Chapter 28: Erin

I wanted to sleep for the next century, but nightmares chased me into the waking world sooner than I wanted. It was embarrassing the number of times I woke up and thought Cal’s quilts had come to life to strangle me or that the shadows in the corners of the room were Dez coming to drag me back to his dimension now that Cal had no hold on me. I rubbed my face, the bags beneath my eyes the worst they’d ever been. Even worse than when I pulled all-nighters in college.

Maybe I could talk to Dez and work this out. If I tell him this was all Cal’s doing, would he finally let me sleep? I laughed, half-delirious. That’s what Dez wants—for me to crawl back to him and beg for mercy. Mercy, he promised he wouldn’t give.

It had been roughly a day since I’d seen Megan and Llewyn. Since Cal’s mark faded from my hip and my life flipped upside down.

Like Llewyn suggested, I needed time to process, but I also needed answers and a way to protect myself. Cal sure as hell wouldn’t tell me anything, considering he neglected to tell me that Megan was fine in the first place. But why was I still in his bedroom? What was stopping him from dropping me off at Dez’s doorstep?

Speaking of the devil, Cal entered the room wearing a black shirt and jeans. His wet hair was brushed back, and his jaw looked freshly shaven. He held a tray of steaming eggs and a hot cup of coffee.

“Where’s Saya?” She’d come with food yesterday, but I hadn’t been in the mood to talk, pushing my food around instead of eating it.

He ignored me and set the tray down in front of me on the bed. It felt like so much effort just to lift the mug.

Cal’s gaze fell on my face as I stared at the insanely heavy cup of coffee. “He’s a petty bastard. Always has been, always will be.”

I frowned. “What?”

“How long has Dez been inside your head?”

My mouth peeled open, then I closed it. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

He sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed. “I’m trying to help you.”

“If you had wanted to help me, you would’ve told me the truth about Megan.”

He didn’t respond. After Dez screwed me over on a technicality, I’ve been reviewing all of my conversations. Dez led me to make my own conclusions without him ever saying anything incriminating while Cal kept quiet.

“I can block out Dez so you can get some rest.”

It sounded too good to be true, but damn it if I wasn’t willing to risk it all for a decent night’s sleep. “You’re telling me this now?”

He raised a brow, then ripped the silver dagger earring from his ear. It transformed into a silver blade the size of his forearm with a hilt made of encrusted rubies. He brought the blade to his palm, blood welling up from where he cut himself. “Drink.”

My nostrils flared. “Absolutely not.” Well, I guess I wasn’t willing to risk it all yet.

“Don’t be stubborn, Erin. Drink.”

“So you can get in my head, too? Fuck off.”

His eyes glittered dangerously, and I cursed myself for not being more cautious. My wrists throbbed in remembrance of what he could do. Exhaustion was making me cranky and reckless.

I rubbed a hand over my face. It was far from ideal, but slowly dying from sleep deprivation wasn’t great either. “Please tell me it won’t add another hundred years to my lifespan or something.”

“You’d have to drink much more than I’m willing to give you for that. You’ll gain a couple years at most.”

“How much? Blood, I mean, would it take to increase my lifespan significantly?”

“A lot more than what Dez gave you if that’s what you’re concerned about.”

Relief swept through me. At least there was some good in all this. It quickly turned to fear when I realized Dez would have the power to force more of his blood on me if I failed to break our contract. Like Wyll, Saya’s former contractor had done to her.

“Fine, but only a little.” My stomach revolted at the idea. Maybe if I plugged my nose, it wouldn’t be so bad?

Cal squeezed his hand, the blood running more freely down his arm when he turned to me. “What in all the realms are you doing?”

I had my nose pinched between my pointer finger and thumb. “I’m ready.”

His lips twitched as he leaned forward. The tray moved to the side of the bed on its own as Cal’s knees hugged either side of my hips. My spine straightened, my lips parting unconsciously. The zipper of his jeans was at eye level, and I ignored the explicitly vivid image of Cal’s cock thrusting into my mouth at this angle. His gaze met mine, and a smirk teased his lips as if he had read the direction of my thoughts. Fire scorched my cheeks down to my core, making me more alert than I had felt all week.