Shattered Hope * Book 2, free, on going *

10. Anything

Roman

Year: 1984, 29th May, Tuesday, 7.24 PM, P.S.T, Spring.

“Sally-Anne, I have to go make some arrangements. Will you be ok?” Zatiheir asked with serious concern. Her head was tilted, large almond eyes filled with love that shone through the cool hue of her irises.

“Yes, I’ll be ok.” They shared a brief hug. Zatiheir glared at me over Sally-Anne’s shoulder before leaving to make the arrangements that we had been able to agree upon - the human staff had to go. All of them needed to leave immediately. Sally-Anne wasn’t a monster, she wouldn’t intentionally harm anyone but her mental state was severely damaged. She didn’t need another Buck Allen on her conscious. Additionally it was, of course, important to me that all my staff were well taken care of and as safe as possible.

“Are you ready for bed?” The way she stood there, in my shirt, holding the hem in her finger tips, knives in her palms, was making me feel hungry for her.

“Mmmhmm.” She rocked on her heels. “Will you break my neck?” The incredibly casual way she asked made something unfurl inside me. A feeling that writhed violently. I wanted to scoop her up, hold her tightly and never let go. The mere thought of harming her - even though she had asked with hope wafting cautiously under each word and it would do no permanent damage, disgusted me. Could I do that? Go against the deep rooted need I had to take care of her to give her the relief she was asking for?

“I…”

“You don’t want to.” Her mood switched. A hardness entered her voice. A guardedness veiled her eyes. Anger simmered. “Guy could make me sleep, make me dream. I want it to stop, I need it to stop. This f*****g day needs to END!” Sally-Anne yelled at me with both her voice and her emotions. The way she brought up that deceased bastard, the tone of her voice implying that he was better than me, made me feel sick. She didn’t know what it would do to me to feel her delicate neck snap under my hands. To have to hold her in my arms, fighting the way her body would try and twist to repair itself, would break my heart. This couldn’t be about me though. It needed to be about her.

“It’s difficult, I know it would be a relief for you but I also don’t want to hurt you.” I was honest. “There is something else we could try. As an Incubus demon I have some interesting abilities. One of them is the ability to induce a dream state.”

“Why didn’t you do that before? On the plane?” Sally-Anne demanded to know. Her anger stalked me, licking up against my flesh.

“Vampires are not very receptive to the technique. Most times it doesn’t work at all. Additionally it doesn’t prevent any physical pain, so it wouldn’t have helped on the plane. In fact it would have exacerbated the situation by leaning into the pain and enhancing it in the form of a nightmare.”

“Oh, what’s it for then?” Her look changed, curiosity peeping.

“The actual use is to induce an intense emotional response to feed from, usually hyper realistic nightmares.” She shivered, a little disdain curling her lips. “I don’t use it though.”

“How do you feed then?” A sharp look crossed her eyes.

“I pay. There are many supernaturals, as well as humans, who are willing to allow me to feed on their emotions for the right price.” I was unsure what it was that she was actually asking; after all she had experienced me feeding.

“But I’m here now.” Possessive. The feeling underlined her words. Her stance changed. That was fine by me - Sally-Anne could have pretty much anything from me.

“Yes. What are you asking? Are you asking for me to feed only on you?” The discussion was making my heart thump. Only hours ago this beautiful woman had been trapped in the most vile of situations. She was damaged. Not only was she new to this world but she’d been ripped apart by it and now she was asking for things that she didn’t understand. It left me in an awkward position. Saying no would hurt her. I didn’t want to do that. Saying yes would please her now but in the long run wouldn’t be healthy for either of us - at least not in my experience. Sally-Anne had nodded and now she was waiting, lips slightly parted exposing her fangs. “Could we agree on that temporarily? The situation is quite unique and fresh.”

“Don’t you want me?” Her mood flipped again, innertermoil made evident at the smallest provocation.

“That isn’t it at all, the situation is just very delicate and you’ve barely had a moment to settle. I don’t want to make you feel trapped.” My whole body was trembling. Everything in me was being drawn to her. She was hurting. She needed me. I had to resist. I couldn’t take away her choice.

“Oh.” Sally-Anne shifted on the spot, pulling on the shirt I’d given her, a low whine starting in her chest. I wanted to get on my knees and beg her for forgiveness but I resisted. The mix of our abilities, the horrific circumstances from which she had come and the very recent development…made for a storm of complexity.

“Would you please tell me what’s upset you?” It was a struggle to keep my voice level and hold my distance. Her face pinched, green eyes glazing over with panic. Sally-Anne opened and closed her mouth several times. Unable to find words to express what had agitated her so she threw her feelings at me. The thirst hit me. It exploded in my chest, across my tongue, making me gasp before she yanked it back. “You want to feed?”

“Not right now but…”

“But you’re worried? Sally-Anne, I don’t require a trade from you, I will take care of you - for as long as you need.”

Sally-Anne sagged with relief, falling to her knees. It was too much for me. Unable to resist the pull any longer, the blink of an eye had me slip through the space between us to gather her in my arms. Sharp teeth grazed my neck sending pleasurable shivers down my spine.

“Make me dream, please, please Roman. Let me forget, at least for a while.” She begged in a sweet voice. My knees quaked. For her I would do anything.

A dangerous notion for someone with power.