Page 23 of Fallen Empire (The Fallen Trilogy #2)

“Want me to grab you a sub?” he asked, nodding toward the glass case of food near the kitchen window—some tragic combination of cold pizza and wilted salad.

I cringed. “Umm, no thank you. Can you take me to get some real food?”

“Take you?”

“Yeah. Is that too much to ask?” I snapped, more defensively than I meant to.

“Yesterday you pitched a fit when I suggested you leave to take care of yourself. Now you want me to take you for food?”

What the fuck was his problem?

Yesterday, Savannah’s life still hung by a thread. I didn’t know if she’d come back, or slip into that light people talk about when the end starts to feel like peace.

Maybe I’d overestimated his feelings for me. Maybe he wasn’t that into me after all.

“You know what, forget it. I’ll call an Uber.”

I started to stand, heat rushing to my cheeks. But he grabbed my arm, firm and steady, and pulled—gently guiding me back into the seat.

“Millie,” he said, voice low. “I’ll take you anywhere you want to go. Anytime. I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just… comforting. That you’re taking care of yourself.”

Oh.

Well that was a nice comeback.

All that mental chaos brewing in my head for nothing. Always assuming the worst-case scenario.

“You want pasta?” he asked, a wicked grin tugging at his lips, one brow arched like he already knew the answer.

I narrowed my eyes at him. I wasn’t sure if he was teasing me because it was my favorite, or because his mind had drifted back to what we’d done.

Either way, it didn’t matter.

My stomach answered for me, roaring at the mention alone.

Or maybe it was just the fact that I hadn’t had a real meal in days. I’d had pasta yesterday, sure, but I’d devoured it before I could even taste it. Cold noodles. Stale bread. And a hunger that had nothing to do with food.

He stood up, grabbing his keys from the table. “C’mon then. Let’s get you something hot. And I’m not talking about me this time.”

I didn’t miss the grin that came with it, or the way his voice dipped just enough to make my skin hum.

I tilted my head, lips curving in a way that caught even me off guard. “Debatable.”

He blinked. Just for a second. Like I’d thrown him off balance.

“You okay?” I asked, letting the question hang in the air with a teasing tilt.

“I think…” He paused, searching my face. “You might be a little sleep-deprived. Or maybe just delirious.”

“Mm.” I shrugged, brushing past him toward the exit. “Or maybe I’m just finally hungry enough to stop pretending I don’t want things.”

He didn’t answer.

Didn’t follow, either.

Not right away.

I glanced back over my shoulder. “Coming?”

Ben was still standing there, the shadow of something unreadable flickering behind his eyes. Guarded. Confused. Like he wasn’t sure if this was a joke or the start of something dangerous. Something he’d been waiting on for years.

I didn’t wait for him to decide. I just kept walking, smiling to myself the whole way.

I wasn’t fully healed—yet.

But I could turn the handle on the door.

Just enough to let the light in.

And if he was still standing there when I did?

Maybe I’d let him stay awhile.

As I walked toward his car, I realized maybe turning that handle wasn’t just about letting him in, it was about letting me out.

Out of the cage I’d built for myself. Out of the guilt. Out of the need to always be the strong one. I was starving.

But I wasn’t sure if it was for food, or the need to feast on him. Or have him feast on me. Ravenous .

He caught up easily, his long strides matching mine like they always had. Ben was one of the few men I still had to look up to in heels. Heels I’d gladly have wrapped around his waist while he—

Oh, I know there’s a God now. I prayed for days—for Savannah to live—and He answered. So Lord, if You can hear me again…

I’m about to do some very sinful things.

Please accept my apology in advance.

Just as I reached for the car door, his hand caught the handle first. He opened it for me, pausing, face to face. So close I could smell his cologne. So close my pulse throbbed everywhere at once.

My eyes dropped to his lips. And just like that, I felt the ache between my thighs.

Heavy. Wanting. Ready.

My mouth watered at the thought of having his lips on mine. His tongue swirling, dancing against mine as we warred for control. I didn’t like giving that up.

But Ben? Ben did things to my body no one ever had. Not even—

No.

I wouldn’t think of him . Not now. Not when I felt like this.

I forced myself to look away from the lips I was desperate to taste, dragging my gaze up with every ounce of strength I had left.

“Can I just Uber us some food to my place?”

Please say yes. Please say yes.

The air between us was thick. It was cool outside, but I could feel the sweat starting to form at my hairline. My chest was burning. My skin flushed.

He leaned in—so close that if I tilted my head just an inch, we’d be cheek to cheek.

And God, I wanted that.

I wanted him.

“You can order us whatever you want,” he said, voice low and gravelly, “but you better not mind eating it cold.” He pulled back just enough to lock eyes with me, heat blazing from his stare. “I’m not playing games with you, Mills.”

A pause.

Then a growl that rippled down my spine.

“You’re fucking mine.”

And that was it. There was nothing left to say. Nothing left to argue. Only the raw, primal need that pulsed between us.

So I got in the car—

And let him drive me somewhere I’d never been.

Somewhere I might never come back from.

Not because I’d be lost…

But because I might finally be found .