Even in the dark, she’s a fucking goddess, the thin blanket clinging to her perfect curves. Being close to her all week without saying a word has been difficult—more difficult than I would have thought possible—but this was the deal.
No attachment.
No consequence.
The photo of us from the club circulating doesn’t help a fucking bit either. Every time I open my phone, it’s there, staring me in the face, reminding me of what I can never have. I’ve considered deleting my socials more than once this week, at least until the whole thing blows over.
And it will blow over.
Eventually.
But the attention is lingering far too long.
Keeping my distance from Joseline is the best thing I can do for her at this point, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t noticed her energy deteriorating. With each passing day, the aura that normally radiates from her diminishes a little more. Anxiety and fear pour off her, even in sleep, and my stomach sours. I can’t imagine how it feels to see someone you love on death’s doorstep, living in constant paranoia and fear, but it’s clearly doing a number on her health.
As far as I know, she hasn’t left the bus all week, aside from meeting the food delivery drivers that have brought her meals. And even those have started coming less frequently.
Did she even eat today?
I don’t know why that’s the first thing I think of, but seeing her this way leaves me unsettled.
Her health shouldn’t concern me. After all, I’ve taken more care of her than I should have up until now,and my priority is keeping her fragile human friend alive. But I don’t like seeing her this way.
Knowing there isn’t much I can do to help, I step over and crouch next to the couch, mentally tracing her stunning features. Her brows, her adorable nose, her plump lips. Images of her hotel room flash to mind, and my lips ache to feel hers, but I shove the feeling down, locking it up tight.
What the hell is wrong with me?
It seems no matter how much distance I keep, or how much I try to fight the feeling, there’s an invisible pull always dragging me closer. Something I can’t control or explain forcing me toward her, compelling me to give up my attempts to stay away.
I’ve been strong, abstained as well as I can, but rather than getting easier as the days go by, it’s gotten harder. What I wouldn’t give to run my hands along her curves, to squeeze her delicious thighs, to palm her perfect ass. The armies I’d slaughter to have her writhing beneath me again, begging for my cock.
Fuck.
I shake my head and the images from it. Now is not the time to be lusting after a human.
Not now, not ever.
Falling for humans never ends well, as our lead singer has clearly shown us.
Not wanting to disturb her, I reach to brush my fingers gently over Joseline’s shoulder. It’s the most contact we’ve had since she fell asleep on my chest, and my body aches for more. Denying myself thegratification, I send a tiny bit of energy down my arm, through my fingertips, and into her.
She stirs a bit before settling. It’s not much, but the renewed energy slices through the anxious cloud hovering around her, and that’s good enough for me. A little pick-me-up that will hopefully have her feeling better when she wakes.
I stand, my eyes lingering on her for another long second, before I turn away.
Sebastian’s form in the doorway shocks me so badly that I backpedal. He’s leaning against it with one shoulder, arms crossed over his chest.
“How long have you been standing there?” I whisper harshly, my skin flaming.
“Long enough.”
My jaw hardens at the thought of him watching me with Joseline, fire licking through my veins. “It’s not what it looks like.”
“Of course not.” He clearly doesn’t believe me.
Dickhead.
With a huff, I storm past him into his bedroom without a word and pass my collected energy onto Niki. As we’ve been doing for the past several days, I give her just enough to keep her comfortable, but not enough to wake her. At the rate the fetus is absorbing everything, it would take far too much energy to keep her conscious, and we don’t want to stress her out with the constant fluctuation. Her body is under enough strain as it is.
