Page 38 of Devoted

8

Ezekiel

Look, I knew asking Sam if he wanted phone sex was moronic. I was supposed to be putting distance between us, not moving our relationship to the next level.

But I couldn’t help it. Ever since that day in the pub, I’d had Rami’s words echoing in my head.

“What if he is?”

It was such an innocuous question. In any other context, it might not have mattered.

But in this one? In the one where I was trying to determine whether the man I’d never met but was slowly falling for was my mate?

Yeah. It definitely fucking mattered.

When Sam had asked to meet, I’d panicked. If that happened, and it turned out hewasn’tmy mate, everything would end sooner.

I wasn’t ready for that to happen.

That and petty jealousy was why I’d offered to get Sam off over the phone. I didn’t know what Sam looked like. I didn’t know what sound he made as he came.

But what I did know was that I didn’t want anyone else finding out either. I didn’t care what had happened in the past, but I certainly cared about what he did now.

The idea of him being with anyone other than me had me wanting to scour the city until I found him. To kidnap him and keep him hidden away because he was mine. So no one else, not even my fated mate, could keep us apart.

Given that was fucked up on several levels, ones I probably needed to see a therapist for, I hadn’t done that. Thankfully, with Sam agreeing to my plan, all of that could be avoided.

For now, anyway. There was going to come a time when I’d have to either meet him, or cut him off.

I wasn’t ready for either of those options. Future me could deal, because present me couldn’t think past making Sam feel good.

Past knowing it wasmemaking him feel that way.

Rapping my knuckles on the door frame, I sent up a prayer that Nate was in a helpful mood. “You busy?”

Nate’s bulky frame was almost folded in half as he peered at the lines of code racing over his screen. “Depends on whether you’re going to be a cunt today.”

The monster snarled, but I shoved it down, thinking of Sam. “Only if you are.”

Nate stretched his arms high, bones cracking in his back. “Nah, can’t be fucked. Already kicked the shit out of Theo this morning, so I’m good for a while.”

“Really? I didn’t hear the alarms.” The fights Nate got into with his twin were violent and destructive. If they weren’t separated almost immediately, it’d mean broken furniture, walls, or whatever else happened to be in their way. We’d installed an alarm system decades ago with buttons hidden in every room. If pressed, every angel on the premises would congregate to stop them…hopefully before they truly got into it.

“We took it outside,” Nate said with a yawn. “We wanted to be able to work off some aggression without one of you twats spoiling our fun.”

My lips twitched. “Your idea of fun is fucked up.”

It wasn’t that Nate and Theo hated each other; far from it. But they were siblings. Siblings who lived and worked together. Siblings who didn’t really feel pain and couldn’t permanently die.

It made sense that they took their frustrations out on each other rather than the rest of us. Micah had theorised that it was their way of protecting others.

“Meh, could be worse.” Nate cocked his head to the side, narrowing his eyes. “What’s wrong with you?”

I touched my face in confusion. “Me? Nothing. Why?”

Nate pushed to his feet, prowling the short distance between us until we were toe to toe. “Yes there is. Your face. It’s weird. What the fuckisthat?”

Shoving him away, I marched over to the mirror in the corner. A quick check revealed nothing other than my own face staring back at me. “Are you winding me up?”

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