Page 109 of The Hunger
River’s pupils dilated, and she rose to her feet. Unsteady and breathing hard, she dove into the water.
“Let go of your hate and embrace each other.”
My hunger rose along with that dark thing when the scent of lust exploded in the pool room. I opened my mouth, ready to inhale it all, but stopped at the last second. The hunger wanted me to consume it all. But while that dark thing inside of me reveled in what we’d created, it didn’t want what the mermaids offered. No, I didn’t want what they offered. Not when there was something far better nearby.
Slowly, I turned to face Fenris.
“Being apart hasn’t been easy on me,” he said, watching me with an intensity that made me want to do so many naughty things. “I’m not as strong as I should be right now, Eliana. Please don’t test me. I don’t want to fail you.”
My hunger roared with need at those words. I wanted to consume every last drop of his lust then pull him into the water with the mermaids to help him make more.
“Test you? Never. You’re the only one worthy of me.”
“And will you be the only one worthy of me, Eliana? From now until forever?”
The words penetrated through my haze, and I realized what he was asking.
Gently cupping his face in my hands, I smoothed a thumb over his lips. They were too tempting not to touch in some form.
“I didn’t mean to push,” I said. “I think I let myself get too hungry again. Would it be all right if I fed just a little?”
He groaned and reeled me in closer so our fronts were touching.
“It will always be all right. Take what you need, chipmunk.”
Very aware of the frolicking mermaids in the nearby waters, I remained focused on Fenris’s lust alone and carefully fed. My fingers continued to caress his skin and brush over his bottom lip. It was a small compromise compared to what I wished I could do. I wanted to kiss him. Without interruption. Without complication. Just my lips against his lips. I wanted it so badly I felt myself leaning in.
“Yes,” one of the mermaids hissed nearby. “Love me. Need me. Make me yours.”
I abruptly stopped feeding.
“Want to go somewhere else for a while?” he asked.
“Yes, please.”
On our way out, we almost collided with the druids.
“You might not want to go in there for a while,” Fenris said. “They’re having a pool party.”
Lauv glanced through the window, and whatever she saw amused her.
“Your work, I assume?” she asked me.
“It was an accident.”
“A happy one, by the looks of things. Hopefully, they’ll keep at it for a while. We need to do some spell work before we meet Zayn later today.”
“Megan’s Zayn?”
Lauv nodded.
“We’ve heard the rumors about him. Apparently, the Council has an insanely high bounty out for his capture.”
“Please tell me you’re not thinking of turning him in.”
“Are you crazy?” Meg demanded. “The man’s brilliant and a source of knowledge we would sell our families to obtain.”
“We are definitely not going to turn him in. We want an alliance.”
