Ugh, theAcame out too big. And bloody. Shit.
I’m pretty sure I didn’t hit an organ, but?—
“Lilith?”
My head shoots up. My eyes are ensnared by the most beautiful blues I’ve ever seen. The angriest ones.
“I’m doing it for us,” I say.
“No!” Alaric doesn’t stay still to watch.
He jumps out of bed, his sharp instincts driving him straight toward me.
“You have to listen, Alaric.” The blade’s tip is already there, right beside theA. “You have to believe me. You’re not alone. You have me.”
The knife never makes it through my skin. My angel’s large hand slaps it from my grip. His attention stays fixed on my face as he kicks the knife behind him.
“What have you done?” One hand cups my cheek, tilting my face up, the other covering the bleedingA. “Lilith. Why? I—fuck. I never wanted this for you. You can’t hurt yourself. Ever.”
“You cut yourself first.” My fingers claw at his neck, drawing his lips to mine. He won’t let me kiss him, though. His eyes are too busy roaming over my face, my stomach. “It’s my turn now. Do you see? Do you understand that I’m not going anywhere?”
Blood spills through Alaric’s fingers, rolling down my stomach. My thigh. One drop even lands on my toe.
I would’ve panicked if it weren’t for him. The way he assesses me with a cold, calculating gaze, it’s like there’s nothing to worry about. Like he’ll fix it in no time.
“I’m yours.” I rise onto my tiptoes to seal my lips to his chin. Then, so he’ll really believe me, I repeat the words he said not so long ago. “You could put a knife to my throat. Hell, you could kill me, and I’d still love you until my dying breath.”
At that, heat flashes across his face.
Understanding dawns on him. The walls are crashing down.
It lasts for a moment.
Then, he’s my doctor all over again.
He lets me go and bends to grab my nightgown. I help him pull it over me, watch him wrench his jeans on, and then I’m up in the air.
“Apply pressure on the wound,” he directs in his physician’s voice as we head to the front door. “Firmpressure, Lilith. Right over it. Don’t lift your hand, even if it hurts.”
“Yes, Dr. Lockwood.”
He looks down at me, making a satisfied sound in the back of his throat when I obey.
“You adorable, beautiful woman.” Amusement gleams in his eyes as he shakes his head. “I fucking love you.”
37
ALARIC
“Where are you taking me?”
Lilith’s voice is small, soft, and yet steady. She isn’t pale. Her skin isn’t clammy.
Soon, after we get out of the elevator, I’ll set her down and check her pulse properly. But everything I see so far tells me it won’t be racing or fading beneath my fingers either.
Thank fuck.
If I hadn’t woken up, things might have taken a dark, terrible turn.