Page 59 of The Hunger
He patted the bed.
“What were you trying not to feel?”
“Possessive, mostly. All the time we were spending together made it hard to see you as a friend instead of my friend. I kept reminding myself that someday you’d scent your mate and I needed to keep my distance to be respectful of this future female I hadn’t yet met but already resented.”
“And now that you know there’s no one else but you?”
I let out a shaky breath and approached the bed. At the last minute, I ran and jumped to land on him in the most awkward sprawl possible. He grunted and laughed as he wrapped his arms around me.
“I’m trying to adjust my thinking. It still doesn’t feel real that you’re mine. Maybe that’s why I’m so willing to have you spend the night. So I can wake up in your arms and know today wasn’t a dream.”
“It’s not.” He kissed my forehead and rolled me to the side.
Without looking, I slid under the covers with him, willingly taking the little spoon position.
He leaned in and inhaled my scent.
“I raided Oanen’s clothes,” he said so close to my ear that I shivered. “What’s your stance on your mate wearing underwear?”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Dreams of cakes were nothing compared to waking up in Fenris’s arms. I loved his heat and the way he held me. It wasn’t confining at all. Instead, I felt protected and treasured. The rumbly groan he gave when I fed on him in his sleep was the icing on my dream cake.
I ran my fingers over the light dusting of hair on his forearms as I waited for him to wake. It didn’t take long, especially when I kept stealing the lust that drifted around us.
“Good morning,” he whispered, nuzzling my neck.
“So good,” I agreed. “Did you sleep well?”
“Better than I have in a long time. You?”
“Same. I dreamt of cakes on and off all night. Did I do anything inappropriate?”
“If you’re asking if you licked me, the answer is no. I held you like this all night so you wouldn’t be tempted. You only tried to turn around a few times.”
I twisted in his arms and gave him a troubled look.
“I woke you up?”
He grinned at me.
“No, I woke up on my own. Don’t forget that you were never the instigator for your midnight feedings, Eliana.”
I blinked at him.
“What do you mean? What did you do last night?”
“I made sure you ate like I always do. You don’t take as much convincing in your sleep, though.”
His hand slid under my shirt, and his fingers stroked the skin of my lower back. My hunger unfurled inside of me. It wasn’t ravenous, only interested in what Fenris was doing.
“This is all I did,” he promised. “When you’re hungry, this is all it takes.”
“You’ve been touching me in my sleep for weeks?”
His hand stilled, and his face lost all its humor.
“No, Eliana. At first, all I needed to do was open your window and think of you. You sensed me and fed.”
