Page 10 of Insatiable Hunger

“Damn. Now I can see why you were so okay moving back home.” He laughs as he parks out front in between the fountain and the steps.

“Yeah, I guess it’s not so bad.” I unbuckle and reach for the handle.

From my periphery, I see him glance over at me. “Tonight was fun.”

“Yeah, it was,” I agree. Itwasfun.

“Can I get your number?” he asks softly. “Maybe we can do it again?”

The question trips me up for a moment. Do I want to do this again? Could anything really come from this? As much fun as I had, I can’t seem to get out of my own head. One glaring distraction is still ever-present in my mind, even if it’s shoved to the back for the time being.

What could it hurt, though? Hanging out with Jay again wouldn’t be a chore in the least. So, with a smile, I nod. “Sure. That’d be fun.”

He grabs his phone out of the cup holder, unlocking it and handing it to me. “Plug your number in and I’ll text you tomorrow.”

Once I hand it back, I climb out, waving to him as I make my way up the steps.

“Wait!”

Turning to look back at the car midway up the stairs, I see Jay rounding it, coming toward me. “What’s up?”

“I, uh, just wanted to do this,” he murmurs moments before wrapping a hand around the back of my neck and hauling me into his lips.

My hands find the shirt at his sides, gripping onto the fabric as my lips part for him. His tongue slips inside, tangling with mine, the moan leaving me completely involuntarily. He kisses me hard, leaving my head feeling dizzy. When he pulls back, the grin on his face is dazed and kind of adorable.

“Sorry,” he offers. “Really wanted to do that.”

“No complaints here.” I laugh. That was unexpected, to say the least, but definitely… nice. Not earth shattering, but I wouldn’t mind doing it again.

He walks backwards down the stairs, a crooked grin still playing on his lips. He looks almost… bashful now. It’s adorable. “Alright, well, have a good night, Eli.”

“You too.”

It’s not terribly late, but it is a weeknight, so I unlock the door and push it open as quietly as possible to not disturb anyone. Hilda’s room is on the first floor, and on the off chance she’s a light sleeper, I’d feel bad waking her.

After I twist the deadbolt, I turn, running into something hard. My palms come up to stop me from falling, and a ridiculously loud gasp falls from my mouth as I look up to find Zeke standing in front of me. He was the hard something I ran into.

Jesus Christ, he’s like a fucking brick wall.

“What the hell?” I blurt out, stepping back and putting space between us.

His face, as usual, is void of any emotion as he stares down his nose at me, black eyes bottomless, and paired with his massive size, he’s slightly intimidating in the dark.

“Um, hello? Why are you standing in the fucking dark like some sort of grim reaper?”

“Where were you?”

Crossing my arms over my chest, I reply simply. “Out.”

“Who was that?”

“Were you spying on me?” I hiss, the blood pounding in my ears. Where is the nice, calm guy from the other night in the movie room?

“Answer the question, Elias.” The way my name rolls off his tongue with his accent has no right being that fucking hot.

“It’s none of your fucking business. You’re not mydaddy, Zeke.”

The clenching of his jaw is the only indication my words got to him. “Watch your fucking mouth.”

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