Page 20 of Invidia

The moment Evrin came out of the entry room, his head swung in my direction, nostrils flaring. It was incredibly gratifying.

“Are you okay? What are you doing here?” he asked, keeping his voice low as he strode toward me, gently gripping my upper arms and rubbing them with his thumbs.

I opened my mouth before closing it again, lost for words in a way that I rarely was.

“Perhaps you were lonely?” Evrin hedged, tilting his head to the side.

“Yeah,” I croaked, something settling into place at the recognition of what I’d been feeling. “I think I was. Which is so stupid, because I was just with Meera five minutes ago, and I don’t really have any reason to feel this way.”

Evrin pulled me into his chest, his enormous arms wrapping tightly around my shoulders as he squeezed the tension right out of me.

We stayed there for a long moment, my brain so blissfully silent that I was able to just enjoy the quiet nighttime breeze and the occasional rustle of fabric where my dress rubbed against Evrin’s skin.

And then he made a noise that made us both jump. It started where my ear was pressed to his chest, and seemed to rumble up his body, and it wasn’t a sound I’d ever heard him make before.

It was almost like a… purr.

“What was that?” I asked, leaning back to look up at Evrin’s face, my arms still loosely wrapped around his waist.

“I have no idea. I’ve never made that sound before.”

“I liked it,” I told Evrin, patting his waist, because he seemed kind of self-conscious about it. “It was very soothing.”

“I’m glad. Are you feeling better now?”

“Much. Are you okay? I hope I didn’t interrupt your plans—” I said, suddenly realizing that I’d just imposed on him without warning.

“Not at all,” Evrin interjected. “I was just going to grab some food and sleep. I’ll walk you back to Elverston House first, though.” A little bubble of hope swelled in my chest. “There shouldn’t be anyone around this late, but I’ll walk ahead if there is.”

Never mind.

Don’t get your hopes, I chided internally. Don’t catch feelings. Just relax.

“How was your shift?” I asked as we made our way back through the garden. “Anything exciting happen?”

“No, thankfully.” He looked over at me, and I could have sworn I saw the moment that he realized he wasn’t giving me a lot of conversation to work with. “It’s always quiet, especially with the human-realm portals now quiet. It's just Shades passing through on their way somewhere else. Most Shades struggle with the oppressiveness of it for long stretches of time, so the only member of the Guard actively monitoring it is me.” He shrugged.

“Well, then, I’m definitely glad it was quiet if you don’t have any backup,” I replied worriedly.

“Even if something happens, I’m more than capable of handling myself.” His voice was filled with so much confidence that I couldn’t help but believe him.

“I hope so. Don’t you get injured on me,” I teased, though I wasn’t really teasing, and it wasn’t really what I wanted to say. Or at least not all I wanted to say.

“I won’t,” Evrin promised.

And that had to be enough.

Chapter 6

SEVERAL WEEKS LATER

“Oh fuck,” I groaned, pushing forward to lodge my knot into place in Tallulah’s snug, perfect cunt.

“Evrin!” Tallulah’s nails sunk into the backs of my arms, her heels digging into my lower back as she yanked me closer like she couldn’t get enough of me. It was a heady feeling having her clinging on to me like I was the only thing anchoring her to this world. A dangerously addictive feeling.

“What are you doing to me?” I groaned, bracing myself on either side of Tallulah’s head and doing my best not to collapse on top of her as she squeezed tight around my knot.

“Nothing you’re not doing to me,” she replied, her voice so breathless I half wondered if I’d imagined the words.

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