Page 36 of Falling for Famine
Having her under me was impossibly satisfying. I hadn’t wanted to let her go. Though, the staggering sight of faded scars all over her body left from a father who, if not for already being dead, would have me to answer to, had roused every protective urge inside me.
And had it not been for the enemies attacking, I might’ve kept her in that bed for hours, days even, laying claim to every part of her. I would’ve kissed every scar left behind and worshipped her gorgeous figure that thrived in spite of her past.
I should be afraid of this being the design of a Counter Soul, but if it was, I was glad for it. It’d brought her to me. It forced my soulless existence to find new life and purpose. Kissing Nomi was the first time I felt like I could breathe.
She was all I thought about since making our escape and the only person I considered when I thought about the end of the world now. For her, it couldn’t end. She didn’t belong anywhere else but by my side.
The influx of demons and angels weren’t what bothered me. Their numbers had grown, but they couldn’t get close to her. I overpowered them without effort. It was the powerful demonlurking that disappeared the second I leveled my attack on the area.
One of the Fallen Brothers.
A powerful fallen angel and brother to Lucifer was watching and learning. His objective was clear: find an opening and exploit it. Angels and demons weren’t without cleverness, but a powerful demon like that had sway the others didn’t. Like Michael, his abilities surpassed the ones presently attacking Nomi.
I hadn’t seen what happened with Zelus’s Counter Soul when a demon marked her for Hell, and now I wished I had. Perhaps then I would have some idea of what I was up against and how to defeat it, whether he’d succeeded or failed.
A sighing breath bathed my neck in gentle heat as Nomi slipped deeper into sleep. Moving onto my back, I kept the slumbering woman on my chest with an arm securely wrapped around her back. I pressed my face into her hair and closed my eyes, thinking through moves to keep her safe.
She told me she wasn’t afraid, but she wasn’t the one I was worried about. Because fear had been eating away at me since I sensed the powerful demon. It was an emotion I couldn’t name at first, but it’d become painfully clear when the powerful fallen angel came into play.
The Fallen Brother had crossed over for her—an act so aggressive it could instigate a war—and he’d done it because the angels looking to either end the world or stop it from ending were preoccupied with us.
I pulled out my phone and stared at the screen. I hadn’t wanted to call on the other Horsemen without finding Ares first, but with a Fallen Brother after Nomi, my priorities had changed.
Ares was strong enough to protect her Counter Soul. Michael threatened me because she didn’t want to go up against theHorseman they called War. She might know where Ares was, but that was only one part of it.
No one outwitted the being created as the ultimate battle tactician. Not even an archangel as strong as Michael could outsmart Ares. I’d been eager to help her, but it was wishful thinking to believe she needed me.
She didn’t.
But Nomi did.
I selected the name of the Horseman who everyone feared the most and shot off a quick text. Nomi’s blue hair covered her face after she moved, so I brushed it aside with the hand not presently typing the message, unsatisfied when I couldn’t see her face.
The phone vibrated a half second later with a reply, and I sent back a confirmation that in a day’s time, I’d meet the others at a safe location to discuss Nomi’s present situation. I was powerful, but up against a Fallen Brother and Michael, I’d regret not utilizing the help I did have.
Nomi was worth whatever it cost me to ask for it.
I lurked behind my mortal as she cooked us breakfast, refusing to let me do anything but watch. She’d been vocal about what she called balance. Something to do with the joy found in giving as much as receiving.
Ares would definitely enjoy her company once it was safe to find the other Horseman. Nomi was infinitely kind and thoughtful, just like Ares.
Her first thought after waking was to call her father. She’d asked if it was okay if she did, and I found that even if it gave our location away, I wouldn’t be able to say no to her.
Her smile and happy laughter after hearing about his annoyance with the new baker he’d hired tugged at my own lips. Nomi was always so vibrant. No matter how much had happened in the last few days, she never truly lost her smile. And I vowed to protect that smile of hers, too.
The determined mortal didn’t look over as I brushed her hair aside and kissed her bare shoulder, relishing the mesmerizing display of freckles trailing from one end to the other. I traced a path between a few of them with my finger and stole curious glances at her face between brushes.
She ignored me.
I’d never understood Zelus’s fascination with riling up mortals with his words and actions until now. It was endlessly entertaining to see her react to the things I did. To rouse a subtle blush or sound she hadn’t wanted to give me.
I grabbed her side and pressed myself against her from behind. A soft, shaky breath escaped her after I leaned in and bit her ear.
“I thought you wanted me to eat,” she teased even as she pushed back into me and wrapped her arm around the back of my thigh.
I dragged my lips down the curve of her neck, enjoying the way her scent intensified when she was aroused. “I do.”
“Your actions speak to the contrary, my guy,” came her breathy reply.
