Page 9 of Devour

“See? Even Eli doesn’t like him, and this is supposed to be his birthday dinner. You shouldn’t have invited him.” Asher huffed again.

“I never said I didn’t like him.” Was Rhory annoying? Undoubtedly. Yet, something about him remained attractive. Maybe that attraction felt sexual to others, but for me, the interest lay in knowing someone so different from me in every way. I was not his god, and his life was not for me to judge. “Rhory only lives as his truest self, and I respect that.”

“Whatever. I’m headed to the bar, too,” Asher grumbled.

Since I moved to let him out, I decided I might as well visit the bathroom to wash my hands before our food arrived. Ember knew what we wanted and could order for all of us.

Upon leaving the dining area, I passed Asher chatting with a blonde bombshell, sipping on a fruity cocktail at the bar. Not so surprising, yet so ironic. Asher could somehow disapprove of Rhory’s behavior while continuing to flirt without discretion himself. Even worse, he still wouldn’t own up to his behavior. Asher would rather blame me than let his sister know he made the first move that night. Remembering annoyed me all over again.

Yet, who I expected to see sprawled on a barstool as if he were in a beach lounge chair, was nowhere to be found. Rhory said he’d be at the bar. I paused for a second glance, but didn’t linger. After I passed the length of the bar, I turned into the last room with a green carpet that matched the felt of the pool tables. The only bathrooms were tucked in a corner, by the jukebox currently blasting a country song.

The song ended right as I rounded into the alcove that hid the bathroom doors. A single moan escaped before the noise resumed; a rock hit from last summer drowning the sound this time. Still, the darkness only covered so much. A brunette in fishnet stockings had one leg lifted and bent to balance against the wall while Rhory kissed her neck. I couldn’t help but notice one of his hands jammed up her skirt, but that really wasn’t any of my business.

Before I backed away, having given up on my bathroom expedition, Rhory noticed me standing there and met my gaze with a smile. “Sorry, hubs. Didn’t get my fill before dinner. Be right there.”

“He’s your husband?” the brunette said before shoving him off her.

“Well, not yet.”

She looked from Rhory to me before adjusting her skirt and escaping into the noise of the room behind me.

Instead of chasing after her, Rhory nodded his head toward the bathroom. Since that had been my original destination, and it meant I could eliminate the noise, I went along with him. Why? I couldn’t say. Shock had once again rendered me uncomfortable and uncertain, so I reverted to docile and agreeable. I went right to the sink and turned on the water, while Rhory washed and dried his hands before fixing his hair in the mirror.

“This feels familiar,” Rhory murmured at our reflections.

“Sorry, but…”

“Don’t apologize,” Rhory gently scolded. He stepped closer to me, sending an alarm through my senses as if something I couldn’t see coiled itself around me. “I should be apologizing.”

The cool tiles of the bathroom wall bumped my arm, and only then did I realize I’d backed myself up that far. “Why is that?”

“Because, lovely, I still haven’t got my fill today and willing bodies taste so good.” Rhory spoke in that throaty purr, the one I convinced myself I only imagined the last time I heard it.

Even though wariness seeped into me like before, something else skated across my body and kept me pinned against the wall. Rhory had never been this close to me. Yet now he stood so much so, I realized his eyes lacked a definable color. Instead, his irises glowed despite the bathroom light silhouetting his features. Never before had I witnessed anything so beautifully unnatural—simultaneously hypnotic and alarming.

My skin shivered and my breath quickened, but I remained immobilized when Rhory leaned his whole body into me. His hips rocked in my direction while he gazed up at me, sending a shiver of pleasure through me. One that only intensified when his lips met my neck and his tongue traced my throat.

“Look at that. You taste delicious,” he growled in my ear.

My vision blurred as if a vignette surrounded us. This time, I couldn’t convince myself I imagined it. This wasn’t right. Not knowing what was happening only intensified the sense of having no control over it.

“What are you?” I asked, my voice interrupted by anxious, rapid breathing.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

* * *

RHORY

With one last inhale, I felt full for the day. All was right with the world. And Eli? He didn’t even need a nudge. The swirl of emotions in him when I leaned into him filled my cup to the brim, but the twitch of him getting hard and the ensuing guilt left me overflowing.

Then the pleasant smell surrounding him soured, and I backed my face away as soon as he panicked. Fear ruined the taste of any meal. This much was a universal truth across species. Ever eaten an animal that died scared? Not at all appetizing.

“Oh, hubby,” I said, softening my gaze and stroking his cheek with my knuckles. “I wouldn’t hurt you. Not unless you gave me a reason to.”

“The frick,” he spat. Probably the closest he ever came to cursing. So hot.

“I was hungry.” I pouted. He wasn’t buying it.

---