Page 14 of Soren

Technically, Soren didn’t need human food at all to survive, but he liked the taste of it anyway. The ritual of it too. No one realized how important the act of eating was to human society until they were no longer a part of it. And as long as Soren had his regular diet of human blood, his inner vamp didn’t care what else he put in his body.

Sheryl placed their coffees in front of them moments later, and Soren eyed Gabe critically while the other man ordered his breakfast. The human was still looking dazed, his golden-brown eyes glassy. Not surprising after the full-blown panic attack he’d had in the car.

Soren should have read the human better.

He’d realized Gabe was tense back at the hospital, acting more irritable and nervous than usual. But Soren had just thought Gabe was annoyed at him for showing up without warning instead of waiting for him outside.

The human could be a stick in the mud like that.

Soren supposed hecouldhave waited outside. But he hadn’t been able to resist the idea of seeing Gabe in his natural habitat. There was something about the man that made Soren want to study him, like an insect under a microscope. Was Gabe a blustery douchebag in his official doctor capacity? Or was he secretly tenderhearted, holding patients’ hands and convincing them all was right with the world?

Plus, Soren had wanted the full white-coat visual, but Gabe had disappointed him in that matter. The man wore scrubs but no coat.

The human really lacked a proper sense of drama.

But then he’d more than made up for it by disrobing right in front of Soren in the locker room. A fact that Soren was regretting a little now. After the emotional moment in the car, he didn’t feel quite right about his lingering arousal. But he’d never been very good at denying himself anything he wanted, and given the opportunity to watch Gabe take his clothes off, he hadn’t been able to resist the temptation.

And Christ, that man had a scrumptious body. Tanned and well muscled, with a lean edge to him from all those long runs he went on. Soren had had no shame in ogling that shirtless chest.

“How did you know what to do back there?” Gabe’s hesitant question broke through Soren’s thoughts.Probably for the best, he reflected, shifting in his seat and fighting the urge to adjust his hardening cock. It really had been too long since he’d had a man.

Right, Soren. Focus.

He debated dodging the question. Evading probing questions was one of Soren’s many talents. But for some stupid reason, he was compelled to go with the truth.

“I’ve been there myself,” he offered.

Gabe scoffed at that, but it lacked his usual bite. Definitely not fully back to himself, then. “You’ve had panic attacks? What is there for you to possibly be afraid of? You’re, like, invincible.”

“Immortal, not invincible,” Soren corrected, taking a sip of his coffee. “We can be killed. Beheading. Fire.” Why was he giving the vampire hater information on how to kill him? His mouth went on without his permission. “Besides, there is a world of hurt beyond just killing.”

Gabe gave him a sharp look at that.

Maybe Soren had given too much away with that answer. Because that was the annoying thing about Danny’s boorish brother. The fact that, when it came down to it, he wasn’t really boorish at all.

He was an idiot, of course. Classic American male with too many emotions and no idea what to do with any of them. Like the way he’d been pushing his family away for years when it was clear to anyone with half a brain they meant the world to him. Idiot, for sure.

But Gabe still picked up on a lot despite all that. Maybe he could read hints of Soren’s past in his face. It was unlikely. Not even Roman, who’d somehow wormed his way into becoming Soren’s closest friend these past decades, knew Soren’s whole story.

Which was for the best. Opening up to people meant opening up to future pain.

Soren knew that well.

But Gabe’s panic attack in the car had left Soren…curious. He found himself wanting to crack his human’s head open and peer inside. See if he could untangle the mess he was sure he’d find there.

Well, nothishuman. Justthehuman. Regular, old, boring human.

Right.

They drank their coffee in silence until their breakfast arrived. Pancakes—lightly cooked, doughy on the inside, the only right way to make them—with whipped cream and berries for Soren. Eggs and toast with bacon for Gabe.

Soren eyed his companion’s plate distastefully.

“Boring,” Soren accused, needing to say it out loud.

“Classic,” Gabe corrected, narrowing his eyes, unable to hide his annoyance. It was his go-to look when it came to Soren.

For some reason, it made Soren want to smile. And, since he always did what he wanted, he did. Grinned wide and bright.

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