Deliverance by Adrienne Monson

things hurt more when they cut you,” she repeated.
    Fingers brushed gently through her hair. “Oh, Leisha,” Tafari whispered. Then he was no longer lying across her.
    Leisha blinked and looked around. “Tafari?” She was beginning to think she’d hallucinated the whole thing, when he came into view, a sharp knife in hand. He cut into his artery and moved over her again.
    Leisha eagerly gulped down his blood. It was warm and soothing. Small rips in her muscles began knitting themselves closed and vitality slowly trickled throughout her body. Her brain was finally working at full capacity again. The first thing she was aware of was Tafari’s musky scent enveloping her like a security blanket.
    Opening her eyes, her vision was back to its perfect vampire efficiency. She could see into the shadows and cracks of the small room they were in. It held an antique desk, an armoire and the bed she was currently laying in. The decor was more feminine than Tafari would have picked for himself, with floral designs on the borders of the walls and covering the curtains.
    After Tafari’s cut healed over, Leisha planted kisses along his jaw and neck. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I’m sorry I wasn’t, you know . . . in my right mind when you rescued me, or even a few minutes ago. It would have been a lot easier to escape if I’d been able to run on my own.”
    Tafari leaned back and scooted onto his side, facing her. Their legs intertwined with each other and he stroked her lips with his thumb. She relished his kind, soft touch. “That is nothing you need to apologize for.” The dark scruff that lined the lower half of his face lightly scratched her forehead. Leisha noticed that his black skin looked a shade too pale. “I am glad to see life come back into your eyes.” His arm curled over her waist and pulled her into his body. “I was not certain you would come back to me.”
    Leisha closed her eyes, not ready to recount everything that was done to her. Memories hovered menacingly at the edge of her mind and she mentally scattered them away. “How long was I . . . held captive?” When he didn’t respond right away, she looked up at him.
    His silvery blue eyes darkened as he answered. “From what I can gather, you were in there for eleven days before I could get you out.” Tafari’s lips tightened. “I did not know that you were there until Rinwa contacted me. I was across the world on a wild goose chase.” He pushed himself onto his elbow and glanced at the closed door. “Rinwa wanted to rescue you herself, but the council was watching her closely. She had to use our secret chat room to let me know what was happening.” He leaned off of his arm and pushed himself closer to her. “When I learned of what they were doing to you, I flew back as soon as I could. They did not know I had returned, so it was fairly easy for me to sneak through security.” He smiled ruefully. “I trained most of the other immortals myself, so it was not too difficult.”
    Smiling softly, Leisha pulled her head back to look at him and said, “My own knight in shining armor.”
    To her surprise, Tafari’s expression fell. Tears leaked out of the corner of his eye. She’d never seen him cry before, not in more than two thousand years of knowing him. “If I were such a knight, you would not have had to go through that.”
    She forced back her own tears that threatened. She didn’t want her husband to see her any more broken than he had. “Tafari, I’ve been beaten plenty of times. I’m fine.” Her voice was thick.
    He shook his head. “No. I cleaned you myself. I know what was done to you.”
    She put her fingers over his mouth before he could say anything more. Mustering up a watery smile, she did her best to convince him. “Okay, so I’m not fine just yet, but I will be. It’s nothing I haven’t dealt with before.”
    Leaning his face into the crook of her shoulder, he groaned. “That is not right, my love. You have been