Possession of Souls Read Online Free

“You’re awake,” he said, stating the obvious with a sigh of relief.  “You were asleep for quite a while this time.”
    “I’m sorry,” I replied, reaching down to stroke my fingers through his hair.
    He rolled off me and sat up, scooting against the pillows before gathering me into his arms.  “Stop apologizing, you’ve done nothing wrong.  I’m the one who should be sorry,” he ground out.
    “But you needed it.”  I wrapped my arm around his waist.  “I know that.”
    He was silent for a moment.  “But I hate what it does to you.  It knocks you out cold every time.”
    “I’m ….”
    He cut me off.  “Don’t you dare apologize again,” he said forcefully, so I bit my tongue.
    I heard him knock his head back once, then twice, against the headboard, and I looked up in question.
    “What do we do now, baby?” he asked, full of emotion.
    I crawled to my knees, reaching out to place my hands on either side of his face, and stared into those lovely blue eyes.
    “Talk to me, Vance,” I said softly.  “Tell me what you’re feeling.”
    I could see him struggle to shutter his emotions, conflict warring in his expression with my request.
    “Please don’t shut me out.  If we’re going to get through this together then we need to learn to operate on the same wavelength again.”
    His countenance hardened this time, and red streaks shot through them as a wave of anger rolled over him.  “That’s exactly what the problem is!” he shouted, catching me by surprise.  “There is no “together” anymore.  He’s taken you from me!  Just like he promised he would.”
    “No!” I argued back.  “He hasn’t taken me from you.  I’m still yours one hundred percent, and I’m here with you now.”
    “For how long, Portia?” he growled out, grabbing my wrists and pulling them away from his face.  “For a day?  A week?  A month?  Until he decides to kill me and not allow me to wake up again?  Then we are separated for a long, long, time.  He’ll have you all to himself to bend to his mercy, and there is nothing I can do about it!  I can’t protect you because he’s stronger than me now.  I’ve failed you in every way possible!”  His voice wrenched into an anguished sound, and a haunted look of agony replaced the anger in his eyes.
    “Oh, Vance.”  I pulled my arms from his grip and crushed my lips to his.
    He answered me instantly, wrapping his arms around my body and rolling me over so he leaned over the top of me.  He kissed me with a wild desperation I had never felt from him before, like a man who was drowning, struggling for his last breath, and I could feel the moisture that fell from him to mingle with my own.
    He ravaged my mouth until it felt bruised from the assault—before he lifted his head to kiss my tears, moving down to cradle his face against my neck.
    “I can’t lose you again, Portia,” he said, his voice muffled against my skin.  The dam he’d been holding back finally let loose, and he gave into the sobs, letting them rack his body.
    I just held him, not speaking, stroking my fingers over his hair and down his neck, trying to give some sort of comfort.  I’d never seen him like this before, so unsure, so defeated, and I had to admit it scared me a little.  He had always been the strong, confident one, not to mention the fact his demon characteristics rarely led him to any such display of emotion.  I knew he was very upset.  This was coming from somewhere deep inside him.
    “Vance,” I said softly after several minutes, and he lifted his head to look at me with his red rimmed eyes.  “I need you to understand something.  Whatever happens from here on out, whether we’re fortunate enough to be together, or we’re separated—I’ll always love you, and only you, and that is all that’s important to me.  No matter what he does, he’ll never be able to break our bond, and that alone will make us the victors in this.”
    He stared at me