Page 46 of Claim Me

“Unless he fucks it up,” Nox points out. “Then we’ll have to kick his ass, and I really don’t want to deal with a pissed-off master vampire with a royalty complex.”

“Or an archangel assassin with a penchant for killing first and asking questions later,” I point out, fully aware of Nolan’s abilities and reputation.

“Truth.” Nox finishes the last bite of his sandwich and takes his plate to the sink before grabbing two bottles of water from Fallon’s fridge. He hands me one as he returns, his focus immediately going to the beauty in the other room.

I follow his gaze. “I heard some of what she said when she woke up. She seemed as surprised as us about the fated bonds.”

“Definitely surprised. And maybe a bit mortified, too.”

I take a sip of the water as I contemplate that statement. “Do you think she intends to reject fate?”

“Given what her last mate did to her, I wouldn’t really blame her if she felt that way,” Nox murmurs. “But I’m hoping she’ll give us a chance to prove that we’re not Klas.”

“Me, too.” But I’ll understand if she can’t. While she hasn’t told us everything, I know she’s been through a lot.

Alas, she seems hell-bent on handling her pain alone rather than trying to confide in anyone else. And something tells me not even fate will change Fallon’s mind on that.

I finish my sandwich, and Nox takes my plate for me. We’ve been a team for so long that our actions are seamless. I usually cook and he cleans. Unless it involves a steak or burger on the grill, then Nox handles it. Not that we have a grill here.

While I like Iceland, there are definitely aspects of living in the United States that I miss. It was my favorite location in the old days, specifically the West Coast. But when the portal opened, we headed back to Scotland where the majority of our kind lived, mostly for safety reasons.

We kept our existence a secret until recently, our inability to be killed something we knew other supernaturals wouldn’t like. We’re not even sure if phantoms can die of old age or not; no one ever has.

Of course, we all took our own lives initially to become phantoms. So perhaps that’s why we stop aging and never die again—we can only perish once.

Nox leaves me at the table to go check on Fallon, his shift into ghostly form guaranteeing he won’t wake her with his footsteps. I watch from my seated position, noting the way his expression turns reverent as he reaches her side of the bed.

His fingers flex at his sides as though he’s trying not to touch her—a reaction I understand. I’ve felt that way on countless occasions.

When she doesn’t stir, he eventually returns. “I assume our orders are to stay here and guard her?” he guesses after turning corporeal again.

“Essentially, yeah. With the added request to make her open up.” Kaspian is desperate to learn everything he can about Fallon, and while I understand his reasoning, I want to be respectful of her privacy, too.

“By pretending to be my friends, right?” Fallon says, her voice soft yet carrying through the room. “Isn’t that what you said, Nox?” She rolls over to face us, her tone and expression carefully blank. “No, you mentioned dating.Seducingme into talking.”

Nox frowns. “I believe I was trying to tell Kaspian to lighten up and stop treating you like a prisoner, firefly.”

“You told him toseduceinformation out of me,” she deadpans.

Nox pushes away from the table again and saunters toward her. “I was trying to tell him to stop treating you like a prisoner and to remember that you’re a person with feelings.”

“A person he shouldseduceinto giving up my secrets.”

“You seem to be quite fond of that term, firefly,” he murmurs, his voice lowering an octave. “Shall I try to seduce you now?”

“Like you could,” she snaps at him. “You’re all just trying to interrogate me in different ways. Bane with his food and kindness. You with your… muscles and… and good looks. Kaspian with his dominance. Nolan… actually, Nolan never questions me. He’d rather shoot me than talk.”

“Muscles and good looks,” Nox repeats. “I like that.”

“And of course that’s all you heard.”

“When my fated mate is complimenting my appearance? Yeah, that’s all I’m going to hear.” He goes to kneel by the bed, his elbows landing on the mattress as he carefully gives her space while still being near. It’s a purposeful pose—one that shows her he’s respecting her boundaries while also literally kneeling for her.

There are very few in this world that Nox will kneel for, making this a meaningful position.

I stand and grab Fallon’s plate, as well as a bag of barbecue crisps—a flavor I’ve noticed is her favorite—and join them in the bedroom. “You need to eat or you’ll extinguish your inner flame,” I tell her, setting the food on the nightstand. “Consider this my way ofseducingyour senses.”

“To make me talk,” she mutters.