Blood Revenge

Chapter 25

A half hour later, I was walkingslowly toward mine and Anders' room where Reif had told me Anderswas. I opened the door quietly and stepped in, closing it behind me.I leaned my back against the door and watched as Anders paced backand forth from the bed to the balcony to the fire place and back. Iopened my mouth to offer my explanation, but before I could even suckin a breath he said, "No." I frowned, trying to figure his moodand what he meant, but he continued, negating my need to. "Youknow, I've been in here, since you thoroughly ravaged me, wrackingmy brain, wondering and pacing. I couldn't, for the life of me,figure out why when I looked into your eyes in the library, I sawguilt." He paused again, but I sensed his rant was not over, so Ipressed my lips into a line and kept quiet. "When an answer poppedinto my head, I actually laughed it off, then, the more I thoughtabout it, the more sense it made, even though I pray that I'mwrong..." Another pause, and some fidgeting from me. He approachedme, stopping an arm's length away. "Ana, I need for you to becompletely honest when it comes to the answering of this question. Ifyou're not, I'll know. I've noticed subtle changes in your bodylanguage and a huge change in your relationship, so I have to ask,did you maul me this afternoon because you felt guilty for...sleeping with Reif?"

After the shock of his words woreoff, I couldn't help myself. I snorted and started laughing so hardI had to slide down the door and sit on the floor while I tried torelearn how to breathe. My stomach cramped and my face felt sore fromgrinning so wide. "Ow," I whimpered, still chuckling.

When I'd recovered enough tostop laughing, he squatted next to me and said with an obvious lackof amusement. "Are you through?"

"I think so," I nodded, stillclutching the stitch in my side.

"Then would you mind explainingyourself?" he asked.

I sobered, reaching out to touchhis hand. "Anders, luv, you should know better. Reif and I loveeach other, but it's not at all like that."

"Then what?"he pleaded. "What the bloody hell happened that made you feel likeyou had to prove yourself to me in such an urgent manner?" Hepulled his hand from mine and gripped my upper arms, shaking meslightly. "You treated me like a chore! You wouldn't even look atme, then you rushed off to be with Reif for two hours. I've beenhere terrified you were going to come back and tell me to sod off."

The look on his face and the gutwrenching confession suddenly made what actually happened feel like atrifle. "Oh my gosh," my hands started shaking uncontrollably."You big idiot!" I slapped him hard. "I came to you earlierfeeling guilty because Stefan tried to kiss me on the practice field,not because of anything I actually did! I felt guilty because myknees went weak for an instant!" I was beating his chest with myfists, panicking. My emotions were in turmoil. I was angry at him foraccusing me. I was sad that he could even think I would leave himafter all we'd shared. I was afraid hewould leave me.I vented my frustrations on him as he fought me off.

It took him some time to catch mywrists, but when he did, his grip was rough, overbearing. "Ana, I'mso sorry, luv. I didn't know. I didn't know," he kept saying.He held my hands at bay. "I don't care what that sodding twitdid, or what it did to your hormones." He shook me again, rattlingmy teeth. "I know you don't love himanymore. You scared the piss out of me when you came to me so empty.My stupid brain kept telling me it was some sort of twisted goodbye."

I looked into his eyes. They wereglazed with tears unshed. My tears had come and gone with my tantrum."If I was going to leave you, you cretin, I wouldn't waste mytime giving you one last romp!"

We gave each other heavy eyecontact as our gazes said all we needed to. My shoulders sagged withrelief when finally, his expression lit up and he let out a nervouschuckle. "Blimey Ana, what is happening with us?"

"We've had a hard year," Isaid, watching his fingers as they danced with mine. "We'rewaiting for the next shoe to drop, I think. It leaves us all a bitwonky."

"Frayed at the edges," heagreed.

My legs were crossed under eachother and he sighed, bending at the waist from his own sittingposition to hug my waist and lay his head in my lap. "So you'renot mad about Stefan?"

He shrugged easily and said, "Icould be miffed, but I'm honestly so relieved, I can't bringmyself to be mad. The poor bloke knows from experience what I wasfeeling earlier."

"What's that?" I asked.

"The absolute trepidation ofimminent loss of Ana," he confessed.

I twisted my fingers around inhis hair, mussing it. "I amsorry for earlier. I was just so thrown when he..."

"Stop," he said. "No moreapologies. I think it's time for making up."

I lifted his face up to mine totouch my forehead to his. "This time, I'm going to be here. Allof me," I promised.

"I had no doubt." He pressedhis lips to mine gently, almost reverently. I could feel the fearseeping from his body. "I thought I was never going to get to dothat again." He traced my face, ran fingers through my hair, andstared into my eyes. It was like he couldn't get enough oftouching me.

"Shall we move to the bed?" Iasked, my voice a whisper.

He stood and held his hand out tome. I took it and he lightly pulled me to my feet. Instead of goingover together, he nimbly scooped me into his arms and carried methere. He laid me down tenderly, and as his arms slid out from underme, I sighed with serenity. I abdicated to him completely as heslowly peeled away all of my clothes then stripped his own. When heclimbed onto the bed, he ran his hand up my thigh over my hip to mystomach where he paused to replace his hand with delicate lips. Thekisses he laid on my body were long and emotional, his lipslingering, making me shift toward him.

He grazed over my breasts,running his hand lightly up my arm and to my neck. After his lipsbrushed my collarbone, I reached up with both hands to run themthrough his hair then down his back. He joined our lips in a kiss ashe hovered just short of melding our bodies. He stroked me teasingly,but I refused to rush him. I let him have his pleasure while hediverted my attention by nuzzling me, raising the hair on my neckwith his heated breath. My skin reacted to him joyously becoming sosensitive to his touch I couldn't help but shudder when he brushedhair from my face and gazed deep into my eyes with his green pools ofrapture.

When he finally slipped inside,he did it slowly and without breaking our eye contact. I inhaled,fighting my instinct to rake nails into his skin. I gripped his armsand bit my lip. When my neck tipped, he touched my cheek to bring mygaze back to his. Our affection was exposed and undeniable, our paceslow and passionate. My body twitched, aching to give in to thepleasure of his ceaseless, deliberate strokes.

I could feel us rising to afervent apex and he took my hands tenderly, smiling with a look ofsolace. Our orgasm came with the heavy knowledge of eternal love anddevotion, making it all the more pleasurable. We didn't need wordsto know we were in love and we were going to be okay.