Page 68 of Bloodgrove

“We need to treat your wounds,” Elodie said apologetically. “And we will try to draw the last traces of vampire venom from your blood. But the night will be long. You have lost a life-threatening amount of blood.”

Guided by Elodie’s hands, he lay down upon the carpet and stretched out his limbs. Together, they healed him, sometimes with traditional methods—cleaning, salving, and bandaging the deeper wounds—and sometimes with magic, whose crackling touch upon his skin drew a blissful whimper from him. But the pain remained constant. His face twisted as he reached new extremes, when iodine burned inside the bites and even their gentlest touches were not gentle enough. When they ran out of bandages, Eric removed his shirt and tore it into strips.

When they worked together like this, they needed no words. Will forced himself to open his eyes again and again, only to see their faces for a few seconds. They read what the other needed from a glance, their movements fitting together as though they had not been bitter enemies for years. It made Will forget the pain, and warmth crept into his heart. Memories of his parents returned, so old he could barely place them—of the two of them setting the table together, from a time when everything had still been peaceful.

Will’s eyes closed, and the cold returned. Just as peace in his parents’ home had not lasted, this bliss was only a distraction from the abyss still yawning inside him.

At last, Elodie cut her finger and drew circles of protection across Will’s chest. Magic pulled at his veins. He whimpered in pain. The room flickered before his eyes, and his hands clenched in the carpet.

“No,” he heard Elodie say. “You have already given enough blood.”

Even so, moments later, he felt Eric’s wrist against his lips, lava dripping onto his tongue of ice. Elodie was right, but Will could not restrain himself. Greedily, he licked up the copper taste and savored the salt of that red sea.

“Enough,” Elodie hissed the moment she finished the spell.

“Cold,” Will protested weakly when Eric withdrew his hand.

“I know.” Compassion colored Elodie’s voice. She rose and returned a moment later with blankets. Together with Eric, she lifted the thin mattress from the bed and placed it before the fireplace, then built Will a small nest of blankets and pillows.

But it was not enough.

His entire body trembled the moment he curled up inside it.

The fire felt like nothing more than an oversized oil lamp—giving light but hardly any warmth. He wanted to set the blankets ablaze simply to escape the ice inside his bones.

“Elodie!” Eric cried in shock.

Suddenly, Will felt movement beside him. Elodie had slipped out of her hunting clothes and crawled beneath the blanket beside him, wearing only a thin undergarment. Her body glowed with heat, and Will pressed himself against her without restraint. It was improper. She did not want him. He was a mistake.

But she dismissed Eric’s protest. “Do not pretend you have suddenly become a saint. Undress and lie down with us. Or would you prefer to spend the night over there?”

Will did not look when he heard buckles opening. Instead, he drew Elodie closer, shamelessly wrapping an arm around her, and to his surprise, she nestled against him.

“I am sorry,” he whispered into her hair.

“Shh.”

“Saint.” Will faltered.

“I found what remained of him. There is nothing we can do for him. I am glad you left the letter.”

Suddenly, Eric seized Will’s feet, and before he could ask what he was doing, he pulled warm socks over them.

Elodie lifted her head and could not suppress a quiet giggle. “Mr. Arcos… who would have thought shuffling documents and doing paperwork could build muscles like those?”

“This is a matter of life and death, and that is the best you can think of?” Eric grumbled before sliding down on Will’s other side. His bare, hard chest pressed against him, and Will shuddered with pleasure. He truly could never have dreamed this would be the first time he lay beside that man. And he was glad there was not enough blood in his body, because otherwise Elodie would very quickly have noticed how deeply the contact affected him.

“After New Year’s, I can admire my husband instead,” Elodie continued to provoke.

“Then take a good look. Your husband will never give you a sight like this.”

“Jealous?”

“Are you jealous that the only time you see me naked is for Will?”

Will was certain Elodie was glaring at Eric over his body. He did not care. Real warmth was finally creeping beneath his skin. He did not dare press himself against Eric, although there was still too much space between them. Instead, he slid one leg between Elodie’s, allowing her to fit herself entirely against his side. She giggled softly, her breast resting upon his chest, her warm breath tickling the bandage around his throat.

“You two seem rather familiar,” Eric muttered.