Page 28 of Death and Donuts

“I need to brush my teeth.”

I slipped out of his arms and stood with a stretch. His gaze swung to the bit of stomach the move had revealed, and I quickly dropped my arms to my sides.

“Let me get ready. We can talk over coffee.” I grabbed clothes and fled to the bathroom.

Cross had asked me what my plans were for the day. This was the perfect time to tell him about my date with Shepard and ask some real questions, especially after Vena sent him the video of me clinging to Shepard.

While I dressed, I played the conversation in my head. Once I was ready, I returned to my room to find Cross leisurely sitting on my bed with his phone in his hand.

The t-shirt and jeans he wore sinfully hugged his body. My pulse jumped a little as my gaze took him in, and I forgot what I wanted to say.

Vena was right; Cross dirtied up nicely.

Cross glanced up at me with a look of pure lust that matched my own.

His eyes flashed black as he stood.

“You tempt me when you look at me like that, Everly.”

“Sorry.” My gaze slipped away from him only to return.

“Tell me what you’re thinking,” he said, stroking his fingers over my cheek.

“I think I’m in over my head. A part of me still wonders if you like me as a person or if you like me because of who I am to you.”

“Who are you to me?” he asked.

“Your buffer with the werewolves and maybe even the humans. The person who woke you who also happened to taste good too.”

His hands framed my face, and his lips covered mine in a tender, heart-melting kiss that slowly grew more hungry with each stroke of his tongue. I was panting by the time he pulled back to study my dazed expression.

“I am grateful for your understanding of what I am and for your help to make peace with the wolves, but you are not a buffer to me, Everly. You are what I’ve dreamt of for centuries. You are my hope. I crave your presence in my life more than I crave a taste of your blood. The beat of your heart whispers promises of a happier tomorrow. Do you understand? My affection for you is genuine.”

I nodded, still a little dazed from the kiss. That was the only explanation for my gaze dipping back to his mouth.

He chuckled and kissed my forehead again.

“Do you still believe you are in over your head?”

“Absolutely,” I breathed. “Vena told me that she sent you a picture of me kissing Shepard yesterday. And now you kiss me today? I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do with that. I don’t want to be caught in the middle between you and Shepard. Your position in D.C. is rocky at best. You can’t afford to upset?—”

He cut me off with a demanding kiss that had me grabbing his shoulders and holding on for dear life. Especially when his mouth left mine, and he started trailing kisses along my jaw and down my neck, which I blatantly arched to give him better access. I obviously had no sense of self-preservation. Yet, I couldn’t and didn’t want to stop.

“You are temptation itself. The trust you give me is…” His teeth scraped my skin, and I shivered before rubbing my hips against his. He had me against the wall with my legs around his waist before I could register.

“Everly.” My name was an animalistic growl before he kissed me with a ferocity that tore me from reality and placed me in a world where only Cross existed. Cross and his mouth and the way he arched into me.

A whimper escaped my throat when I suddenly found myself standing alone against the wall. Disoriented, I looked around the room and saw Cross in front of my window, staring out.

“Your chaperone warned me that we would be interrupted if I continued,” he said.

It took a few breaths for lucidity to return enough to understand who he meant.

“Ah.” I cleared my throat. “A spoken warning is better than yesterday’s spray bottle.”

He glanced at me, his eyes completely black with a web of tiny black veins prominent in the pale skin around them.

“A spray bottle?”

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