Burned

I smiled at him. “I want you to bite me.”

He looked surprised and then, even though it obviously hurt him, his cocky smile was back. “Now you ask me? When my body’s totally messed up. Great.”

“Don’t be such a guy,” I told him. “It’s because you’re body’s totally messed up that I’m asking you.

“I’d make you think differently if I was well.”

I shook my head at him and rolled my eyes. “If you were well, I’d smack you right now.” And then, moving carefully, trying to be as gentle as I could, I slid him off my lap. He tried to stifle a groan. “Sorry! I’m so sorry I’m hurting you.” I lay down beside him and started to pull him into my arms, wanting to hold him close to me as if I could absorb his pain.

“It’s okay,” he gasped. “Just help me onto my good side.”

Good side? I wasn’t sure whether I should laugh or burst into tears, but I helped him turn on his side, the one that didn’t have the shattered shoulder, so that we could face each other. Tentatively, I moved closer to him, thinking that I should maybe slice down my arm so he could drink from me more easily without moving too much.

“No.” His hand twitched, trying to reach out to me. “Not like that. Come closer to me, Z. The pain doesn’t matter.” He paused, then added, “Unless you can’t because of my blood. Does this make you need it?”

“The blood?” I realized what he was saying and blinked in surprise. “I haven’t even noticed it.” Seeing his wry expression, I went on, “I mean I noticed that you’re bleeding all over. I didn’t smell it.” Wonderingly, I touched the blood on his lip with my fingertip. “It doesn’t make my bloodlust happen.”

“We’re spirit here, that must be why,” he said.

“Then will this work? You feeding from me?”

His eyes met mine. “It’ll work, Z. Between us there’s more than physical stuff. We’re bound by spirit.”

“Okay, good. I hope so,” I said, feeling suddenly nervous. The only other guy I’d let feed from me had been Heath—my Heath. My mind skittered away from thoughts of him and comparisons with Stark, but I couldn’t deny one aspect of what was about to happen. Letting a guy drink my blood was sexual. It felt good. Really good. That was how we’d been made. It was normal, natural, and right.

It was also making my stomach hurt.

“Hey, just relax and bring your neck over here.”

My wide eyes took in Stark’s battered face and his broken body.

“Yeah, I know you’re nervous, but as messed up as I am, you don’t need to be.” His expression changed. “Or is it more than being nervous? Are you changing your mind about wanting to?”

“No,” I said quickly. “I’m not changing my mind. I won’t change my mind about you, Stark. Ever.”

Trying to be as careful as I could, I moved closer to him. Scooting up so that the curve of my neck was near his mouth, I swept back my hair and leaned over him, holding myself tense, ready for his bite.

But he surprised me. Instead of his teeth I felt the warmth of his lips as he kissed my neck gently. “Relax, my queen.”

His breath made shivers go down my skin. I trembled. How long had it been since anyone had really touched me? It must only be days back in the real world, but here, in the Otherworld, it felt like I’d been untouched and untouchable for centuries.

Stark kissed me again. His tongue touched my neck and he moaned. This time I didn’t think it was from pain. He didn’t hesitate any longer. His teeth nicked my neck. It stung, but as soon as his lips closed on the small cut, pain was replaced by pleasure so intense that it was my turn to moan.

I wanted to wrap my arms around him and lock my body with his, but I held myself very still, trying my best not to cause him any more pain.

Too soon his mouth left my skin. His voice already sounded stronger when he said, “Do you know when I first knew I belonged to you?” His breath whispered warm against my neck, making me shiver again.

“When?” I sounded breathless.

“It was when you faced me down in the infirmary back at the House of Night, before I’d Changed. Do you remember?”

“I remember.” Of course I remembered—I’d been naked and threatened to kick his butt with the elements as I stood between him and Darius.

I could feel his lips tilt up against my skin. “You looked like a Warrior queen, filled with the Goddess’s anger. I think that was when I knew I would always belong to you, because you reached me even through all that darkness.”

“Stark.” I whispered his name, utterly overwhelmed by what I was feeling for him. “This time you reached me. Thank you. Thank you for coming after me.”

With a wordless sound, his mouth was on my neck again, and this time he bit harder, and really drank from me.

Again, pleasure quickly replaced the sting of pain. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the exquisite heat that was rushing through my body. I couldn’t stop myself from touching him, and slid one hand around his waist so that I could feel the tight muscles just underneath the skin of his back. I wanted more of him. I wanted him closer to me.

He took his lips from my neck, and he actually held himself up. His eyes were dark with passion, and he was breathing hard. “Now, Zoey, will you give me more than just your blood? Will you accept me as your Guardian?”

I stared at him. In his eyes there was something that I’d never seen within him before. The boy who had walked away from me in Venice, jealous and pissed, was gone. The man who had grown in his place was more than a vampyre, more than a Warrior. Even as he lay there broken in my arms, I could feel the strength in him: solid, dependable, honorable.

“Guardian?” I said wonderingly, touching his face. “So that’s what you’ve Changed into?”

His gaze never left mine. “Yes, if you accept me. Without his queen’s acceptance a Guardian isn’t anything.”

“But I’m not really a queen.”

His torn lips didn’t stop Stark’s cocky smile. “You’re my queen, and anyone who says different can fuck off.”

I smiled at him. “I already accepted your Oath as my Warrior.”

Stark’s cockiness was instantly gone. “This is different, Zoey. It’s more. It might change things between us.”

I touched his face again. I didn’t really understand what he was asking, but I knew that he needed something more from me, and I knew that whatever I said and did now would affect us for the rest of our lives. Goddess, give me the right words, I prayed silently.

“James Stark, from here on out I accept you as my Guardian, and I also accept all that goes with it.”

He turned his head and kissed my palm. “Then I will serve you with my honor and my life, forever Zoey. My Ace, mo bann ri, my queen.”

His oath rippled through me like a physical thing. Stark was right. It was different than what had happened between us when he’d sworn his Oath to me as a Warrior. This time it was as if he’d given me a piece of himself, and I knew that without me, he could never truly be whole again. The responsibility of it scared me almost as much as it strengthened me, and I pulled his mouth down to my neck again.

“Take more from me, Stark. Let me heal you.”

With a moan, his mouth met my neck. His bite deepened, and something