Hunger Awakened (The Feral Book 1)

by Charlene Hartnady

  Who was he kidding? This female just had to breathe in too deeply and his prick hardened. It seemed to be perpetually hard when he was around her.

  Wrong.

  Wrong.

  Wrong.

  “Listen, I’m probably crazy right now but maybe you should come with me to the wedding.”

  “I can take care of myself for two days.” Maybe a break would be a good idea. His balls needed it. They physically pained him.

  “I know you can. It was just a thought.” She shrugged. “As long as you promise you can take care of yourself.”

  This was all about her being worried about him. Her need to babysit him. It had nothing to do with her wanting him there. Then a thought crossed his mind, maybe she wanted to go to the wedding so that she could meet males there, without him around to get in the way. That way she would be able to have all the sex she wanted.

  Talon couldn’t have her. He absolutely could not. Despite it being morally wrong, he knew that if he mounted her, he would not be able to find completion. It was an anomaly that he was even able to get an erection. Actually creaming would be an impossibility. He just knew it. So he couldn’t have her. There was no way, while he was on human soil, he would not let another male have her. No. Again, it was selfish of him. Beyond selfish. Yet, he didn’t have control of these wayward emotions. He would kill a male if he touched her. It was as simple as that. Therefore, in order to keep the human population safe, he needed to go with Vicky to keep an eye on her.

  What harm could it do if she thought it was so that she could keep an eye on him? None. That’s what. “Actually,” he exhaled, “I’ve been feeling a need to perch lately. I’m not sure I’ll be able to control it if I’m on my own.”

  “Oh! Why didn’t you tell me?” Her eyes widened.

  “We haven’t exactly been on speaking terms. You were mad at me.”

  “Yes, well, you should still tell me about things like that. Okay, maybe you should come to the wedding with me then?”

  He pretended to mull it over. “Maybe it’s for the best.”

  “Okay, it’s settled then.”

  Chapter 19

  Two days later …

  She sucked so badly. She needed to just say it. Tell her friend that she was using her plus one. All because she couldn’t stand the thought of Talon picking someone up so that he could fuck them in her house. It was her house, dammit. Hers. She did not want him to pick up some skank so that they could go at it on her sofa. Her favorite chair in the whole house. Even worse, what if he took the skank to her room? What if he did the deed on her bed?

  Gasp! Horror! No!

  It made her ill. Completely ill. Nope. She couldn’t have that, so she’d invited him. Problem solved. It was also in case he perched or walked around naked. Something he hadn’t done in an age. An absolute age. How was a girl supposed to get her kicks? She didn’t want him walking around naked outside, but he could show a bit of skin from time to time in the apartment.

  “You have another two messages,” Maggie interrupted her thoughts, bringing her back to reality. “Both of them from pretty cute guys. Do you want to see them?” Maggie asked.

  Vicky shook her head. “What would be the point?”

  “I still can’t believe Talon showed up at The Blue Panda.”

  “I can’t believe you told him where I was.”

  “I didn’t expect him to actually go there and stare the guy down,” Maggie laughed. “And you’re still convinced there’s nothing between the two of you?”

  "Nothing at all." Vicky shook her head. "I swear I would tell you." There was less than nothing going on. In fact, things had been distinctly uncomfortable over the last few days. Too polite. Too stuffy. There was definitely an elephant in the room. It was a rather large elephant. She'd screamed when she'd come, dammit. Granted, the scream had been short, but it had still happened. He'd commented on how pink her vagina was. No wonder she couldn't look him in the eyes anymore. No wonder! Especially since all she could think about was more. Much more. Like full blown sex more. Now that would be one hell of a favor she’d have to ask.

  Asshole.

  It didn’t help that he wasn’t actually an asshole. He was nice. “He was just being nice. He sees me as the sister he never had.” She had to hold down a gag.

  “Sister?” Maggie sniggered. “I don’t think he sees you like a sister.”

  “Well he does. He was worried John would turn out to be a psycho killer. He thought he was doing me a favor.” Double gag.

  “Well, it smacks of jealousy to me.”

  “It’s not, so drop it already,” Vicky retorted, a little too harshly. “I’ll check out the messages when Talon goes back to Switzerland. By the way, there is something I need to ask.” There it was out. Or would be soon.

  “Sure.” Maggie cocked her head. “Shoot.”

  “I invited someone to go to your wedding with me. It just kind of happened. I know I should have checked with you first. I’m hoping it’s okay.” Vicky forced herself to shut her mouth.

  Oh no! Maggie made a face. That wasn’t good.

  “You don’t look very happy about it.” Vicky raised her brows. “Shit, I’m sorry.”

  “No, it’s not that. You can take someone. Putting out an extra chair and catering for an extra person is no problem.” Maggie grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “I swear. It’s no trouble at all, it’s just …”

  “Just what?”

  “Who is it?” Maggie looked animated. “Who did you invite?” By the way her friend was looking at her, Vicky could tell that Maggs already knew.

  “It’s Talon, but it’s not what you think,” she quickly added when she saw the expression on Maggie’s face. “We just spoke about this. I just finished telling you it wasn’t like that and it’s not. I’m worried if I leave him alone he’ll cause trouble again.”

  “Nah, Talon has come a long way since he got here. I doubt anything bad would happen. Having said that, I’m glad he’s coming with you though. You guys get along really well.”

  “Are you sure?” Maggie held Vicky’s gaze. “I can have a chat with him, tell him that—”

  “No, it’s fine.”

  “What was the problem though?” Vicky frowned. “You acted like there was an issue with me still bringing a plus one.”

  “My folks were keeping two bedrooms just in case you decided to bring someone but last week, mum told my cousin Sarah that she could have one of the rooms since it didn’t seem likely you would have a partner. She checked in with me.”

  “Oh, flip! Does that mean …?”

  “There is only one bedroom available. It’s small, with a queen-size bed.”

  “Perfect for Talon then,” she blurted. “If he was on his own and sleeping from corner to corner.” She shook her head, realizing how ungrateful she sounded. “He’s been sleeping on the sofa, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind sleeping on the floor. We could take turns. He can sleep on the floor one night and I’ll sleep there the next.” Problem solved. Only, the look on Maggie’s face told her it was far from solved. “What is it?”

  “When I said the room was small, I meant it. Barely enough space for a bed and a small side table. Maybe we can swap rooms, my uncle George and Aunty Penelope can—”

  “No,” Vicky waved a hand, “don’t be silly, I’m sure the local B&B will—”

  Maggs shook her head. “All full I’m afraid. We have forty-one guests coming to the wedding. Every B&B in the area is fully booked.”

  “Talon and I are adults. We’re friends. We can share a bed.” Her heart beat like mad. What was she doing? She should tell him to stay home. That there was no space.

  Maggie got this little smile.

  “It’s not like that, dammit!” It came out far harsher than she intended. “We’re friends.” Softer this time.

  “Of course you are. I’m sure you’ll both end up hooking up and sleeping elsewhere anyway. Two of my cousins are single and my friend Peter is going to be there.�
� She said the last in a singsong voice. “Weddings are notorious hook-up generators.”

  Vicky forced herself to laugh. “Who told you that?”

  Maggie narrowed her eyes. “Will and I met at a wedding.”

  “Oh yes, I had forgotten about that.”

  “Well, there you go.” She smiled just a little too sweetly. “My cousins are going to fight over Talon.” Maggie laughed. “Heck, I have a feeling some of my aunts will join in as well.”

  Any woman in her right mind would go gaga for Talon. In fact, he could probably go back to his people now. He didn’t need her anymore. He knew the ropes when it came to human women. They’d lap him up.

  “Oh, something I forgot to tell you. It’s one of the messages you got on the dating website.”

  “Like I said, I’ll take a look at them once Talon heads home.”

  “No, you don’t understand. This is message number three.”

  Confusion rushed through her. “You said I got two messages.”

  “You got three.” Maggie looked far too serious for her liking.

  “Okay, tell me about message number three.”

  “Then again,” Maggie shook her head, “you may not want to know too much about this message.”

  “Why not?” This didn’t make sense. Maggie was being far too cryptic for her liking.”

  “Because …” Maggs picked some non-existent lint off of her clothing, “it might be from Jeff. In fact, I know it’s from Jeff.”

  “Jeff, as in my ex-husband Jeff? That Jeff?”

  Maggie sucked in a deep breath and began to nod her head.

  “My ex sent me a message on a dating site?”

  “Yes.” She was nodding profusely. “Yes, he did.”

  “Do I want to hear this message, or should I ignore it?”

  “You probably want to ignore it, but I think you should hear it.”

  Maggie shook her head. “Nope, in that case I don’t want to know.”

  “I think it’s important that you read it.”

  “I don’t want to.” Vicky shook her head.

  “Well,” Maggie raised her brows. “That’s too bad, because if you don’t want to read it, I’m going to tell you all about it anyway.”

  Chapter 20

  Oh shit.” There wasn’t space for their bags. It was literally one tiny room with a bed. That was it. Maggie’s mom had apologized non-stop since they’d arrived earlier.

  “It’s fine.” Talon didn’t sound so sure. When she glanced back at him, his Adam’s apple was bobbing he was swallowing thickly.

  “I can try to see if I can share a room—”

  “No.” A low rasp. “We can share.”

  “Says you. Have you seen how big you are?” Vicky shivered involuntarily ‒ and it had nothing to do with the temperature. “I’ll curl up on the top right-hand corner and you can have the rest of the bed.”

  “It won’t be that bad.”

  “It’s that or we’re spooning.” She frowned. Couldn’t help it.

  “What is spooning?” Talon looked serious.

  “Um … that’s when one of us ‒ usually the guy ‒ lies with his front against a woman’s back, so that—”

  He shook his head. “No, that won’t work.”

  Don’t take it personally.

  Don’t.

  “Top right-hand corner it is then.” She sighed. “I did give you the option of staying home, you know?” Vicky had checked for herself and Maggs was right, every establishment within thirty miles of this place was fully booked. Not that there were many. This was a quiet part of the world. With mainly private residences.

  “We’ll draw a line down the middle. Your half and my half.” He pointed at each side of the bed.

  “You won’t fit on that half.”

  “It’s bigger than the sofa. I’ll fit if I sleep with one leg on the ground.”

  “Not sure there’s enough space on the ground. You have big feet.” Talon had big everything, but she needed to not think about that right now. Like how he had felt against her that day in the gym. Right up against her. There. Where it mattered most. She also remembered how close she had been to leaning down and kissing him when he’d spooked and pulled her off of him. Thank god he’d done that.

  What was it he’d said, when she’d pointed out that his reaction had been a normal one? Oh yes, he’d apologized and said that he wasn’t human. In other words, that it shouldn’t have happened. Then he’d gone down on her as a favor. She definitely wasn’t going to think about that right now. Or how Maggie’s whole family ‒ especially all the ladies ‒ had fawned over Talon. Her two cousins, Sarah and Pauline were all over him at dinner, despite her sitting right next to the guy. Talk about rude.

  To make matters worse, Maggie had announced to all and sundry that Vicky and Talon weren’t together. That they were just friends. The only consolation was that Talon hadn’t seemed thrilled either. No, that wasn’t true, he hadn’t reacted much.

  “We will be fine. I will wear clothing to bed and will ask that you do the same.”

  “It might get really hot in this tiny room, maybe we should sleep naked.”

  A look of horror crossed his face. Then he smiled. “You’re joking.”

  “Of course I am. I had planned on wearing pajamas but I’m glad to hear you will too.”

  “I don’t like sleeping in clothing.”

  “You don’t like clothing, full stop.”

  “No, I don’t.” He shook his head. “It is, at least, nice to be out of the city. Smells better.”

  “Maybe you can … you know, shift,” she whispered. “We’re in the middle of nowhere.”

  “It’s still inhabited by humans,” Talon whispered back. “There is a chance of being seen, I can’t take the risk.”

  “I guess not.”

  “Hey, you two,” Maggie said, as she came down the passage. “How’s the room? Small … I told you it was ridiculously small.” She wrinkled her nose. “It’s just for tonight.”

  “Oh? How so?” Vicky asked.

  “I completely forgot, Will and I are in separate rooms tonight, but we’ll be sharing tomorrow.” She rolled her eyes. “Obviously! One of you can take my room. It’s tiny but comfortable.” Then she sniggered. “Only if you’re sure you’re here as friends and not more?” Maggie hadn’t just asked that. She looked expectantly from Talon to Vicky and back to Talon.

  Shit.

  What was wrong with her?

  Vicky wished the ground could open up and swallow her whole. Talon just stood there, staring holes into Maggie. He eventually folded his arms. “We’re friends and nothing more.”

  Ouch!

  Then again, how many times did she need reminding of that? Too many it seemed. Vicky cleared her throat. “I keep telling you that, Maggs. Talon is my client, remember?”

  “Don’t get all upset. I was just checking before we finalize seating tomorrow.” She smiled broadly. “Maybe one of you gets lucky and won’t even need the extra room. Anyhow, hope it’s not too cramped. You’re sharing the bathroom with Sarah and me. I hope you don’t mind?”

  “Not at all,” Vicky quickly answered.

  “That’s fine,” Talon said. “Thank you again for allowing me to be here for your special event.”

  “I’m so glad you could come.” Maggie beamed. “Are you sure you’re happy to help with the flowers?” her friend asked her.

  “I don’t mind at all,” Vicky said.

  “I’ll leave you to it then. It’s an early start tomorrow.” Maggie looked beyond excited. Vicky felt so happy for her friend. “Good night.” She waved as she walked down the hall.

  “Good night,” Vicky replied, feeling more nervous than she had in a long while when she shouldn’t, considering Talon saw her as just a friend. There were moments when she was sure there was more there ‒ and not just on her side. It was times like these, that she was brought firmly back to reality. “Do you want to use the bathroom first or shall I?”

&n
bsp; “What does ‘get lucky’ mean?” Talon asked, stepping back into the hallway, out of the cramped entrance to the even more cramped bedroom. Away from her.

  “Well,” she shrugged, “Maggie knows that we’re not here together so she introduced you to her single cousins and introduced me to that guy, Peter.”

  “The one who sat next to you at dinner? The one who spoke to you the entire evening?” See, now he sounded jealous again.

  “That would be the one.” Vicky nodded.

  “I still don’t understand what ‘get lucky’ means.”

  “It means to have sex,” she whispered. “She’s trying to set us up with other people in the hope that we have sex with them.”

  Talon shook his head. “Why would she do that?”

  “It’s what happily together people do with single people like us.”

  “I am mated. I don’t plan on having sex with anyone.” He said it softly but with venom. Enough to sting.

  “It was just her being nice. Maggie didn’t mean anything by it.”

  “Good.” He sounded angry.

  “You go first.” Vicky pointed down the hall to the bathroom. Her cheeks felt hot as she watched him head off. Then it was her turn to brush her teeth and to change into her pajamas. Vicky took her time dressing, feeling stupid that she’d taken her time to pick out the right set of sleepwear. The pants were long, but they were silky. The shirt had a built-in bra and was tight. Not showing off too much skin and yet, sexy. At least, she thought so. Not that it mattered. She wasn’t even sure why she had gone to so much trouble when Talon wouldn’t even notice.

  She crept back to the bedroom. The light was already off. Talon was on his half of the bed. Turned away from her side, with one foot on the ground. He looked uncomfortable but that was his own problem. She’d offered to spoon and had been shot down. What was he afraid of anyway, that she might get all handsy during the night or something? He could go to hell. She was sticking to her side and he had better stick to his.