Page 56 of Villainous Greed

It was like magic entered the air. I wished to see a thousand, no, a billion more glimpses of her joyous moments. In some mysterious way, I may have brought her happiness with a damn lollipop.

She probably hadn’t smiled in a long time. I made it my mission to give her more reasons to be happy. Falling to my knees, I grabbed her hips and laid my forehead against her stomach. It was a reminder of her small stature.

She stiffened. “August.”

“You’re the strongest creature I’ve ever met. And the bravest.Andthe prettiest thing in any world, even the ones we know nothing about.”

“What are you doing?” Nova pushed me off her.

“You need to get used to my words, my touch.” I extended my arm, leaving a space between us, hoping she would meet me halfway.“I’m trying not to scare you. You might need space, but I needyou. To hold and fuss and fucking love you.”

My racing heart threatened to pound right out of my chest. She didn’t reach out, but I didn’t expect her to. My mate had been through hell and back.

Regardless, her silence felt like she’d plunged an icicle through my heart. It was okay because I would eventually reach Nova through her fear and pain. “One day, my love and affection will be the most natural thing in the world.” I stood there while she scrutinized me, as though I were a meal that had gone bad. “You’ll crave my friendship and the intimacy we’ll share after we’ve destroyed our enemies.”

She swallowed hard, but remained quiet.

I changed the subject for her sake.

“Earlier, you said something about Harvest’s hideouts. Is that what you want to fuck up first?”

She scrunched up her nose. “Fuck up? You say fuck often and it confuses me.”

“It’s a human curse word.”

“Humans know curses?”

“No. It’s considered a vulgar word, and some people find that language offensive.” Her brow furrowed more. “You know how people sayHadesin the Underworld out of frustration or exclamation? Fuck can be the same way. I meant to ask if you wanted to destroy his hideout first. Do you want to ruin everything Harvest uses to hide from us?”

She smiled again. And it’s exactly what my tired body needed to feel rejuvenated.

“Let’s go fuck shit up,” I said.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Nova

August devoured me with his gaze as we walked. My body felt like a network of static energy because of it. When I crossed my arms and huffed, he waggled his brows, and a single chicken leg floated in front of my face.

My lips twitched as I snatched the food from the air and took a bite.

“Drink some water, too,” he said, pushing a bottle against my other hand.

I frowned. “You’ve always had this ability to make food appear out of thin air, and because I’m your marked mate, I can do whatever you can.”

“Yeah. It’s not that we’re creating it. Most things we’re yanking from somewhere else. Like right now, someone just lost a chicken leg from their meal in the human world.”

My stomach tensed at the realization. “I’ve had this ability to give myself food the entire time, and I starved.”

“Don’t.” August faced me. “We didn’t know. Everything you’ve been through was unfair. Harvest will pay for his crime against us, and Derrick will die. I promise you.”

“I won’t fall apart like I did earlier. Relax.”

“It’s okay to grieve. You’ve been through hell.”

“You don’t know what I’ve been through.”

“You’ve told me enough. I know you starved in a cell, and that can lead to insanity for an immortal.”

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