Page 30 of Falling for Famine
“Nope. I’ll warm you up,” she murmured into my neck, her lips brushing my skin. I hadn’t thought I was sensitive there, but her mouth just proved otherwise.
It wasn’t that I didn’t know what was happening to me; it was that I’d never once experienced it. Lust, desire, need—I’d been under the impression I couldn’t feel anything close to those emotions. Or perhaps it was more accurate to say I never wanted to.
Not until her.
Swallowing and overcome by the new but familiar sensations, I wrapped my arms around her.
It was better for her protection that I stay out of bed. I couldn’t be sure we were safe or that the angels and demons hadn’t followed because while they couldn’t see or track me, they could track her. Still, I didn’t let go of her. I went against every bit of sense I’d honed over the many millennia I’d lived and indulged myself.
I held her close.
Catching sight of Ignis and Glacies, I whispered an order, “Help me protect her.”
They fluttered and brightened with joy, swirling in excitement. My familiars were eager to be of use to her. They wanted her as safe as I did. They separated into pieces and fluttered throughout the house. With their assistance, I could relax a bit.
As she slept, I traced her curves, memorized her heat, and counted her breaths. I took note of everything despite having done so every night since meeting her.
Nomi brought the cup I’d made after she woke to her lips, staring at me as she did, curiosity beaming in her captivating ice-blue eyes. “You want to stay here for a couple of days? But how will you track Michael? Is that wise? Doesn’t tracking need to be done quickly or you lose the scent or whatever?”
She wasn’t wrong. The path would be harder to trace once it faded, and I couldn’t be sure how long ago Michael had been there, but I wouldn’t tell her that. Nomi would sacrifice herself to ensure I could track down Ares, and her complexion was still weathered and uncomfortably pale.
“It’s fine,” was the simple response I gave her.
I flicked my gaze to the pastry still left on her plate, itching to feed it to her. But she’d kept a steady hold on her coffee like she’d figured me out. And by the easy way she read me when no one else could, I didn’t doubt she had.
I couldn’t make sense of why I was so insistent on being the one to feed her. There wasn’t an explanation for these urges, when I’d never, not once, had any inclination like it before. Attraction and lust I understood, but the overpowering desire to feed and care for her I couldn’t explain.
Ares would likely know, possibly Zelus or Thanatos, but I couldn’t risk talking to anyone. Until I found Ares, I’d be on my own to navigate the continued curiosities.
I’d pondered all night if the other Horsemen were overwhelmed by the same powerful need for their mortals. Was this the design of a Counter Soul? Not that it mattered. I was confident in my decision.
Nomi was mine to protect.
Possessiveness and yearning pounded in my veins every second I spent with her. It was becoming a bigger distraction than I anticipated, this impulse to ensure every part of her was safe, both mind and body. Ares would be pleased. She’d always been eager to see me show an inkling of fondness for mortals.
But I’d never struggled to stay in control, and I was acting out of character and impulsively. It could be dangerous if I didn’t figure out a way to manage these urges.
I nearly got found out this morning. Time seemed to soar by while watching her at night. I’d only just managed to escape a breath before she woke. She’d wandered down the hall a minute later, greeting me with a small, embarrassed smile. It had made my chest swell with an odd sort of warmth.
Her cup finally went on the coffee table, and I’d already plucked the pastry off her plate and brought it to her mouth. Sheglared at me, but it didn’t have any heat to it. With a withering sigh, she took a big bite. I watched her mouth move and missed her sneaky hand slide up and snatch the chocolate croissant from my determined clutch.
“You’re such a weirdo,” she mumbled, taking another bite. “Happy? I’m eating.”
It was an effort not to sigh in disappointment, but her little giggle distracted me a second later. Her eyes sparkled with something I couldn’t read. Taking another bite, she let her gaze sweep down my body, and that look of hers went straight to my cock.
Was this what Zelus talked about, this insatiable feeling of want? This urge to spring forward and lock lips with her until she moaned my name?
The liquid fire that seemed to run rampant in my veins whenever she was near guided every action and turned me into a beast run purely on instinct. I couldn’t pretend I didn’t understand why he was so enamored with it. The pretty mortal might destroy me and I wouldn’t even care.
Nomi leaned back, crossed one leg over, and took another bite of her breakfast treat. “So, what do you do when you’re not tracking down powerful angels?”
Not expecting the question, I tipped my head and considered my answer. “I have an extensive library and video game collection. I find endless entertainment in them.”
“Oh?! Will you show me?” She leaned closer, and my eyes dropped to where her shirt had dipped and exposed the line of her cleavage.
Her curvy figure always drew my gaze when she did anything. I hadn’t been at all interested in bodies before her, but now I couldn’t seem to keep my eyes away. I wanted to touch everything, feel every part of her, explore all her softness. Wouldit be as intoxicating as her mouth was? Her cheeks? Her hips? Between her legs?
Realizing she’d asked a question, my gaze met hers. Then with a nod, I stood. She followed after putting her pastry aside. One glance from me to the discarded food made her pause and sigh. Despite my expression never changing, she grabbed it again and took another bite.
