Reclamation (The Ravening #3)(14)
Author: Erica Stevens

"Bethany," he groaned as he lifted me up and laid me down on the blankets. I had the strangest sensation of falling apart and coming back together again as his warm body settled over top of mine. I couldn’t get enough of touching his supple skin that bunched and flexed beneath my palms as my hands roamed over his body.

His breathing was harsh in my ear as his lips left a trail from my collarbone to my ear. We had never let things get this far before, and yet I felt no apprehension or hesitance as he sat back and pulled my shirt off. I fought the instinctive urge to cover myself from his heated gaze as it raked me from head to toe.

Though, I fought not to let it, heat flared into my cheeks and crept over my body as I looked away from his intense gaze. To me, Cade was nearly perfect with his carved body and stunning face. I was plain in comparison, too thin from lack of food. Scarred and battered from everything that had occurred over the past few months. I knew that he loved me with everything he had; I just didn’t want him to see all of my blatant imperfections now that I was bared to him. I felt raw and exposed in a way that I never had before.

He pulled my hand away when I finally gave into my embarrassment and tried to cover myself. "Cade…"

"You’re beautiful Bethany." I shook my head and bit my bottom lip as I fought against all of my insecurities. "Simply beautiful."

I shivered as his mouth left a hot trail across my raw skin. I forgot all about my uncertainty as he loved and kissed me into blissful oblivion again and made me come alive in ways that I never knew I could. I couldn’t possibly know loss or terror here. Not even when he lost partial control of the darkness inside of him, and his eyes became entirely black once more. I eased the torment within him as I took his darkness into me and allowed him to lose himself completely within my body, as I lost myself in his.

I lay shaken and awed afterward, humbled by the love I sensed within him as he kissed me tenderly and rubbed my skin in tempting swirls that made me sigh with pleasure. He produced one of his knives and looked at me questioningly as he held my wrist before him. My heart raced but I managed a small nod.

He pressed the blade to my skin but didn’t draw it across as his hand began to tremble. I wrapped my hand around his. "Bethany…"

"It’s ok."

I winced as I pushed the blade into my skin. The muscles in Cade’s arms stood out as his body was swamped with black at the sight and smell of my blood. Any rational human being would have tried to move away from him, I moved closer.

I felt no revulsion as his heated mouth wrapped around my wrist and his eyes lifted to mine. My fingers twitched and I couldn’t stop myself from stroking the black lines coursing through his face. He drank my blood in deep, gulping pulls that made my heart race while his eyes remained locked on mine.

He pulled away from me and wiped the blood from his mouth. His hand fisted in my hair as he pulled me closer and kissed me with a passion that made my fingers curl into his flesh. I was trying to catch my breath when he pulled away and pressed a tender kiss to my nose.

My muscles quivered as he curled around my back and pulled me snuggly against him. Even beneath all the concrete and earth I felt secure within the arms wrapped around me. I’d never felt so whole, so complete, and so humbled and vulnerable as he whispered that he loved me.

I’d felt the darkness creep out of him, and though I knew he would never do anything to injure me, I’d felt it slip into me and latch onto my soul. It hadn’t hurt though, not like it had when Ian had attacked me and forced his blackness into me. It had felt entirely right and complete with Cade. I would have to ask him about why it hadn’t hurt with him, but I was too warm and comfortable at the moment, too secure to think about anything other than the wondrous joy suffusing me right now.

I was certain that Cade had taken a piece of my soul but even more disturbing was the realization that I had willingly given it to him. I had just eased all of Cade’s hungers but what would happen when mine reawakened. I’d been able to get my hands on raw meat once in awhile up above but down here there may not be any way to do so. A shudder ran through me, my hand tightened around Cade’s, I opened my mouth to tell him what was going on within me, to finally unburden myself when he released a small snore.

Chapter 7

Cade’s body seemed to fairly vibrate with tension as he stood before me with his arms folded over his chest, his jaw clenched and his eyes hooded as he listened to Arlene. "There is only one way out," Arlene was explaining. "Unless you would like to go back into the tunnel above. About ten miles from here the line splits. You’re going to have to go to the right; the left is blocked after a mile. The line used to go above ground again, but that way is also blocked now."

"Then how do we get out?" Lloyd asked.

"There’s a ventilation shaft." My heart pounded out a rapid staccato against my ribs as my breath rushed out of me. It was bad enough being down here, but to be trapped within a shaft. Just the thought of being in yet another small, confined space made me break into a cold sweat which was now trickling down my back. "It leads into a manhole. You can access the street from there."

"How do you know this?" Cade inquired.

"We’ve been up through there. Some people have chosen to move on, and we send out a scouting party once every two weeks for food and supplies. It’s taking longer each time to find things."

"Why do you stay here?" I asked.

"Why not? We’re safe here; we have shelter, running water and a shower. It’s not ideal, but nothing is ideal anymore. Why do you want to go so badly?"

I glanced at the people surrounding me but no one seemed to have an answer other than living beneath the earth wasn’t exactly the life that any of us aspired to. However, neither was being sucked dry by one of those monsters either. I couldn’t embrace this world of shade, tunnels, walls, and rats. They may have security, no matter how temporary, but they had no freedom, no sunlight and no air. The last thing I wanted to do was stay down here, but I could tell that some of the others would like to.

"We’re sending a scouting party out again next week; if you would like we can show you the way then, or you can go today. You are also welcome to stay, we could always use help with gathering supplies and defense. Things some of you appear to be very good at."

Looks were exchanged as muffled conversation filled the air. "Winter is coming," Justin said.

"We’ll wait the week and then go up with you," Darnell suggested. "Perhaps we should at least stay for the winter, but we’ll have to decide what we want to do together."