Page 36 of Caelum

She’d followed the rules of her people but only to stay under the radar.

I had a feeling that when she was freed from the bullshit she’d learned—and she wasn’t a regular human, and her souls wouldn’t let her remain indoctrinated for long because they had their own shit to do—Eve was going to be a rebel.

Smirking at the thought because it amused me to imagine her in a leather jacket and Ray-Bans James Dean-style, I watched her and then became aware that Nestor and Stefan were watching me watch her.

I quirked a brow at them, not sure what the issue was.

In the real world, checking out a friend’s woman’s tits? Yeah, worthy of an ass-kicking. But in this world? We shared. And they knew that.

They also knew I was a goddamn virgin, and that most of the women on the campus did jack shit for my dick.

I guessed it was only fitting that Eve had said dick tied up in knots. There was more DNA material on my shower wall than in an episode of CSI.

“What do we do now?” Eve asked, breaking into my thoughts as she peered at the container that was loaded with dust.

“Throw it out,” I said, watching as Nestor climbed to his feet, grabbed the machine, detached the insert, and then emptied it into the trash.

She frowned, stared down at the floor, then pursed her lips. “Electricity is handy, isn’t it?”

My nose twitched as I tried to stop myself from laughing. “Very handy,” was all I allowed myself to say.

A hum escaped her, and I watched as she grabbed one of the books from her enormous stack that was growing every time she passed the library then headed for the sofa where we were sitting.

I was honestly surprised she was comfortable with us in here. I figured she’d want this space to be her own and that being around us would disconcert her. But, again, she wasn’t human. And her soul undoubtedly recognized Stefan’s presence and that soothed her.

Was it horrible of me to wish that my soul and hers were the bonded ones?

Probably.

But Eve was a prize, and she didn’t even know it. I had started to enjoythe time we spent together, reveled in those moments where I could just watch her read at my side.

I wasn’t sure what had changed between then and now. Just knew thatIhad. That something about her got to something inside me. It was both terrifying and exhilarating at the same time.

“What are you reading?” I inquired with a rasp, trying to focus on the documentary Nestor was making us watch rather than on her sweet expression as she smiled up at me.

“War and Peace.” She patted the book after she’d shuffled nearer to me on the sofa. “I did that thing you told me to do.”

“Which thing?” I’d told her to do a lot of things. I was her walking Alexa.

“That thing with the Google.”

“Just Google,” Stefan corrected. “No ‘the.’”

“Nit-picker,” she grumbled.

“What did you Google?”

“’Literature you have to read before you die.’”

“You’re not dying,” I reasoned. “Won’t be for a long time.”

That had her clearing her throat. “I have to divide up my reading time.”

“Why?”

She shrugged. “Some time is for pleasure, but most is for study.”

“You can chill a bit, Eve,” Nestor argued, melted chocolate clinging to the sides of his mouth like he was a damn toddler. “You don’t have to read the whole library before you graduate.”

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