Page 28 of Guarded
Not a date, just a friendly meetup.
I don’t care what you call it, so long as I get to see you .
Chapter 7
Jeremiah
Like last time, I arrived two hours before Noah. I couldn’t help it. It was like my soul physically dragged me out of my house and into the sky, then plunked me down on the pavement in front of the restaurant we’d agreed to meet at.
Thankfully it was the middle of the day, which meant there were plenty of tables available. Sitting there and drinking glass after glass of water had to be better than lurking on the pavement, right? It was less likely to get the police called, anyway. Not that that would’ve been an issue per se…but Noah rocking up to find me compelling a load of officers who were trying to arrest me for loitering?
That didn’t scream ‘great dating potential.’
Not that this was a date. Noah had been clear about that.
It was a friendly meetup. A chance to get to know one another better. To try and persuade the incessant ache in our chests to ease for a little longer.
Noah didn’t need to worry about me getting the wrongidea about us getting too close. He’d made it clear by not messaging me for almost a whole month.
I wasn’t certain about the etiquette surrounding mobile phones. It had taken several lessons from Quill for me to get the hang of simple things like texting. He might not leave the house, but he’d embraced all the wonders of modern technology. Late at night, I’d hear him chatting to fuck knew who while he gamed.
He wasn’t happy, but he was surviving. Sometimes that was the best you could hope for.
While I wasn’t sure of the etiquette, I was pretty fucking certain Noah should’ve replied at least once.
But he hadn’t.
The knowledge had haunted me around every historic site I’d visited. Whispering in my ear while I’d been high in the air above Lesbos. Flashing across the mountains in Cyprus.
Noah’s ignoring you.
Like I needed the reminder.
I’d half expected him to renege on our agreement to meet. That hadn’t stopped me returning to London a week ago, just in case I’d been wrong. He hadn’t responded after my final message. I tried not to take it personally. Noah had been firm on his boundaries, and I wanted to respect them.
Even if my demon would rather I hunt him down, kidnap him, and hold him hostage until he agreed to the mating bond.
I’d let my demon rule me for far too long. In Hell, it had been a necessity, a method of survival. If I gave myself over to my demon, it was another layer of protection between my soul and the acts I was forced to carry out.I didn’t need that armour here on earth. My demon had no place in thisquiet restaurant, or even in the friendship I was hopefully going to build with Noah.
I checked my phone for the thousandth time, relieved to see there were only a few minutes left until he was due.
The pull hadn’t been easy to ignore, but I’d managed. The distractions of the various sights I’d seen had helped. But having a plan to see him again had helped more. A month was nothing to an immortal. The blink of an eye, really.These past few weeks had made me realise what it was to be human. To desperately wish the time away.
The knowledge that I’d be seeing Noah shortly had the ache in my chest easing. Soon, I’d be mesmerised by his expressive eyes. Reminding myself of the exact lines of his smile. Filling my lungs with the sweet and spicy scent that trailed after him.
It had been a long four weeks.
The door swung open and there he was. My cheeks protested at the smile that appeared, the muscles complaining about being forced into use after lying dormant for the past month.
I’d enjoyed myself, but I hadn’t found much to smile about. It was too hard when your soul was constantly telling you that you were in the wrong place.
I jumped to my feet, this time managing not to knock my chair over.Points for me.
If asked, I would’ve claimed I was being gentlemanly. Those who knew me would tell you I was anything but. No, I stood so I could drink Noah in properly.
And because it put me the tiniest bit closer to him.
I was ridiculous, it was true. But so long as no one else learned how fucking gone I was already, it’d be fine.
