Page 125 of The Hunger
“It’s real. I’m not going anywhere.”
I could sense the thread of his doubt a moment before he spoke.
“Are you sure? Aubrey isn’t going to make anything easy between now and Saturday. Neither will my dad.”
“I know, but I’m done running from everything. I’m going to save it for when it really counts.” I playfully licked his nose. “Don’t worry, I’ll wear red.”
He groaned and hugged me close.
“I’m thinking about becoming a leg humper,” he said into my neck.
I laughed and ran my hands over his back.
“I doubt that would be the worst thing you’ve done.”
“You’d be right.”
My grin slowly faded as doubt crept in. He inhaled deeply and pulled back to look at me.
“What are you thinking now?”
“I’m wondering what the expectation is for this Saturday. Am I going to be wearing red?”
The tremor wracking his body increased in intensity.
“I’d love nothing more than to see us fully mated. But not in the woods, and not this Saturday. You’ve come a long way, but I know you’ll always be uncomfortable with group nudity. I don’t want our mating tainted by fear or worry.”
“Then maybe we go somewhere else. Maybe before Saturday so you don’t have to run at all.”
He made a pained noise, and I could feel his heart thundering against me.
“I love the way you slowly torture me. You’re so giving. Never stop being you. But I think we’ve conceded enough to appease the other people in our lives, don’t you?” he said, proving my guess right. “I want this to be on our terms. However long it takes for it to feel like the “right” time to us is how long it takes. You’re worth waiting for, Eliana.”
I lifted my lips to his and kissed him sweetly. Then I snuggled close, letting him hold me tightly until the shaking I’d caused eased.
A sudden burst of hostile conversation echoed around the pool room as the doors opened.
“I’m telling you they fucked with your head, Jannette. The druids have been doing that for weeks now to cover up for—”
Eras’s eyes narrowed, and his face flushed as he spotted me in Fenris’s arms.
“Speak of the succubitch, and she appears.”
Only my tight hold on Fenris kept him sitting.
“I warned you, Eras,” he growled.
Eras inhaled deeply.
“She already has you primed. Good. I’m going to enjoy this.”
He opened his mouth.
That dark thing inside of me surged forward. I didn’t stand. There was no menacing posturing. I didn’t need it.
“Remember your lost meal, Eras,” I said.
Immediate understanding lit his gaze. Not only did he remember the meal but he could now compare the energy of the one who stole it to what lingered around me from feeding from Fenris.
