“I’m gonna crash,” Ivan said with a yawn. He carried Nox and vanished into his room.
“Do you need more?” Angel asked as I finished my slice of cake.
I thought about it for a long minute. “No? Maybe. Sorry, I’m a little scattered.”
“Is it the book or something else?”
It was us. Him. And fear. But how did I tell him that?
He slid his hand into mine, gaze meeting mine, and my eyes blurred, stinging with tears I fought back. A lifetime of rejection left internal scars that would never fade. “Please don’t hate me.”
He blinked. “Why would I?” He glanced back at the book, then got up, put the plates in the sink, and tugged me out of my seat. “Bedroom,” he said gruffly.
I moved automatically, half in fear of him tearing my heart apart and half in hope. The bedroom door clicked shut behind us, sealing out the rest of the apartment. Both cats had followed Ivan to his room, the book remained on the counter, and the unanswered questions tainted the living area, though I worried they’d seep through my bedroom door.
Angel turned me to face him as he traced his thumbs over the bare skin under my shirt at my waist. “Can we make a new rule?”
I flinched. “Okay?”
He leaned into me, hands tugging me forward by my hips so he could lean his forehead against mine. “Communication. Whatever we’re feeling, either way, we talk about it. Don’t bottle it up.”
“Okay,” I agreed. He raised a brow as if waiting. “I’m scared,” I said.
“Of?”
“Me. This power. You hating me.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
“I accidentally controlled Victor. You said that was a myth.”
“Rumor, never proven fact, and he broke out of it pretty fast. Might not have happened at all if he wasn’t injured.”
“Angel,” I said, uncertain how to convey everything without sounding like a maniac.
He breathed out a long, breathy sigh that sounded more like delight than fear. “I love the way you say my name.”
“Huh?”
“It’s like a sigh. You convey a lot of emotions with the tone of your words.”
“You mean my snark?”
He laughed lightly. “Partially, but also when you’re angry or happy, or really like something.” He caressed my cheek, gaze focused on me as if all he wanted to see was me. It was weirdly consuming and blissful all at once. “Say ‘cake.’”
“Cake,” I said.
He grinned. “Now my name.”
“Angel,” I said. “They don’t sound the same at all.”
“They do. Like happy sighs.”
“You’re a romantic, aren’t you?”
“And you’re not, but that’s okay. You’re still mine.” Angel’s mouth found mine. I opened my lips for him, breathing him in as he kissed me like nothing else mattered. His fingers tangled in my hair, tugging a gasp out of me, and I melted into him, desperate for his touch. “Funny how no one knows your secret. I’m not certain I would have caught it if not for Ivan.”
“What secret?”
