Empty Eyes: Book 1

Chapter 17

There was an unfiltered ferocity within his glowing gaze that did more to make me freeze than whatever influence he might be using with his vampirism.

The skin on Gaara's fingertips was soft and cold, quite the opposite to the harsh desert where he dwelled. I could feel his heart beating quickly underneath my fingers as I pressed against his chest with what little energy I dared muster. His hand tightened on my shoulder, but he hesitated to bite me.

I took advantage of the pause and wrapped both my hands around his wrist, the one holding my jaw tightly, and attempted to appeal to whatever humanity he may possess, "Please...I'm a-afraid..."

His gaze hovered shakily on the crease of my neck, where he obviously wanted to tear into the flesh, before he squeezed his bright eyes closed. A light shove threw me down to the floor and suddenly the king was no longer in front of me.

I took a moment to calm my panicked breathing before looking up.

He regarded me with a confused stare from a few yards away. Luckily, his eyes had returned to their pretty clear seafoam green, but the expression seemed unfitting on his usually blank features.

"Gaara, I-"

The royal raised a hand to silence me, his face sinking back into his usual, more controlled, one. He turned his back and spoke in his usual gravelly voice, "If you tell anyone about this, I will drain you."

My blood ran ice cold, but I nodded quickly in acknowledgement even though he was facing away from me. As if by some kind of queue that I didn't detect, one of the guards from before entered and pulled me to my feet with a large hand wrapped around my upper arm. I turned to catch one more glimpse of the Sunagakure king's back before I was pulled past the green curtain and led through similar winding halls as earlier.

After a few awkward minutes of silent travel, we stepped into a seemingly random room where Sasuke appeared to have been waiting. The prince shot the guard a thick warning glare as soon as he lay eyes on the man's tight grip on my arm, "I suggest you remove your hand before I do it for you."

An odd mixture of attraction and fear sprang up into my stomach at the enraged expression on his handsome features. I looked at him in shock as the guard removed his calloused fingers from my skin.

The muscular man spoke in an emotionless voice as though he hadn't just been threatened, "The Subaku family wishes for you to relax and make yourselves at home. The king will send for you later this evening." He turned on his heel, then, and left the room without another word.

Sasuke didn't miss a moment and quickly scanned my body for any marks, holding my arms away from my sides with his hands, "What did they do?"

I felt my face start to heat up under his searching gaze and decided it best not to tell him about Gaara almost attacking me, "Nothing. They just gave me some clothes to wear for the day."

He inspected the arm the guard had been holding more closely, looking for any hint of a bruise without replying.

I felt the last bit of anxiety from being in the king's presence leave my body as I pulled the limb from Sasuke's grasp and hugged him tightly around the waist, burying my face in his thin white shirt.

He seemed taken aback by my actions for a moment, but soon gently reciprocated my embrace.

I basked in his attractive scent for a moment before realizing he'd probably start to worry if I stayed like that for too long. When I pulled back, he studied my face for a moment before surprising me by slowly glancing down at my lips.

Does he want to kiss me?

My face warmed as he gently pulled me closer against him. I was about to lean up to capture his lips with my own when the curtain across the doorway suddenly shot to the side.