Page 18 of Black Bird

“Then I’ll start taking my clothes off again.” Athan stared for a second, and then started unwrapping the sandwich, trying to hide the smile he wanted to sport purely out of spite. Rhaena scoffed, peeling the paper off of her own sub and shaking her head. “You’re such an asshole.” She closed her maw around the messy sandwich, and it dripped onto the paper.

The smell of this thing was enough to leave him sitting on a fine line between being nauseous … or ravenous. He studied the mess of cheese and red sauce, the toasted bread that it sat between. “I didn’t read your text after you told me to kindly fuck off.”

“I asked if you wanted to start with something light,” she said over a heaping mouthful, her cheeks bulging. “Like a sandwich.”

“This is your idea oflight?”

“Compared to a Porterhouse? Yes. Now eat.”

“I was joking, Rhaena.”

She swallowed down her food and slapped a palm to the table. “Do I need to remind you how witty you are?” When he stilled and held the sub away from his face, she stood and opened the fridge. The next thing he saw was a cold blood bag hitting the table. “Bon Appetit, fucker.” After the day that he’d spent enjoying something he thought he’d never see again, the thought of drinking from that bag felt worse than the possibility of being violently ill from this sandwich. He leaned over the paper and took a small bite. It surprisingly didn’t taste like ash on his tongue.

Rhaena watched him carefully while he chewed, no doubt reading every inch of his face. He swallowed and looked over at her, his tongue lapping across his bottom lip. He pretended not to notice her eyes following the movement. She raised her brows, as if questioning how he felt, and he nodded as he took another bite.

“See? Those fangs are good for something other than sinking int—” She caught herself, but not before he paused mid-chew and glared over at her. “I—I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it that way …”

“Fuck you for that.” He rolled his eyes and swallowed again, setting the sub down on the paper and sliding it away, grabbing the blood bag and walking off so she didn’t have to see him drink it. He did, however, make sure that when his canines slid out, they made a sound pop when they punctured the bag. He could almost feel her wince at it from where he stood in the hallway, draining every drop from it. It was about as fulfilling as it always was, the new changes to his undead flesh seemingly not making any difference when it came to which way he preferred to feed. Another test successful. He crumpled the remains of the bag in his fist and walked back into the kitchen, not bothering to wipe the blood from his lip. Rhaena’s eyes lowered when she caught sight of it, and she flinched when he loudly deposited it into the trash bin.

“I deserved that. I’m sorry,” she said softly. Her half-eaten sub laid against the paper on the table. That was apology enough. Not much ever came between her and her food.

“Eat,” Athan said dryly as he licked the blood off his lips and sat back down. He shuffled through files and set his laptop up in front of him while she quietly did as he asked. He pulled the cigarettes from his pocket and slid one into his mouth, closing his hands around it and lighting it while the computer took its time to start up. “What do we need to talk about? Did something happen today?” He didn’t look at her, but he could feel her eyes on the side of his face as he stared at the circle spinning on his screen.

“Well, first off … did you know that our vic was engaged to Brent Stratford?” Athan shot his face toward her.

“I knew they were together. I didn’t know they were engaged.”

“Well, you failed to mention that to me. Imagine my surprise when I walked into that room today and saw that prick’s son standing oh-so-lovingly next to her bed.” She took another bite of her sub, and he dragged on the filter.

“How do you know they’re engaged?” Smoke blew from his nose.

“When you were snuggled up next to her outside, did you not see the softball she had sitting on her finger?” He tensed and could tell she knew it made him want to rip that little bastard apart. He still wasn’t sure why it even mattered to him. “Don’t worry. I found out a bit more about that situation, too.”

“And that is?”

“She doesn’t love him. She might have at some point, but she sure as shit doesn’t now.” Something in his chest eased. He hit the cigarette hard.

“How do you know that?”

“Because she told me as much, for one. For two, she looked at him like if he went to go lay in the street, she wouldn’t care. Andthat, my friend, is what we need to talk about.”

“Why would I care if he did?”

“It’s not about whether you’d care. It’s about the fact that ever since you fed on her, her give-a-damn is busted. She told me she’s been having weird dreams, doesn’t want to do anything, feels dark and angry … basically she said she’s becoming Athan fucking Kane.” He closed his eyes, taking another long hit and leaning his face into his palms as he propped his elbows on the table.

He cursed under his breath.

“What is it?”

“She’s marked. I fucking marked her.” He shot up from his chair, turning toward the kitchen doorway and slammed a palm against the wall. Rhaena jumped in her seat.

“What does that mean?” she asked from behind him. He didn’t look at her, dragging the ash from his cigarette until it met the filter and blowing out a shaky breath of thick smoke. “Athan … look at me, please.” Rhaena’s voice was light and soothing. Enough so that he slowly turned to face her and leaned his head back against the wall.

“It means I either have to sire her or kill her. If I don’t then it won’t be long before she dies anyway. Either way, I’ve condemned her life.” His throat bobbed and he lifted his eyes to the ceiling.

“Sireher? You mean you’d have to turn her?”

Athan nodded once.

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