Page 50 of Gluttony
She was a dark thing he’d created to help him achieve his goals. She was the evil he wanted rid of in the world. She was the last thing he would consider family.
He gave her a dismissive wave. “Do as you’re told. Then you can get back to the business of collecting unlocked blood samples from your brothers and sister.”
The light faded from her eyes, her expression went lax, and then a perfect calm stole over her storm. The hairs on Julius’s neck stood on end, and he’d barely a chance to shout at the guards before she was upon him, choking the life out of him, with only one directive firing in her eyes—kill. End the sin.
He should have known better than to allow himself to despair around her, but with the end so close, with fruition in sight, he was blind to how close she’d been to the edge of oblivion. His rapidly increasing emotion must have set her off.
Two thwacks ripped through the air in rapid succession. Tranquilizer darts pierced the leather between her shoulder blades, and within moments her eyes rolled in the back of her head and she collapsed, releasing his throat.
“Get Van Jansen back in here,” he rasped at one guard. To the other, “Once the scientist has looked at her, put her to bed. She won’t remember the attack.”
Van Jansen came bustling through in the wake of the first guard. He came, pursed his lips and widened his eyes at the fallen angel at their feet.
“How many times has her switch flipped?” he asked Julius.
Julius rubbed his tender throat, only just healed from her previous attack five days prior. “Too many to count. We are losing her to despair. Her usefulness is fast reaching its expiration date. Since her siblings are all coming into their powers, I was hoping she would soon be too. But she is the eldest.”
“Mm,” Van Jansen replied. “Thirty-five, ja?”
“Something like that.”
“If she hasn’t triggered by now, it is unlikely she will.”
“Soon she will be of no use to us. Our only choices will be to let her loose on the population, or extermination.”
“Untrue. She is still of childbearing age. There are always her stem cells.”
“Yes. There is always that.”
Sixteen
Tony was stuffinghis face with his third jam-smeared croissant when Bailey woke and joined him in the kitchen of his apartment. It was six a.m. and his rumbling stomach had woken him with a ravenous appetite. The intravenous fluids he’d had the previous night had done nothing to sate his hunger.
Still, once on the lips, forever on the hips. He grimaced at his last bite and put it back down. If his trainer knew he’d indulged with buttered pastries, he’d make him do a million burpees.
Bailey padded up to the bench with dark hair tousled, puffy lips and bedroom eyes. It was a shame she still wore her hole-riddled yoga attire and they’d done nothing but sleep by each other’s side. God, she looked incredible in the morning. The more he learned about her, the more he wanted her. It took all his restraint to keep his hands calmly resting on his porcelain plate, and his heart steady in his chest.
She still had a long way to go before she accepted and trusted him. Perhaps further until she was ready to be with him wholly. There was always a sense of restraint with her. Even when she’d slept next to him, she’d used a pillow to separate them. But he wouldn’t be deterred. Not for long.
He aimed his remote at the flat screen on the wall beyond the kitchen bench and turned it off. Nothing much interesting except the city’s plumbing problems near the Quadrant Central Park.
“Morning, babe.”
“Hungry?” she joked, eyeing off the empty packets of croissants.
“Always,” he replied without taking his eyes from her.
He hadn’t thought his response offended. Maybe there was a slight lewd overtone, but she would have heard worse. Whatever the case, she’d taken it strangely. A nervous flitter ghosted across her expression, and when she spoke, her reaction became clear.
“And this is the sort of thing having a mate can help with? I mean, you’re free to—” she cut off as her shrewd gaze took in the empty plate.
He waved at his crumbs of devastation. “Gluttonize is the word I use. I’m free to gluttonize. Say it with me, Glutt-on-ize.”
“Very funny.”
“Not funny, fun. But yes. I can eat without reprimand, of course, apart from watching my weight. I’m all about these abs.” He patted his naked torso and enjoyed the simmering flash of lust in her gaze. Yep. Not broken, and definitely stillon. “Basically, touching you makes the sick feeling I get from being near other people imbibing go away. You reset my internal levels so I can eat my fill. As long as you’re around, I don’t need to freak every time I guzzle a drink or have a feast.”
At the wordfeast, his gaze ran down her body. He’d only had a small taste last night, and he had been delirious with fever. He’d savored nothing. When he’d woken this morning, she slept so soundly he didn’t have the heart to disturb her. But now, it was all he could think about.
