Free Taboo (A Tale of the Talhari Book 1) by Heather Elizabeth King

fireplace.
    She slid her hand free and rose. “The food should be ready.”
    He began to stand as well, but she waved him off. “I’ll be right back.”
    In the kitchen she grabbed two plates from the cupboard, utensils and tried very hard to get herself under control. Here he was spilling his heart to her, telling her a story he hadn’t told anyone in centuries, and she was busy having the hots for him.
    They’d eat dinner, then he’d go home, and she’d read for a bit then go to bed. She wouldn’t think about how much she wanted him to kiss her. How desperate she was to know the taste of him. He wasn’t even human, not anymore. Where could a relationship with someone like him go?
    She returned to the living room a few minutes later, plates laden with food.
    “That smells wonderful,” he said. “I can’t tell you how long it’s been since I’ve eaten real food.”
    “Are you away from home a lot?”
    “I am. There’s more going on in this world than people realize.” He patted the carpet. “Do you mind if we eat on the floor. It’s comfortable.”
    “I don’t mind.”
    She resettled beside him, this time careful to put some distance between them.
    “I won’t bite you.”
    Her face grew hot again. “That’s good to know.”
    “You don’t have to sit all the way over there.”
    She feigned ignorance. “I’m just sitting.” She laughed, sounding stupid even to her own ears.
    “I don’t mean to make you nervous.”
    “I’m not nervous,” she said, then set her wine glass on her fork and sent green beans flying across the room.
    Brilliant.
    He rose with her and helped her gather up the food.
    While she threw it in the trash, she endeavored to get herself under control. She was making a complete fool of herself.
    She returned to the living room and sat, carefully, on the rug. “I’m sorry.”
    “So am I,” he said, then rose to his knees, crawled to her, and pressed his lips gently to hers.
    The kiss started slow, a gentle tasting. Then he moaned hungrily, slid his tongue inside and devoured.
    They were locked together, touching, savoring, enjoying. She wasn’t ready for him to pull away from her when he did. She didn’t try to stop him, though, she only tried to slow her breathing.
    He grinned down at her, his crooked smile making her smile despite herself.
    “There, that’s better. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way we should both be able to relax.”
    She didn’t know about relaxing. Her heart was racing and she was out of breath. She nodded, though, then swallowed most of her wine in three gulps. “I’m sorry. I’m not usually this—”
    He quieted her with another kiss, then settled back on the rug.
    They ate in companionable silence.
    She tried not to wonder what she was doing, chasing down monsters and kissing men who weren’t human anymore. Had she lost her mind?
    “The place you took me today, was that a Talhari motherhouse?”
    “You can’t tell anyone about it.”
    She whistled. “How does the Talhari make money? That’s one fancy setup.”
    “That,” he said, putting his empty dish on the carpet, “is a story for another day.”
    She rose, gathered the dishes, took them to the kitchen and put them in the sink. She jumped when he came up behind her, then shivered at the press of his body against hers.
    “Can I help you with anything?”
    “No, I have everything under control.”
    His hands on her shoulders were warm. He turned her to face him, bent low and kissed her again. When he pulled away she was pleasantly light headed.
    “I’m going to stay. After what happened at the office, I don’t want to leave you alone.”
    “You think they’d come here?”
    “I’m not willing to risk it. I don’t like the fact that they attacked you on the street one night and inside your office the next. It’s like they’ve singled you out for some reason.”
    She had a hold of his shirt and didn’t seem able to let it go. “So I don’t have anything to