Free Craving Talon by Zoey Derrick Page A

feel the urgency in his lips.  
    My breath comes in short bursts as he continues to assault my lips. He slowly pulls back. “I need a bed to really show you,” he whispers and I shiver, both from his words and the chill in the air surrounding us. “Later.” He kisses me chastely a couple more times and he steps out of the shower. Grabbing my towel first, he wraps it around me, then grabs his own. “I promise, I will show you, soon,” he says and exits the bathroom. I lean against the closed door. I know what he’s trying to tell me, but he needs to say it in his own time.  
    Am I honestly ready to admit that I’m falling in love with these two very overwhelming, sexy, god-like men? Yes, I think I am.

After drying off, I throw on my clothes and step out of the bathroom. The air outside the bathroom is cooler and I shiver. Something catches my eye and I look over to see Kyle is sitting on the bench between the tables. He looks so sad.  
    I walk over to him and I straddle him, putting my knees on either side. I put my arms around his neck. “I know what you’re trying to say.” He looks at me, fear in his eyes. “I understand why you can’t tell me, and that’s okay.”  
    He brings his forehead to mine. “I’m so scared,” he whispers.  
    “So am I, Kyle. This is all so new to me and I’m doing it two-fold. But that doesn’t mean that my feelings for you are any less than what you’re feeling for me.”  
    “Everyone I’ve ever cared about has left me,” he admits quietly. “Dan, my mother, my father, they’re all gone. I’ve walked through life alone for so long, I don’t know how to do this.”  
    My heart aches for him. “Neither do I. I’ve lost every man I’ve loved. My dad, Dan. This scares the living hell out of me, but I’m ready and willing to take that chance. I’ve never been more ready for anything like I am for this.”  
    “I need you,” he breathes, wrapping his arms around me. He holds me to him. “The last twenty-four hours have been really tough. I’m sorry to be so emotional.”  
    I run my fingers through his still damp hair. “What happened?”
    “The same thing that happens every time I talk to my mother.”  
    “Do I even want to know?”  
    He laughs a little. “No, probably not. Let’s just say you’re not the only one she’s blown off since Dan’s death.”
    “Oh sweetheart.” I can’t help the tear that escapes my eye. “I had no idea.”  
    “I called her to tell her I’d be in town, and I wanted to see her, I wanted to take you with me. But before I even got to the when, she said she was busy. It tears me up every time she does that. I just wish- just once- she’d remember Dan wasn’t her only son.” He lowers his head to my chest.  
    “Sweet, sweet Kyle, please listen to me. I know how you feel. I really do, I’ve been there.”  
    “How’d you get over it?”  
    “I don’t know that I have, but I threw myself into my job, I secluded myself from everyone and went about my life. It wasn’t the brightest decision because here I am, scared of loving, scared of trying, scared of everything, because the only way I’ve ever been hurt by a man is through death. I’m afraid that if I fall in love, it becomes a death sentence.” His arms wrap tighter around me. “But it won’t stop me. It won’t stop me anymore. I know the risk, I understand the reward, and I am desperately hoping that everything I’m feeling is real and not superficial, that it’s not because it’s here and it’s now. Which is why I know what you’re trying to say, what you’re scared to say, because I’m scared to feel it, to understand it, and to say it too.”  
    “You’re too good, you know that? I meant what I said. You’re a goddess, not just in looks but in the things you do, the way you do them, and how you handle them. It’s genuine and pure and I admire you for that,” he says softly.  
    “You flatter me and stroke my ego.”  
    He