He exhaled heavily. His body was weary, growing more so by the hour. Considering he’d put off feeding for several days, it didn’t surprise him. Between his hand-to-hand with Stygian, healing Eclipse, and theamnighkeeping him and Penelope entangled, he knew he couldn’t put it off much longer.
Her eyes locked on his but she didn’t say a word, so he slipped into her thoughts, cringed when he heard her silent question.
Looking away, Obsidian gripped the back of Penelope’s neck and pulled her to him, her cheek pressing against his shoulder.
“I have to feed,” he told her softly. “If I don’t…”
“I know. That’s why you want Acadia to stay back. You prefer her.”
“I preferyou, Penelope. But … I can’t. Not yet.”
“I know.” There was a sadness in her words that had pain coiling in the pit of his stomach.
When she pushed against him, getting to her feet, Obsidian didn’t stop her. This was something they would have to deal with, but it didn’t have to be right this minute.
Obsidian got to his feet, feeling the weight of everything settling on his shoulders once more.
“I’ll have Asmia come in,” he told her, then forced himself to leave.
While this was an important subject, it could wait.
It would have to.
“FIRSTOFF,LETMESAYTHATIT’Sa pleasure to have you here in the mansion,” Asmia blurted the instant she stepped into Obsidian’s private quarters. “I’ve been meaning to sit down and chat, but … well, as you can imagine, it’s been rather hectic.”
Oh, Penelope knew all too well. Though she didn’t have a job to perform, she hadn’t had a lot of down time either. And while she was enjoying spending every waking moment with Obsidian, she was wishing she could do more to help his brothers.
“Anyway, I’m really glad you’re here.”
Realizing she hadn’t bothered to respond, Penelope forced a smile. “Thanks. I’m not sure how long I’ll be here, but I’m glad I’m here, too.”
“What do you mean, how long?” she asked, her voice edged with concern, a wrinkle forming on her forehead.
Penelope waved off her question. “Nothing. So.” She forced a smile. “You’re going to give Winnie a tour and they’ve nominated me along for the ride.”
She’d known Obsidian’s request was more of a way to occupy her time since she’d seen all there was to see of the place. Winnie, on the other hand, hadn’t been out and about much these last few days.
Penelope motioned for Asmia to lead the way, suddenly desperate to get out of the bedroom. She couldn’t stop thinking about Obsidian feeding from Acadia. The possessiveness that rolled through her bothered her on all levels. She’d never been that type of girl and she wasn’t fond of the feeling.
When they stepped onto the third-floor landing, Asmia pulled the door closed behind them. The sound of tumblers locking into place followed.
“Quite the security measures around here,” Penelope said, keeping her tone light.
“The warriors value their privacy, but now that you’re here, it wouldn’t surprise me if Obsidian doesn’t add some additional security measures.”
“Inside the mansion? Why would he need to do that?”
“For a male, anamsouelotis their sole reason for existing. It’s in their nature to ensure their safety and security above all else. Should something happen, something that took theiramsouelotfrom them, the male would cease to exist.”
“He would die?” she asked as they took the stairs down to the second floor.
“No. Angels are immortal. However, he would have no reason to live at that point. We spend our entire lives waiting for that one true love, the one person we put above anyone and anything else.”
“We? You have anamsouelot, too?”
“Yes. We all do.”
“But this is all so new,” Penelope told her. As in only two weeks since the day they met. “How’s it even possible for him to want to put me above everything else?”
