Page 35 of Tears of Ruin

I felt Noam leaning into me at the comment.

“Oh mygod.” Dane’s eyes rolled back as he deeply inhaled. “You haven’t made spaghetti in a minute. Bring. On. The. Carbs.”

“Is he always like that?” Noam said low enough for only me to hear.

“Guy has more food orgasms than anyone I’ve ever met,” I whispered back. “That’s probably why Satan hates my cooking.”

Noam’s cheeks puffed out, his lips pressed together, suppressing a laugh as he chortled.

My grin widened. Not for the comment but the unbidden laughter Noam could no longer hold back.

And in that very moment, I fell helplessly in love with him.

Chapter Nine

Noam

Crud.It was like the universe refused to give me a freaking break. I was starting to think the guy was stalking me.

Kyson needed to have a serious conversation with his boyfriend about boundaries, or lack thereof.

Hoping I didn’t seem obvious and not caring if I did, I spun around, heading in the opposite direction.

“Noam. Stop.”

Shoot! My freaking body did exactly what Giovanni wanted. My survival instincts malfunctioned instantly, even though my brain was screaming for it to haul butt. I had no clue what the vampire/warrior/natural-born killer wanted with me, but I prayed it wasn’t anything bad. I liked Kyson, really wanted to be friends, but I would ghost him in a heartbeat if his feral boyfriend didn’t leave me alone. I was terrified of the guy, and already I felt my body slightly trembling, and hating myself for the reaction.

Please don’t let him do anything that makes me cower in front of him.

The closer Giovanni drew to me, the more my heart raced. The guy had to be at least six-three or six-four, compared to my five-four. Admittedly, he was gorgeous, and I was willing to bet he used his looks like a weapon.

I was too terrified of him to care how handsome he was. I just wanted to stop running into him. My nerves couldn’t take it.

He moved into my line of sight, still as intimidating as ever. He studied me like I was a riddle to figure out. At least, that’s what I thought since I didn’t dare look him in the eyes.

“I’m not an asshole.”

Was this a trap? I’d never called him one, wouldn’t dare to, but was he trying to get me to admit to something I’d never said? Why? So he would have an excuse to use those daggers on me?

Despite him trying to help me the last time, I didn’t trust him.

I didn’t really trust anyone.

Except Richard. I was a little too busy trying not to wet myself to examine that thought more closely.

I wanted to defend myself, but my mouth refused to open.

He moved over to the wall, pressed his back into it, stretched his legs in front of him, then crossed his arms. “I don’t want you afraid of me, Noam. I’m trying… for Kyson.” He said the last sentence kind of low, almost like he was saying it to himself. There had also been something close to…sadness? I wasn’t sure if that was the right word, but I’d heard a hint of it in his tone.

As badly as I wanted to run, I struggled to find my voice. Since I wasn’t sure how long I would be here, I didn’t want to run or freeze up every time we crossed paths.

He didn’t say anything for the longest moment, but as time stretched out, so did my nerves. I wasn’t sure if I should ask permission to leave or simply walk away.

You don’t walk away from predators. You run from them.

Even though that was one hundred percent true, and Giovanni terrified me, I know longer repeated things in three. That had struck me the other day. I was under the same roof as three deadly predators, yet my trauma loop was gone.

And I couldn’t understand why. One hundred Martins couldn’t match the deadliness of just one predator in Winterhaven.

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