Page 25 of Sophie’s Ruin (Crimson and Shadows #2)

HENRY

Moreau had paid me a visit not long after Camilla had left.

He had chosen the serrated knife that time, and I’d had to suffer through yet another torture session.

After he had left, satisfied with the damage he’d done, I had begun slipping in and out of consciousness.

Each time I retreated into my mind, it was harder to bring myself back to reality.

Here, pain and despair awaited me. There, I could be with Sophie, reliving our brief time together as memories flashed through my mind…

“Good evening,” Sophie’s voice pulled me from my slumber.

I blinked open my eyes and found her watching me from where she sat on top of my bed, hugging her knees to her chest.

“Good evening,” I replied, as I ran a hand down my face to wake myself up.

I couldn’t believe I had fallen asleep. The last three nights must have taken more out of me than I’d thought.

At least Sophie was more lucid now, having overcome the bloodlust last night.

Had I dropped my guard any time before then, she would have ripped out my throat and escaped, I was sure of it.

Now, she seemed in control of the darkness, albeit sitting unnaturally still and rigid, not used to this new body of hers.

She was wearing one of my tunics and seeing her in my clothes was strangely intimate.

I had wanted to borrow Isabelle’s clothes, but Sophie had been desperate to shed her blood-covered dress.

She had also made me change the sheets after she’d spilled blood on them.

“How did you sleep?” I asked her, letting my gaze roam over her features.

Her tousled hair spilled over her shoulders, and I could see her creamy skin where the tunic didn’t quite cover her legs. Gods, she was beautiful.

“I was dreaming about you…” she started, but trailed off, her brows knitting.

I didn’t need to ask what kind of dream it had been.

There was no mistaking the notes of remaining desire I could detect in her scent.

My throat dried when I picked up on it, and I shifted in my chair as arousal spiked.

I immediately tried to tamp it down, hoping Sophie’s heightened senses weren’t keen enough yet to detect it.

She looked concerned about the dream, and I didn’t want to make it worse.

If anything, I wanted to put her at ease.

“You were dreaming about me because I’m the one who turned you,” I explained. “There is a special bond between a vampire and their sire. Perhaps that’s how our bond is manifesting. The dreams don’t mean anything. They will pass.”

My brows pulled together as I felt a niggle of disappointment at my own words.

I caught myself wishing the dreams wouldn’t pass, but wishing for that was selfish of me.

Sophie’s life and everything she knew had just changed.

She was frightened and confused, and I would not add to that state of confusion.

I was here to help her, not make it worse.

So she would never know about the thought I’d just had, just like she would never know I had seen her in my dreams. She didn’t need to know, because as I’d told her, the dreams would pass, even if I didn’t want them to.

Sophie’s frown deepened at my words, and she opened her mouth to say something, but I interjected, desperate to change the subject.

“How are you feeling?” I asked, watching her closely.

She looked as if she wanted to go back to the previous conversation, but then decided not to.

“I’m hungry,” she said simply, and I knew she was—her eyes were black, not the beautiful hazel hue I was so fond of.

My gaze darted to the empty cooler on the floor by the chair I was occupying. I had meant to get more blood before I had fallen asleep.

“I will bring you some blood,” I said, rising from the chair.

“Can I come with you?” Sophie asked softly.

I froze where I stood, staring at her as silence stretched.

The question had caught me off guard—I hadn’t expected her to ask to leave this room so soon.

She was a new vampire, and bloodlust could strike at any moment.

If it did, and she somehow escaped from the mansion…

I knew she wouldn’t forgive herself if she hurt innocent people.

My unease about the request must have been written on my face because Sophie’s delicate features crumpled as tears glistened in her eyes.

I was instantly overcome with the urge to gather her in my arms to comfort her, but I fought it, keeping my distance.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” I finally voiced what she had already gleaned from my face.

“I understand,” she rasped, hanging her head. “If you think I’m not ready, then I trust your judgment,” she added low.

I felt conflicted. She trusted my judgment, but I trusted my instincts, and right now, they were telling me that I needed to believe in her.

She needed me to believe in her so she could believe in herself.

I suddenly realized that I would always do anything in my power to give her whatever it was she needed.

It was a shocking revelation I decided not to dwell on at the moment.

My mind made up, I extended my hand to her and said, “Come with me.”

Her head snapped up, disbelief flaring in her eyes.

“Really?”

“Yes.” I gave her a small, reassuring smile. “You are in control.”

She appeared to be in control. She had done remarkably well fighting the bloodlust. It had taken me weeks to overcome it when I’d turned. It had taken her three nights. I was amazed by her, and I had a feeling it was only the beginning of all the marvelous things she would do.

Hesitantly, Sophie reached out and placed her hand in mine.

As soon as I wrapped my fingers around hers, regret surged, powerful and overwhelming, because we were the same temperature now.

At least she hadn’t lost her floral scent when she’d turned.

It was still there, though it was headier than before.

The smell of wildflowers was now laced with more lush, decadent notes.

It was intoxicating, and I tried as much as I could not to focus on it.

I had spent the last three nights trying not to focus on a lot of things, like how much I liked holding her in my arms, or how much I had wanted to go through with what she’d tried to initiate when she’d first come to after I’d turned her.

When her eyes had snapped open, and she’d straddled me, raking her nails down my chest…

I had felt my self-control slipping. It had taken everything in my power to not give in to the maddening rush of desire.

But she hadn’t been herself then, lost in the frenzy of bloodlust, and I had refused to take advantage of her in that state.

I’d be lying if I said the thought hadn’t crossed my mind several times since then.

Being locked up in this room with her had been the sweetest torture—her smell and everything about her taunting me, tantalizing and sinful.

Perhaps I needed to leave this room as much as Sophie did. I could ask for Isabelle’s help to keep an eye on her, so I could get some distance from her to clear my head. The thought terrified me more than I was willing to admit, because I didn’t want to be apart from her. Not now. Not ever.

“Henry?” Sophie’s voice snapped me from my thoughts.

“Sorry.” I cleared my throat. “Are you ready?”

She nodded and rose from the bed. When she stepped closer to me, I picked up on our scents, which were intertwined because she was wearing my clothes, and the smell went straight to my head as my breathing hitched.

“Don’t let go,” she begged, when I went to pull my hand away.

Her eyes were pleading when my gaze darted to hers.

“I won’t,” I assured her, as my hold on her hand tightened.

Together, we walked to the door.

“Wait,” Sophie said when I reached for the handle. “Are you sure this is a good idea?” she asked, turning to me.

Her eyes were filled with fear. Not fear for herself but for others.

She was terrified of leaving this room and succumbing to the bloodlust that would drive her to escape the house and go on a hunt for any human she could sink her fangs into.

Seeing that fear only reinforced my belief that she was ready, because that fear was her humanity shining brightly inside her.

“I’m sure,” I told her, gently cupping her cheek.

Reaching up, she placed her hand over mine and turned her face into my palm.

Breathing had already been difficult, and now my chest was constricted so tight that the next inhalation never came.

She truly had no idea what she was doing to me.

Being so close to her, touching her… Gods, I wanted to haul her to me and claim her mouth and then her body.

Her delicate nostrils flared before she looked at me again, her lips parting slightly.

Could she pick up on my scent that undoubtedly betrayed my thoughts?

“Your eyes…” she said, her voice a bit huskier than before.

Of course. My scent wasn’t the only thing that could betray my intentions.

“I’m hungry,” I said, my voice low and thick. It wasn’t exactly a lie. I was hungry, just not for blood. “Shall we?” I asked, dropping my hand from her cheek.

A strange expression settled over her features, a mix of disappointment and relief.

Seeing the conflicting emotions on her face only confirmed my decision not to pursue my selfish desires.

Sophie needed to gain purchase on her new reality, to learn who she was now before she could figure out what she wanted… whom she wanted.

She stared at me a moment longer, and I found myself wishing she did or said something to give me an excuse to touch her again, though I knew that once I started touching her, I would never be able to stop.