Longed-For Hunger (5 page)

At the counter, he turned Nyx so she faced him and captured her chin. He kissed her long and hard. After he released her, she stared at him with a glazed look in her eyes.

He started to back away then stopped when he remembered he had no idea where Nyx lived. “You still have to give me your address.”

She blinked a few times. “My what?”

He bit back a smile. He’d really gotten to her with that last kiss. “If you want me to come over to your place for lunch tomorrow I need to know where you live.”

“Oh… Oh, I guess that would help.” Nyx quickly rattled off an address. “Do you know where that is?”

“I know exactly where to find it. I’ll see you tomorrow at around noon.”

Letting his gaze sweep across Nyx’s face one last time, he turned and walked out of the bookstore. He chuckled to himself. Well, damn. Here he had spent a week walking up and down Phoenix’s streets trying to find his mate and it turned out she lived only a couple streets away from the headquarters. Nyx lived in one of the loft apartments in one of the converted warehouses. She’d been practically under his nose and he hadn’t known it.

* * * * *

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Nyx stood frozen in place while she watched Denger’s broad back disappear through the door. He’d just kissed her stupid in front of Janet and any customers who were in the bookstore. Her lips still tingled. She had to give him credit—the man knew how to use his mouth. It also made her wonder what else that mouth of his would be good at.

Her thoughts then flicked back to the kiss they had shared in the alley. Denger had kissed her as if he couldn’t get enough of her. And she liked it. Derek had never kissed her that way. He’d always treated her as if she would break. Nyx had a feeling that if she ever slept with Denger, he would be just as demanding in bed as his kisses were. Her pussy clenched at the thought.

“Hello? Earth to Nyx. Anybody home?” Janet asked behind her. With a deep breath, Nyx turned to face her. “Sorry.”

Janet chuckled. “Hey, after a kiss like that, I’d be out of it as well. I take it your coffee date went well with Denger since you invited him over to your place for lunch.”

“Yes, very well,” she said.

The remembered feel of Denger’s hard cock grinding against her pussy was going to assuredly give her nice dreams that night. He’d felt thick and long, big enough to fill her all the way up. And having his hard, muscular body pressed to hers had felt like heaven.

“I’m losing you again,” Janet said with a laugh. “Are you sure you’re going to be able to focus enough to work the rest of your shift, or do I have to send you home early?”

Nyx pushed her arousing thoughts about Denger out of her head. “No, I’m good.”

She quickly picked up the books she’d been shelving before Denger’s arrival. Going home was the last thing she wanted. At least at work she would be distracted enough to keep her mind off her lunch date with Denger the next day. Tomorrow couldn’t get here fast enough.

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* * * * *

Denger followed the prickling of his skin, the sign that an undead was nearby, to the back of a closed clothing store. The closer he came in range, the stronger the prickling became. Drawing his
khopesh
, an ancient Egyptian-style sword the warriors still preferred to use, he silently made his way to the darkest corner of the building. With his excellent night vision, he saw an undead had cornered a young male mortal. The kid looked no older than eighteen or nineteen. So far the undead hadn’t bitten him, sometimes the bastards liked to play with their victims, which in this case was lucky for the kid. There was no cure for an undead bite besides death. To draw the undead’s attention, Denger shouted, “Hey, ugly. Why don’t you come and play with me?”

The undead turned and hissed. As expected, when threatened by something as strong as him, the undead went on the attack. The dumb buggers always did that just before they tried to make a run for it. Ready, Denger waited until he got in reach to swing out with his sword. The blade caught the undead across the chest. As soon as the bronze cut into the skin, the undead jerked before he started to quickly decompose. In a matter of seconds, there was nothing but an empty pile of clothes on the ground to show where the undead had been.

Sheathing his sword, Denger turned to the kid. He hadn’t moved from where he had been cornered. His eyes were wide with shock and his whole body shook. Luckily for him, he wouldn’t remember any of what he’d just seen or the near-attack on him. Denger closed the distance between them and caught the kid by the chin, forcing him to look into his eyes. The boy whimpered once but relaxed once Denger began the process of wiping his mind. When finished, he planted the idea of the kid going home to bed and for him not to hang out by himself in any more dark streets. The boy walked away, looking through Denger as if he wasn’t there, and made his way out to the front of the building.

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A few minutes went by before Denger hit the sidewalk to continue hunting. Saving someone before being bitten didn’t happen all that often. Most times the warriors arrived too late and would have to put down the undead who’d done the biting and the newly turned victim, which sucked. This time, he scored one for the good guys. As he walked, thinking about the undead attacking the boy, Denger found his thoughts drawn to Nyx. Being his mate, she stirred all his protective instincts. He didn’t like the idea of her living alone. Ideally, he wanted her safely tucked inside the headquarters each night but that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. At least not until he was able to explain what he was and what he did with his nights. Telling Nyx the truth about him was not something Denger looked forward to. He really had no idea how to go about it. With Blythe and Desiree basically being dumped into the Chosen’s lives, Mehen and Set had had one less thing to worry about. Denger had to figure out when would be a good time to break the news to Nyx and then get her to accept what he’d told her.

And it wasn’t as if he had a shitload of time to do it either. Since meeting Nyx, his blood hunger had increased to the point where it didn’t bother him too much, but it made its presence felt. He knew soon his stomach would start to cramp, demanding the blood of his mate. And if he reached the stage of extreme blood hunger, his stomach would start eating itself and he wouldn’t even be able to tolerate food. It wouldn’t kill him but it would weaken him and would be damn well unpleasant to go through. Having spoken to Mehen and Set, who had already gone through this, Denger had also learned his blood hunger would increase faster once he slept with his mate. The need to feed from her would be just as strong as his need to claim her body. Not sleeping with Nyx before he told her what he was wouldn’t be an option. If the opportunity presented itself, he was not going to pass it up. He ached for her too much. He also hoped the closeness that would come from it would better help Nyx accept him for what he was when the time came.

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Making the complete loop of the area he’d been given to hunt in, Denger got into his Mustang and drove toward the headquarters. On the way there he drove to Nyx’s loft apartment. He pulled to the curb in front and stared up at the floor that was hers. It was late enough that most of the lights in the building were out. Satisfied that Nyx was safely asleep in her bed for the night, he continued on his way. Until he had her living with him in his quarters, he would be doing this drive-by at the end of every night. 39

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Chapter Five

Nyx awoke early the next morning with a mental list of things to do before Denger arrived at noon. First and foremost, she had to make a trip to the grocery store. About all she had in the apartment for lunch were some cans of soup. Given how large Denger was, she didn’t think soup would be enough to fill his belly. She planned to make something more substantial—submarine sandwiches. She’d load Denger’s with lunch meat, cheese and other toppings. Hopefully that would cut it. After she showered and dressed, Nyx headed to the grocery store. Along with the fixings for the subs, she picked up a six-pack of beer and some soda. She wasn’t much of a drinker but she decided to have the beer on hand to offer to Denger. He looked as if he were a beer man.

Not sure what he would want on his sub, she decided not to make them until after Denger arrived. So once she got home, she only had to put the beer and the soda in the fridge, which left her with not much to do until noon rolled around. Nyx sat on the couch but soon found herself too nervous to sit for long. Her nervousness partly had to do with Denger coming over to her place and partly to do with the decision she’d made in her lonely bed the night before. After the kisses she’d shared with Denger, Nyx craved more. Coming to grips with how she felt about him, she decided she was going to sleep with him. And if things went well this afternoon, hopefully she’d have him in her bed today. She wasn’t going to blatantly try to seduce him, considering how he’d been with her the day before, she didn’t think it would take much if she wanted to have him anyway. She was going to let nature take its course. But she wouldn’t hesitate to let Denger know she was interested. When she made her mind up to do something she went for it. 40

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At one minute after noon, her buzzer sounded. She used the intercom to tell Denger to come in as she buzzed him through the entrance to the building. She stood in the doorway and waited for him to appear at the top of the stairs to her floor. The sound of his heavy footsteps echoing up the stairway preceded him. When he reached the top, she stepped out into the hall. “Over here, Denger.”

He gave her a grin that made her think of naked bodies in bed as he made his way over to her. She stepped aside and motioned him inside the apartment. Once he walked around her, she shut the door behind them.

Denger held out the bottle of wine she hadn’t noticed he carried. “This is for you. My friend’s wife suggested I bring it since she said it would be rude to show up emptyhanded.”

She took it from him. “You didn’t have to bring anything. Would you like something to drink? I can open the wine, or I have beer along with soda in the fridge.”

“A beer would be great.”

“One beer coming up.”

She grabbed a can of beer and a soda for herself out of the fridge. Turning, she saw Denger had followed her into the kitchen. She handed him his drink and motioned for him to follow her into the living room. Since it was a loft apartment, the main area was basically open-concept with one room running into the next. The only area that was separate was her bedroom, which was on a balcony-styled upper level.

“Nice place,” Denger said as he sat on the couch next to her.

“Thanks. I like it.”

“Have you lived here long?”

“A few years. I bought it shortly after my husband died.”

“You have lots of room.”

Nyx watched Denger’s throat work when he took a swallow of beer. She wondered what his skin would taste like if she leaned over and licked the hollow of his throat. Her 41

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gaze dropped to the tight, dark gray t-shirt he wore and to the black jeans that hugged his legs and hips just right. With a silent sigh of appreciation, she lifted her gaze back to his face and found him watching her intently.

“Ah…would you like to eat now?”

Putting his beer on the coffee table in front of them, he inched closer and took her can of soda out of her hand. He placed it on the table as well. “I’m hungry, but I’d rather have a taste of you first.”

Nyx’s heart beat faster when Denger moved even closer. He turned and pulled her into his arms before he gently brushed his lips across hers. When he did it again, she sighed. With the parting of her lips, he pushed his tongue inside her mouth and tangled it with hers.

Wanting the kiss he had given her in the alley, she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck as she increased the pressure of her lips. Denger obliged by angling his mouth across hers more fully. His tongue thoroughly swept the inside of her mouth only to tangle with hers once again.

While he kissed her hungrily, Denger lowered her so she lay on her back on the couch. He came down on top of her, resting his weight on his bent arms and with a leg between hers. He covered her breast with his hand through her shirt and plucked at her taut nipple. Nyx moaned as her pussy grew wet. This was what she wanted—Denger touching her, the feel of his mouth against hers.

She dropped her hands to the tops of his broad shoulders and squeezed, trying to pull Denger even closer. The feel of his engorged cock rubbing against her thigh made her pussy clench and wetness leak into her panties. Her hips lifted off the couch as she rocked into him.

The hand on her breast skimmed down her side to the bottom of her shirt. Moving from her mouth, Denger kissed a trail along her jaw to her ear while he pushed up the front of her top. He then undid the front clasp of her bra with a flick of his hand. 42

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Brushing a cup aside, he rolled her nipple between his thumb and index finger before he gave it a tug. Nyx couldn’t hold back the whimper of need that pushed past her lips. Nuzzling the side of her neck, Denger said with a voice made deeper with arousal,

“You like it when I play with your breast?”

She moaned again. “Yes.”

He slid down her body a bit. “You should like this even more.”

Nyx sucked in a ragged breath when Denger bent his head and circled her nipple with the tip of his tongue. He did it a second time then gently blew on it, which elicited a gasp from her. It wasn’t until he opened his mouth and sucked the tight peak inside did she lift her hands to his head to hold him to her.

Denger shifted, giving her other breast the same attention. As he sucked, her pussy grew even wetter. She breathed in pants, becoming more excited. She wanted nothing more than to rip Denger’s clothes off and then her own so she could feel him pressed against her with nothing separating them.