Page 37 of Prey

I didn’t know how she felt about all that had happened this morning.

She had been vocal, but it was mostly when I was touching her. Now that she wasn’t under a cloud of delirium, now that reality had penetrated, I wondered if she regretted letting me touch her.

I didn’t know.

I quickly made scrambled eggs, toast, and four pieces of bacon for us before setting her plate in front of her.

She stared down at the food, not saying anything.

I wrapped her hand around a fork, then leaned down and kissed her temple firmly.

She didn’t recoil from me.

“Eat, baby.”

She hesitated for a beat before forking up some of the egg and slowly taking a bite.

I watched her, unsure of what my next move would be.

Slowly, I sat down and dug into my own breakfast. Like much of the meals we shared in the cabin, this one was had in silence, with me watching her eat, and her pretending like she didn’t notice I was watching her.

I leaned against the back of the chair when I was done, and she was about three-quarters of the way done.

My phone vibrated in my pocket, the slow buzzing noise loud in the silence between us. I pulled it out, seeing Micah’s name flashing on the screen.

I put my phone on silent and shoved it back into my pocket.

She watched me curiously.

“Aren’t you going to answer him?”

“Nope,” I said, not bothering to explain.

“Does he know you’re here with me?”

“Micah’s a smart man. I’m sure he can guess. Give him enough time, and he might even show up on the front step.”

She blanched at that.

Fuck. I didn’t say that to scare her, only to prepare her for it.

“Hey, I won’t let anything happen to you,” I said, wrapping my arms around her body. She didn’t fight me. If anything, it felt as if she had moved in a little closer to me, seeking out my protection from all the monsters in the world. And Micah might be the biggest monster of them all, but that monster would never harm her.

I wouldn’t allow it.

“How would you know?” she asked, her hot breath hitting the skin on my neck.

I swallowed, trying not to let her closeness affect me so badly.

“Because I know my brother. And even if he wants to hurt you, I won’t let him.” I cupped her chin and tilted her head back until she looked at me. Her gray eyes glinted in the morning light. “Trust me.”

She pulled back a little from me. I tightened my hold on her. “Trust you? I don’t even know you.”

Fair point.

But I had never once lied to her about my feelings. I might have lied about everything else, about why I was living next door to her, about who I was, but never about my feelings.

“You know Xavier.”

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