Chapter Eight
A light snoring wakes me up as Haines and I sit here wrapped around each other.
“Perrian, you’ve fallen asleep.”
I shake my head and burrow myself deeper into his embrace. “No, I didn’t. You were snoring.”
He laughs and pinches my clit. “Hey!” I pull away from him and stretch. “That was pretty awesome. I’ve never had an orgasm with another person before. Unless we’re calling Clarence, my handy vibrator, a real person. Which we’re not.”
“A lover of yourself?”
I glare at him and smile. “Never had a choice, really. I didn’t want to hurt anyone.” I stretch again and lay my head on his shoulder. “I feel wonderful. Honestly, I’ve never felt like this before. Satisfied. Really, really full. Not in an ‘I haven’t eaten all day’ way, but…”
“Really, you’ve never been fed. You consume food but your demon side has been starving for…Perrian?”
My skin feels like it’s getting warmer and I can’t catch my breath. Pin-pricks start at my toes and work their way up my body. “Something’s wrong.” I pull away from him and scoot back on to the couch.
He looks confused. “You’re coming into your powers? We haven’t had sex.” A proud look blankets his face, and he grabs my hand and kisses it. “You are powerful. You…you are very warm.”
“Get off,” I tell him, moving further away and crawling back onto the couch. “Oh, God! Is this what it’s like?” I grab my stomach and double over.
“No. Not at all. You shouldn’t be in any pain. Quite the opposite.”
A scream rips through my body as I throw my head back. “Something…it burns!” I feel like I’m being ripped in half.
Haines grabs my shoulders. “This isn’t right,” he whispers. “This isn’t supposed to happen.”
My skin burns from his touch. “Get off!” I yell, shoving him away from me.
As my hand connects with his chest, Haines flies across the room and bounces off the wall, knocking over a lamp. He looks dazed for a minute but gets up and runs toward me. He reaches out to touch me but thinks better of it.
“Haines, I’m…sorry. I didn’t mean…”
“It’s okay, Perry. It’s all right.”
I double over again, praying that whatever is going on will stop. Please, God, make it stop. Am I dying? Did I wait too long to sate my demon and now I’m unable to feed?
“Haines, please, help me.” The tears that roll down my face sting my cheeks and chin. Everything hurts. It’s as if my clothes should singe away from embers that should be oozing out of my pores.
“Perrian, I don’t know what to do.”
The ripping sensation intensifies until it feels like the top of my body will separate itself from the bottom; like my right side will tear away from the left. Like my insides are boiling. I close my eyes and wait.
Wait for it to stop. Wait to die.
Something seizes my body and yanks me upward. And the pain stops.
I don’t feel anything. It’s quiet. Only the sound of my breathing echoes in my head. Am I dead?
Haines’ voice is soft. “Perrian? Baby, open your eyes.” Though his voice sounds strong and grounded, a wavering tremble breaks though, and I can tell he’s afraid for me.
My limbs are flat against a hard surface, but the pain is gone. I open my eyes and see Haines looking up at me.
And I’m looking down at him. Because I’m on the ceiling. Looking down at him. I begin to speak, but a violent cough erupts from me and frothy blood pours from my mouth, covering Haines’ chin and shirt. I begin to fall, but it’s not slow like in the movies. It’s fast. The floor is fast approaching. The only thing I see are Haines’ arms reaching out to grab me.
And then there is darkness.