Page 44 of Save Me

Maddox just stands there, looking so…freaking hot, all moody with his muscles popping out of his shirt. Definitely not a friendly look, but heck, that makes me melt even more.

Fudge! No, focus. I’m supposed to be playing it cool.

I go back to outlining the sugar glider’s foot. “You have any?”

Maddox is silent. I risk a tiny glance back, and he’s just watching every move I make with a stillness like he’s studying me.

I can barely breathe. I’ve been watched while I work a thousand times, but nothing like this. I feel a drop of sweat dripping down the side of my ribcage.

Play it cool, play it cool.

“Does it mean something?” he asks.

I can’t help but notice Maddox didn’t answer the tattoo question. Does he have any? Maybe some he got when he was younger and is embarrassed about now?

“Oh, uh, yeah.” I can’t point to my reference photo on my tablet, or he’ll see my shaky hands. “His name was Terror. He was black and gray.”

Maddox is silent.

Oh man, are my hands sweaty ‘cause I’m doing my knee, or because Mr. Broody and Hot is watching over me like a…like a hot teacher or something?

“Mine was Nippy.” His voice is bitter, like he’s mad to be talking to me.

Nippy. I like that. I smile. “Cute. I’m guessing he or she bit you?”

There’s a soft snort that I’m assuming is a yes.

I shrug. “Maybe you tasted sweet.”

Silence. Another drop of sweat drips down my armpit. Great, this is going great. Now you’ve talked about how he tastes, good job, Micah. Why don’t you just ask him to whip his dick out while you’re at it?

“I’ve heard humans actually taste like pork. Not that Nippy ever got that much of us.”

I turn to look at Maddox now. He just raises one dark eyebrow.

“Pork?”

He shrugs. “That’s what cannibals say, anyway.”

My eyes widen.

“And that tattoos don’t taste good.” He nods at me. “So you’re…more than safe.” His lips curl slightly.

Mother fluffer, Maddox is so weird…I freaking love him.

“You get this information from your cannibal friends?” The machine is buzzing in my hand, but I don’t return to my tattoo; I just look at the god of a man behind me.

He just shrugs. “Yeah, sorry, they were out of town to pick up Larry from the butcher, so I had to bother you for a place to stay.”

“You’re not bothering me.” The words are instantaneous. In fact, it’s kinda nice to have him here, albeit a bit nerve-wracking. But he can’t help that he’s so hot. So, like an idiot, I keep talking. “I prefer steak anyway. Beefsteak, not human.”

“Oh? Have you tried human?”

I give a dramatic sigh. “Back in my wild days. I thought it tasted more like chicken than pork.”

Maddox gives a soft snort, and it’s the most beautiful sound because this snort sounds slightly less guarded. For a second, I’m caught up in it. Maddox is so harsh all the time; I wonder what he’d sound like if he were being himself?

“Everything tastes like chicken,” Maddox says.