Crave - Teresa Mummert Page 0,20
It sloped perfectly down into the water. I laughed as he turned around and lifted me effortlessly by the waist and lowered me in. I gripped my arms around his neck as he picked my legs up and placed me around him. He wrapped his hand in my hair and pulled my face against his, breathing raggedly as we kissed.
I was consumed by his passion and the terrible events of the day melted under his touch. I let out a moan into his ear as he kissed along my jaw, our bodies moved with the rhythm of the current. I nibbled on his earlobe as his tongue trailed down my neck. He slid his hand from my hair and pushed it off my shoulder.
Elijah’s body froze in place, his arms gripping me like a vice. I opened my eyes and turned to meet his gaze that was fixated on his own hand. The rain ran off it mixing with a dark crimson substance. My mind went to the vampires we’d seen tonight but I quickly dismissed any danger because I felt safer in Elijah’s arms than I’d ever felt before.
“Oh… I must have cut my back against that tree.”
His expression never changed. He didn’t look up at me as I spoke.
“It’s okay, I'm all right. I didn’t even realize I was hurt.” I continued not wanting this moment to end because he was concerned for my safety.
My words trailed off as he slowly raised his eyes to meet mine, expressionless. “I’m fine,” I repeated and flashed him a smile to ease his worry, pulling him back to me for a kiss. His body relaxed slightly and he returned my advances. He was much rougher than he had been before. Our bodies began to move hard against each other as his mouth made its way down my neck.
A sharp, stabbing pain shot through me, radiating from my throat and down to my fingertips. My mind raced, pleading with my body to do something, anything to save myself as I struggled to comprehend what was happening.
This was the very place he’d assured me I was safe.
I was safe because I was with him.
I gasped and let out an animalistic scream that felt like it was ripping itself from my soul. A pushed at Elijah’s chest with all of my strength, but his body did not budge an inch. He was too strong. Too determined. He wasn’t a he at all, but an it. A thing that could not be reasoned with or feel sympathy. He caught my wrists and squeezed harshly as his teeth penetrated deeper into my flesh. If I tried to pull away, my skin and muscle would surely be ripped away with his bite. My throat quickly became raw and my screams became raspy, lost among the sounds of the falling rain and the rush of the creek.
“Please,” I sobbed, more pleading to myself to be strong than for mercy that I knew wouldn’t come. He let out a muffled growl against my skin as he twisted my arms behind my back. “Elijah,” I choked out as my head began to spin, dizzy from the blood loss. I relaxed my weight against him, unable to fight anymore. It felt as if my body was tumbling from that ledge of the hotel, weightless and fading. My head rolled to the side as he retracted his fangs but the pain didn’t ebb. He let go of my wrists and put his hand on my back to keep me from slipping beneath the surface of the murky water. I was barely clinging to consciousness and I was begging myself to just let go so I wouldn’t have to feel this betrayal that hurt much worse than the flesh wound. I kept my eyes closed and hoped that he would think I was dead.
His breathing began to normalize and he gripped my body tighter against his. “Eva, I’m so sorry,” he whispered in my ear in a hushed panic. “Eva, I know you can hear me. I can feel you heart beating.” He gently tucked my hair behind my ear. He was fighting a battle against his monster within him and it felt like the human side of him was losing.
***
Elijah lowered me onto the creek bank, his body coming to rest on top of mine. The image of his blood stained smile morphing into the one I’d known before, He pressed his lips to mine and I welcomed his touch, hungrily sliding