"This is my favourite," he said, producing a remote control from under a cushion and turning on the big flat-screen TV opposite us. The nest had been strategically placed, I realised, and flushed with pleasure. He hadn't just spent time making the nest for me, but he'd planned how we'd spend our time: warm and comfortable, covered in blankets, with something to watch and food to eat.2
"Here, here, it's cooked!" he said when the anime opening credits had ended, jostling me as he reached for one of the plastic cups, practically vibrating with excitement. "Fork or chopsticks?"
My eyes widened at his enthusiasm. "Fork or what…?"
"Fork it is." He nodded sagely, unable to keep a huge grin off his striped brown face. I had a flash of memory of meeting him at the community centre, but it was mostly blurry with a haze of pleasure and venom.
Reverently, he placed a red cup in my hand and handed me a fork with the same gravitas the keepers used to hand the Origin their strongest cattle prod. I swallowed, able to shove the memories to the back of my mind because Sang was here beside me. I jabbed my fork into—huh. The wiggly yellow stuff wasn't hard anymore? It was noodles now?
"What even is this…?" I asked, but lifted a bite to my mouth, chewing and processing the tangy tomato flavour—until my tongue began to burn sharply enough that I gasped and flapped my mouth open. "Why does it taste spiky? Is it supposed to have fire and knives in it?"
Sang's eyes filled with affection; he quickly whisked the cup out of my hands. "It's spicy, sweet human. Try this one; it won't have knives in it, I promise."
I forced myself to swallow the noodles, and they burned and stabbed all the way down my throat.
Sang echoed his promise with an obsessive flurry of kisses down the side of my face. After a while, I could feel my tongue again, but it still burned, and my eyes stung. Who in their right mind made food that fought back?
"Sang, I'm not sure…" I began as he encouraged me to try the second cup, this one with a yellow design on the front. But he was so excited that I didn't have the heart to refuse, and besides the attention was like sunshine on light-deprived skin, and I couldn't get enough.
"Okay, I'll try a little bit," I agreed, emphasising thelittlepart as I hooked a single noodle with the tines of my fork and brought it hesitantly to my mouth. I didn't miss the way Sang's gaze fixed on my lips, watching raptly as they opened and sucked up the noodle.
"Oh!" I gasped, surprised when it didn't assault me this time. I quickly scooped up more and chewed more appreciatively.
Sang sat back, purring deeply, his eyes slitted with pleasure as he watched me. "I'm happy to see you eat well, my mate," he said in a gravelly voice. "You'll need your strength."
I swallowed the next bite nervously. "For what?"
His grin deepened, flashing sharp teeth. "Didn't I make you a promise, sweet human?"
I gulped. I remembered that promise every time I was with Sang. And I couldn't help but notice this was a tall tent. Tall enough to sit me on top of him…
"Aren't you going to eat?" I asked, pointing at the other steaming cups.
"Yes," he purred. "Very soon, Hala."
16
Acool rush of shivers skated down my back and I swallowed hard. A deep ache started between my legs, pulsing at the dark, hungry way Sang watched me eat. All too soon, my fork scraped the bottom of the cup, all my food gone, and anticipation made me shaky and electrified.
"Did you mean what you said?" I asked, clutching the cup like a lifeline as I peered up at Sang. "That I'm yours? You … you definitely want me?"
My kitty monster shifted closer, cradling my face in his hot palm. "I want you so much I can't breathe right without you. When you ran away, it was like everything was wrong. Like all the air had gone out of the world."
I gave him a dubious look, but he wasn't being dramatic; he was deadly serious.
"I've never had anyone want me like that before," I admitted. "I keep expecting you to change your mind and realise I'm just a plain, boring human."
"You killed Mav, and that shadowkind in the bar," Sang reminded me, as if I'd forgotten. His eyes were soft as he leaned closer, his lips brushing my forehead. "You're far from boring. But even if you decide never to kill anyone ever again, I'll still want you, sweet human. I meant what I said with all my heart. You're mine; I'm yours to keep forever."
He plucked the empty cup and fork from my hands, setting them outside the nest, and scooped me into his lap, surprising me with a sweet kiss. The heat of him against me felt amazing, as did his big hands travelling across my body, almost obsessively, trying to touch all of me.
"Will you keepme, sweet human?" he asked against my lips, his eyes shut, thick lashes casting shadows across his cheeks.
I should probably have hesitated, but nothing could stop me saying, "You were right when you said you're mine forever. Of course I'm keeping you, Cheshire Cat."
He let out a high, trilling sound and squeezed me to him with his massive arms, his lips surging forward to claim mine in a wild, desperate kiss that made my breath catch. The heat that had been gathering slowly in my core exploded into a fire when Sang's tongue stroked mine in a frantic rhythm, his hands clutching me possessively.
"You don't need this," he said, low and grunting, and I jumped when he pulled my shirt up over my head and threw it out of the tent.