He’s the only one who doesn’t look blind in one eye. So what’s going on?
“Eavesdropping now?” I ask, dropping my hands from my hips and shifting from one leg to another.
“I don’t have to eavesdrop when you’re muttering to yourself in an empty hallway.”
I huff and turn away. Fantastic. I’m a mutterer now. Another fun addition to my rapidly crumbling grip on reality.
“If you came here to tease me, don't,” I say.
I hear him push off the doorway and get closer.
“Tease you?” he echoes, his voice lower now, more thoughtful than taunting. “No, Skye. I came to ask you something.”
I turn fully to face him, arms crossing over my chest like that’ll actually do something. A flimsy barrier at best.
“What?”
He stops just close enough that I can see the crease between his brows, the way his jaw tenses like he’s trying to measure his words. That’s rare for him.
“Did it feel real?” he asks. “With him?”
I go still.
“Why?”
“Just entertain me, please.”
I swallow. I still feel the phantom sensation of Talon’s touch still lingering, the heat coiling low in my stomach, something waking up inside me.
Am I supposed to tell him that?
I straighten my spine and chew on my lip.
“I haven't felt a touch in years,” I say. “Let alone a good one. So...”
“So it was a good touch, huh?” His gaze sweeps over my face. I don’t let myself dwell on the fact that he looks the most regal of them all—his nose perfectly straight, lips sculpted just enough to be soft yet firm, jaw so sharp it could cut. I don’t let myself think about how, just like Talon, he's breathtakingly beautiful.
Or how badly I want to run my hands over the planes of his body. Just to see if it would feel just as good.
“Does it matter?” My voice comes out a little too breathy.
Nathaniel’s composure shifts, just barely—but enough. His eyes flick down to my lips, then lower, and his tongue does that thing where it plays with the piercing encasing his bottom lip.
And that’s when my body betrays me once more.
The heat inside me flares to life again, this time lower. And technically, I shouldn’t even have an operational reproductive system anymore. But apparently, it’s working just fine. Apparently I want more than just one living man.
I can feel it. The throbbing, the pooling, the undeniable realization that my body has decided to resurrect itself solely to be touched again.
To experience this man’s tongue piercing…
No. No, no, no.
Nathaniel’s tongue flicks out again, just for a second. And I’m officially an enemy of God again. I’m already leaning, already chasing the high…
But just as quickly, he blinks, clears his throat, and visibly resets himself—closing his mouth, swallowing hard, taking anabrupt step back like he’s trying to physically escape the moment.
“Just…” he says, smiling stiffly. “It matters for… research. Just to see the extent of your powers.”
