together was sickening... “Oh! Auro walked in right when his hand...his hand was like... He walked in before Lyne could do anything serious,” she finished, eyes averted.
He raised a brow at her. “Didn’t like it?” he asked, keeping the satisfied tone out of his voice. It wouldn’t do to let her know that he already felt some sort of claim on her. Jamie already wanted him to stay with her — the offer to help him learn about himself attested enough to that fact.
Her shoulders shrugged wanly, a haunted look entering her eyes. “No,” she said quietly before scooting to the edge of the bed and standing. A knock at the door had her jumping, and she turned to look at him. “I’ll —”
“Sit down,” he growled, rising from the chair. “I’ll get the door.” In case it’s Auro.
Jamie shrugged, going to the bathroom.
He could feel his canines lengthening as possessiveness flashed through him. The door knob was cold under his hand as he twisted it open, nails sharpening. The change within him went unnoticed until the man wheeling a cart looked at him and gasped. The aroma of food floated into the room.
Talon stared at him, moving from the door slowly. Jamie was in the bathroom, and it would take barely a second to kill —
“Ms. Saxton ordered chicken, crackers, a pitcher of root beer and tea, and —”
His shoulders relaxed their guarded stance and he gestured for the man to put the cart in the corner of the room, realizing that the small man wasn’t a threat. Talon could sense no weaponry or malice coming from the man.
He heard the water in the bathroom turn on and shoved the man out. “Thanks.”
“Jamie?” he asked, calling through the bathroom door. The rushing water turned off quickly and the door was opened within a second. He looked down at her, taking in her messy hair and clouded eyes. “Foods here,” he said softly before turning on his heel.
“Oh... Talon, I got that for you,” she said, coming up behind him. Bed springs creaked as she sat down on the bed, and he turned around to see her sitting with her legs crossed, a smile on her face.
He frowned, ignoring his growling stomach. The chicken was calling for him, he wasn’t going to lie. “You need to eat,” he said, grabbed the crackers off of the steal cart. He handed them to her, ignoring how much he liked the act of giving her food.
Talon growled when her head shook. “No. See, I’m not hungry.” A teasing light entered her eyes. “But you, on the other hand, are starving. Listen to the talking tummy,” she said, laughing.
He stared at her. Not once, in all of their short time together, had he heard her laugh. It was a sound of pure joy, and lit her face. It made her seem like more of an angel than anything else could have. Talon felt his knees go weak and turned from her, sneaking a cracker. The woman could do bad, horrible things to him.
“I saw that,” she chirped from behind him. He felt her stand and her hand brushed against his as she came around to the cart. She pulled back the lid that covered the chicken, but it wasn’t the food that he was staring at — no, it was the beautiful woman that stood before him.
Something rose in his chest, then. Sadness, maybe. Or acceptance. Jamie had killed someone because of him — how was it not bothering her? The shadows were clear in her pale eyes, but it wasn’t because of Lyne, or at least not fully. She was careful to keep her distance from him, and she hadn’t liked talking about Lyne.
Talon didn’t know what to think, so he pushed the thoughts away for later and focused on her. Might as well enjoy the time with her that he had; he planned on leaving early in the morning.
“You saw nothing,” he said gruffly, eyes flickering to the steaming chicken leg that was just screaming at him to be eaten. He crossed his arms over his chest, forcing his ravenous stomach to stay quiet.
“C’mon,” she coaxed, grabbing the pitcher and waving it in his face. Fizzy bubbles sprang to the top as the liquid moved and splashed enthrallingly. He grabbed the thing from her and set it down, then grabbed her hand and held it still. The need that overcame him at the small touch surprised him, but he didn’t fight it.