Page 53 of Knight’s Absolution

He made a rough sound as his fingers curled into a fist. “Azel, his blood, that fucker messed with you, love, in a lot of ways.”

He had. His blood was poison. He was poison.

Gunner’s big frame shifted again, and he slowly uncurled his fingers, in obvious effort. “So what do you like? Now that you can experience those things?”

She smiled at him, thankful he’d changed the subject, and took the lifeline he’d offered. “I like to be warm, and I like sweets,” she said, motioning to the table. “I like soft things, like this sweater.” She grabbed one of his rough-skinned hands and brought it to her shoulder to feel. “See? So soft.” Gunner ran his hand over it, over her shoulder, and down her arm, then took her hand. He squeezed her fingers. “And I like touch. I’m surprised, honestly. I never did before. It used to make me feel…” Sick to my stomach. Like she wanted to stab someone. She shook her head and forced a smile. “When you touch me, I don’t feel the way I used to. I like it. I like the way it makes me feel, here.” She pressed her hand to her chest. “And here.” Then her stomach. “And I get goose bumps.”

Gunner had gone still again. He swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing, and his smile was tight. “Glad as fuck to hear that.”

Silence fell between them, and his gaze moved over her face. After several long seconds, and desperate to break the tension, Luna reached for a pastry.

Gunner swiped it away from her with a gritty laugh. “Hold up, Miss Sweet Tooth. We’re sharing this one. I might be a nice guy, but I’m not that nice.”

He was that nice. He’d proven it from the moment he pulled her from the basement and brought her here. He tore it in half, shoving his portion into his mouth. She expected him to hand her the other half, instead, he held it to her lips. “Try it. The cream is lightly sweetened.”

The scent was most definitely sweet, but also slightly salty, and there was no missing the richness of the cream. So, so tempting. Without thought, Luna leaned in. Her hunger for new tastes and sensations pulling her in as if she were a toddler trying something for the first time.

She took a bite.

Cream coated her tongue, and her taste buds exploded to life. She moaned. “Oh, wow.”

Gunner’s Adam’s apple bobbed again. “Yeah?”

Nodding, she leaned in and took another bite. “It’s amazing. You have excellent taste.” Then she wrapped her hand around his and brought his fingers closer, taking the last little morsel. There was cream on his fingers, and without thought, she swiped her tongue over one, but she didn’t get it all, so giggling, she pulled the first finger into her mouth and sucked it clean, then licked powdered sugar off the next two.

A rumbling, repetitive sound had her looking back up. Gunner was watching her with black eyes. His cheeks were dark and his nostrils were flaring.

The sound was coming from him.

“Sorry.” She quickly dropped his hand, inwardly cringing. “I’m so used to being close to you, you know, with the feeding and everything. I shouldn’t have done that. I mean, boundaries, right?” she blurted. “I’m still, you know, working all that stuff out.”

Her face was hot as hell, and the urge to hide was near overwhelming.

The breath he released was shaky. “You don’t need to be sorry, love. And I have no boundaries where you’re concerned. None.”

None? So what? She could literally say or…do anything to him and he’d let her? The sound grew louder. “What’s that sound, Gunner, and why are your eyes like that?”

“My eyes are like this because my demon likes you. That sound is him purring.”

“You speak about that part of yourself as if he’s a separate being.” Knights were half angel, half demon, she’d learned this from Azel, but the way he spoke about it was confusing.

“We are, kind of. As you can imagine, those two sides of myself go together about as well as oil and water. We fight sometimes, and times, like now, we are in complete agreement.” His hand went to his chest. “That’s why I have the brand. It was given to me by angels. All knights have them. It stops us from entering Hell, so our demon half can’t corrupt us.”

“I never realized.” She stared into those black eyes and bit her lip, not sure how she felt about it.

“My demon isn’t like the ones you’re used to. He…we, would never hurt you. I promise you that.”

Luna stared deeper into his eyes, and Gunner let her, remaining still while she studied him. And though his eyes were almost all black, they were still soft, there was still warmth. No, she had nothing to fear from Gunner’s inner demon. The sound grew louder. “Why is it…why are you purring?”

“Because we both like you. And we both really liked what you just did.”

There went the belly flutters again. “When I sucked your fingers?”

His cheeks grew even darker. “Yes.”

“Why?” she whispered.

“Just like you, I like the feel of…certain things.”