“Bo,” I whispered, short of breath, too.
Bo’s abnormally pale green eyes flickered up to mine and through my wavy vision, I could see the instant that he returned to me from whatever hungered state he’d been in, like he was seeing me for the first time. As I watched, I saw the color seep back into his irises, assuring me he was Bo once again.
“Hold on,” he said, reaching in to release my seatbelt and snatch me from the car.
Even if I hadn’t been hovering between consciousness and oblivion, I doubt I would’ve been able to keep up with where we were going. Bo carried me deep into the woods, whipping through the trees and across the uneven terrain at a speed I knew wasn’t humanly possible.
“Hospital,” I managed breathlessly. I knew I needed serious medical attention.
Finally Bo stopped and lowered me gently to the ground. His face doubled in front of my eyes and I blinked to bring him back into focus.
“Ridley, you need to drink from me. If you don’t, you’ll die before I can get you help,” he said, sounding like he was a million miles away.
“Then we can be together,” I whispered.
I felt my lips pull up into a weak smile at the thought of being with Bo somewhere, anywhere, for eternity.
“Ridley,” he barked. “Stop it! You’re not dying. You’re not leaving me.”
I blinked my heavy lids, trying to keep them open long enough to look into Bo’s one last time.
“It’s alright,” I said.
“No, it’s not. Open your mouth,” he ordered, sinking his teeth into his bare forearm.
With every passing second, I was exponentially more exhausted. I didn’t think I could open my mouth like he wanted me to. I tried, but my jaw just wouldn’t work.
“Ridley!”
I felt rough fingers at my cheeks, pinching them together to force my lips open.
A drop of tepid liquid hit my tongue and the taste of it, both salty and sweet, was the most amazing thing I could ever remember tasting, though it did seem vaguely familiar. I smacked my dry lips together and managed to open my mouth the tiniest bit, feeling a ravenous thirst for more of the thick fluid.
Several drops hit my tongue and I closed my mouth to swallow. I felt something cool press against my lips and I opened my eyes a crack. Bo was holding his forearm over my mouth, a panicked expression on his handsome face.
“Drink,” he said simply.
I opened my lips and wrapped them around his skin and sucked, drawing a pool of his blood onto my tongue. It made my mouth feel warm and tingly, and my throat as well, as it traveled down.
I’m not sure how long he fed me that way. I’m pretty sure that I passed out at least twice, maybe more. Little snatches of time were lost to me, but the one thing that never changed, never left me, was Bo. I could hear his shallow breathing. I could taste him on my tongue. I could feel him inside my veins, as if I’d taken in some living part of him that was now a part of me.
Little by little, I felt energy, feeling, life, return to my body, but as it did, an overwhelming need to sleep began to drag at my eyelids. I fought it, wanting to stay with Bo, to spend every available second with him, staring into his eyes.
I knew when I’d lost the battle. Like drawing the curtains across a window, my lids fell and blocked Bo from my view. Just before I drifted off, I heard him whisper, “Rest.” And then there was nothing.
********
Some time later, a cold hand to my face and Bo’s voice woke me. I opened my eyes and looked around. Though my eyes told me I was alone, my body told me Bo was near.
“Bo?”
“I’m here,” he said, taking my hand in his.
The sun was setting and the forest floor was dappled with the golden light of a dying day. To my right, where Bo’s voice and touch was coming from, I saw the tall, gilded trees shimmer, like I was looking at them through the distorting waves of heat you see coming off of hot pavement.
I sat up and looked more closely. Raising my other hand, I reached toward it. I jerked a little when I made contact with something solid and cool, but then I realized it was skin I felt. I rubbed my hand over it, feeling the crinkly tickle of hair against my palm.
As I sculpted the curves and dips, I realized that I was touching Bo’s chest. His naked chest. I paused and laid my spread fingers flat over his left pectoral. I could feel the excited patter of his heart.
“Ridley,” he groaned, part in warning, part in pleasure.
The sound of my name on his lips, with that hint of need in it so clear and plain, sent a surge of desire rippling through my core.
Slowly, I let my palm trail across his chest and down his belly. I jumped when his icy hand grabbed my wrist.
“Stop,” he ground out. His voice was notably strained.
“Sorry,” I muttered, pulling my hand away. The only thing I was honestly sorry about, though, was that I had to stop. “Where is your shirt?”
“You’re wearing it.”
I looked down and, sure enough, Bo had slipped his rugby shirt on over my own. When I inhaled, my nostrils were filled with his scent and I thought I might never give his shirt back.
“Oh.” I looked back up and “through” Bo and I could see that a pile of clothes lay just behind him in the leaves. “Whose are those?”
“Mine,” he answered.
“You’re not wearing any clothes?” A flush of heat stung my cheeks. Although I was a little embarrassed, the red stain had much more to do with the other things I was feeling.
“How would it look when the ambulance gets here if they see jeans and a rugby shirt walking around without a person inside them?”
I considered that scenario for just a moment. “Good point.” When it sank in, what he’d said, I asked, “Ambulance?”
“Yeah. I went to check on Connors and found his cell phone at the edge of the trees. I guess it got thrown when you flipped. I called 911.”
“When will they be here? What should I tell them?”
“Crap,” he said under his breath. “I’d say they’ll be here in the next five or ten minutes.”