Forest Fire (#2 The Legends of Regia) by Tenaya Jayne Read Free Book Online Page A

little yelp as he grabbed the edge of the sheet and jerked it off the bed.
     
    "So," she said saucily. "You'd go through that kind of pain just to ogle me?"
     
    "Obviously."
     
    "Was it worth it?...Syrus?"
     
    "Huh? I'm sorry what did you say?"
     
    Forest laughed, shaking her head. "Come back here."  
     
    Forest awoke in the dark, hours later. Light from the street lamps outside pushed through the fabric of her curtains. The small amount of light made everything in the room a silhouette. Her head rested on Syrus' chest, and his hand skimmed up and down her scars lightly. She didn't like that and was instantly self-conscious.
     
    "Stop that," she ordered, moving her shoulder away.
     
    He gripped both her shoulders and rolled her under him, his fingers digging deep into her flesh. Teeth flashed in the darkness before her eyes.
     
    "Faithless whore! I'll teach you who you belong to," Leith snarled.
     
    Forest screamed as Leith sank his teeth into the tangle of her scars. Her flesh tore and burned between his teeth.
     
    Syrus held Forest in the circle of his arms while she slept. He couldn't sleep anymore but was content laying still, replaying the last hours in his mind. He didn't want to disturb her slumber but couldn't stop himself from pressing his lips into her hair or brushing them across her temple every so often. After all the pain of separation, being together this way, completely, was a marvel. She was a marvel, and the love he had for her filled him up and stretched outward beyond his flesh, imbuing his aura with intense golden light.
     
    He exhaled, and his thoughts moved to the future, their future, then she suddenly stiffened in his arms. Her whole body went rigid, and a strangled cry escaped her lips. Knowing all too well how violently she could wake up, Syrus pulled her closer and whispered, "I'm here, Forest. It's Syrus. There's no one here but me. Just Syrus."
     
    She cried out again, her body jerking, her arms and legs flailing. Syrus let go and rolled away from her. "Wake up, Forest!" he commanded loudly now.
     
    "I am awake," she rasped. Her body bucked and cringed, and she screamed in agony.
     
    " What's happening? What can I do?" He was desperate.
     
    "It burns! It burns so bad!" she cried. "No! Don't touch me!"
     
    She groped for her bedside lamp and turned it on. The pain was so terrible she wished she had something to bite down on. Her eyes tried to focus on her scars. The crescent lovers marks glowed bright red, like coals in a fire. Then starting at the top, one by one, they tore open and bled. Forest pushed past Syrus and ran into the bathroom. She turned the faucet on and splashed water on her arm.
     
    Syrus was on her heels. She slammed the door and locked it.
     
    "Forest what’s happening?!" He shouted, panic woven through his voice.
     
    "I'm all right. Just give me a minute."
     
    He leaned his head against the door, teeth clenched, and tried to slow his breathing. She had been or was still in some intense pain and yet he couldn't feel it. Their connection should have alerted him to what she was going through, but he could sense nothing. His heart felt the beating of hers, her vital signs were strong and steady. Whatever she was experiencing was outside of the entity that was "them."
     
    Then the knowledge of the cause ran through his blood like poison. Leith .
     
    The physical price of consummating their connection while she was under Leith's power was uncharted territory. Syrus might have been able to consider there would be ramifications for her, if they hadn't been separated so long. But there were no thoughts in his head once he arrived in her apartment. He waited for her to return. Surrounded by her things, inundated by her scent. No, there were no thoughts when she came through the door. The connection took over both of them and brought them to completion. He was far from sorry. But now Forest was suffering something he couldn't stop, fix, or ease.
     
    He scrubbed