“It was very nice. The only way it wouldn’t be nice was if it were a lie. Did you lie to me, June?”
I swallowed hard and shook my head. He came around the counter and set his hands on my shoulders.
“I hope that, one day, you will sample me and never want to stop. That you are as addicted to my taste as I am to yours.”
My core clenched at his words.
“But if that doesn’t happen, I will not be angry. How can I? Thank you for allowing me to care for you, June. Know that is enough if that is all you will allow me.” His fingers tangled with the ends of my hair and gave the strands a few gentle tugs. “Eat your breakfast.”
Rather than doing what I was told, I slid my arms around his waist and hugged him. Another growl rumbled through his chest.
“Do you promise to tell me if you ever feel that I’m being unfair to you?” I asked.
“I promise,” he said, his hands already smoothing over my back.
I nodded and pulled away to eat the breakfast he’d made for me.
If I was toying with Tor’s heart, he was undoubtedly doing the same with mine. I didn’t feel like I was fresh out of a failed relationship. I felt like I was in the throes of a new one. It was terrifying and exciting, and I wasn’t sure how I’d stay focused on the supply run.
When he carried me to Tenacity, I spent the entire time breathing him in. When I drove the truck, half my attention was on not killing the engine and the other half was watching Tor move. When it was time to search houses in the suburbs, I was busy resting my cold hand over Tor’s steadily beating heart.
He only reluctantly set me down when it was time for me to search the cupboards, and he hovered close by. I could feel that something had shifted between us. Like we were standing on the edge of a cliff. Or maybe I was standing on the edge, and he was waiting below, ready to catch me.
Somehow, I managed to stay focused enough to coordinate my team’s efforts and clear the house in a record amount of time. We moved from one place to the next, accumulating supplies. The people from Tenacity stopped around lunch to eat in the back of one of the trucks. Tor and I ate in a house with the rest of our team. I used the break to invite them over for dinner at dusk, which they all readily agreed to do.
As soon as I’d eaten enough, we continued gathering until another fey said we needed to move. A herd of infected was coming our way, and Ryan didn’t want a repeat of the day before.
Richard drove us back, keeping me entertained with fey stories from when he first met them. My gaze kept straying to Tor as Mya’s dad related how many times he’d overheard a fey asking his wife sexual questions. He even admitted to hitting one, which he didn’t recommend since he only hurt himself and not the fey.
When we reached Tenacity, I didn’t bother with claiming any supplies for myself. I went straight to Tor and breathed him in as he ran home with me. So many thoughts raced through my head, but the ones that kept playing on repeat were his groans of pleasure…because of me. Richard’s story drove home what I already knew. The fey were starved for female attention in any form. Looking. Talking. Touching. All of it.
As soon as the door closed behind us, I turned to Tor.
“I feel like I’m taking advantage of you.”
He paused from taking a boot off and straightened to give me a confused look.
“You’ve never had a woman do anything for you before me. Of course you’re going to like me for being nice to you and sleeping next to you. It feels like Adam trick-started your interest in me when he sent you to wake me up. I’m not a mean person. I would never purposely hurt you. But that doesn’t mean I’m the love of your life. Not when you haven’t even been out there to play the field.” I took a deep breath. “I think you need to see other women.”
He blinked at me. That was it. A blink. Then, he returned to the task of removing his boots.
“I need some kind of verbal feedback here. I haven’t yet perfected the art of reading minds.”
“I think you’re afraid. You’re feeling too much for me too quickly, and I’m sorry I caused you to feel nervous and embarrassed and, now, afraid. If it will make you feel better if I look at other women, I will do that. I don’t think playing in a field will make them any more appealing to me or me to them, though.”
I stared at him for a moment. How did he manage to keep saying all the right things?
“You are lovable, Tor. I only want to make sure other women have a chance to see what I see.”
“No one sees me the way you do.” He snagged my zipper and eased it down. “When you look at me, my blood heats. My cock hardens.” He slid his hands inside my jacket and over my shoulders, slipping it off of me. “I want to smile and laugh when I’m with you. You bring joy to my life where there was none.” He hung my jacket and bent down to remove my boots. “I know you need more time, June. I will not rush you to make choices you are not ready to make.”
He set my boots aside and stood to press his forehead against mine.
“I only ask that you don’t push me away. Keep telling me I scare you. I will do everything I can to ease your fears.”
“I have so many fears.”
“Not too many for me. You are safe with me, June. Always.”