he decided he needed to come back here and see her. He had to sort everything out, to know if she hated him for what he had done to her brother, what he would have done to her father. He needed to know if she could forgive him for causing her to be wounded at the club. He was determined to see her and ease his suffering.
When she ran to him, all the desolation of the past three days vanished instantly. She didn't hate him, and he knew she would no longer fight him. She’d was going through the same torture. He’d felt her distress far down the road, sensed her misery, and it propelled him to faster speeds. He’d become desperate to ease her suffering, desperate for her to never hurt again.
Seeing her, touching her, he knew this was where he belonged. She was the only one who could ease the torment he was experiencing —alleviate the suffering of his entire existence. He didn't know why, and right now he didn't care. He just needed her, now.
He reclaimed her mouth; his hands dug into her thick hair as he carried her out of the woods and across the field. She met his hunger with her own as her hands curled into his back and her tears dried. He was so hard it hurt, and he throbbed painfully. She wiggled against his erection, moaning as she pressed herself more firmly against him.
