“Uhm, I might’ve broken my phone. I can’t call him.”
Finn rolled his eyes and grabbed his from the coffee table. “Here, take mine. I’ll be fine without it for a few minutes.”
“Thank you.” I took the phone off him, caressing his hand for a second before pulling back. “I’m gonna call him as soon as I’m outside. Uhm…” I looked at him and hesitated.
“Yeah?”
“Can I kiss you?”
Was that on the table right now?
Finn looked at me for a while, and he bit his lip. “Okay. Uhm… in general, yes. But uhm… You haven’t brushed your teeth after drinking that bag of blood, so… I have a spare toothbrush you can use after you’re back from, uh, eating. Okay?”
I nodded, relief flooding my whole system.
I could live with that.
Still, I couldn’t go without saying goodbye at all, so I pulled Finn into my arms again and hugged him as hard as I dared.
I’d come so close to losing him today.
So damn close.
I never wanted to go through that again.
“It’s okay,” Finn whispered against my throat. “We’re fine. Now, go and eat, because I’m starving. The sooner you’re back, the sooner I’ll get my dinner too.”
I laughed and nodded, then headed out.
It took me barely any time at all to find a suitable victim.
Okay, truth be told, I’d been lazy. One of his neighbors liked to sneak in a quick smoke on the fire escape, and it’d been my lucky day. He’d basically presented himself on a silver platter for me, sitting on that rusty metal fire escape, his eyes closed, head resting against the banister so that I could swoop in with a swift motion.
He never heard me coming.
I smiled as I carefully maneuvered the dazed human into a comfortable position. Today, he hadn’t been sneaking in a cigarette, he’d been getting stoned. Amazing. He’d probably think his weed had hit harder than he’d expected. Still, I checked that he was safe where he was. I didn’t want him to accidentally fall off the fire escape and hurt himself.
Calling Bennie and getting Finn his dinner took a little longer, but I was back in front of Finn’s apartment within about half an hour, a plastic bag filled to the brim with boxes of Chinese takeout in hand.
Finn opened the door and immediately made grabby hands for his food, his stomach growling as the smell wafting off the bag hit his nose. He groaned, the sound so indecent it went straight to my cock.
“That smellssoogood,” Finn said, rubbing his flat stomach. “I’m starving. I totally forgot to eat, like, anything today.”
I frowned, my heart aching. He’d forgotten to eat something because he’d been too upset. Which was my fault. Because I hadn’t told him the truth about me and had let him discover it on his own.
I’d had way too little trust in my mate. That needed to change. It was more than obvious that he was stronger than I gave him credit for. Feistier.
I followed Finn into the apartment but made a quick detour to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I wanted that kiss.
“The red toothbrush is for you,” Finn shouted from the kitchen area.
Smiling, I looked at the display. He’d gotten everything ready for me while I’d been gone. A glass holding my toothbrush sat next to a small towel on the vanity, a bottle of mouthwash right next to it.
Yeah, I definitely hadn’t given Finn enough credit.
Then again, it was hard. For so long, I’d only ever seen him from afar. He’d only ever been the naïve, barely eighteen-year-old to me. The precious kid I wanted to protect at all costs.
I’d failed to recognize how much he’d grown up. And maybe I’d failed to recognize that seeing someone from afar was not the same as actually getting to know them.
