Free Longed-For Hunger by Marisa Chenery

joined the docking bay to the main headquarters, by the way she’d been leaning against the wall.
    Seeing him, she straightened with a smile. Then she just about deafened him when she yelled almost at the top of her lungs, “Blythe, Denger’s back!”
    Blythe came rushing out of the kitchen and hurried over to him and Desiree, who now stood in front of him blocking his way. “Well? How did your second date with Nyx go?”
    “It went well,” he said. Denger tried to walk around the two women, not really wanting to get into the intimate details of his date with Nyx, but they both moved so he couldn’t.
    “Just well? Not spectacular?” Blythe asked.
    60
    Longed-For Hunger
    “She made us subs for lunch. They were really good subs.”
    “Come on, Denger,” Desiree said. “We want the juicy details. And what she made you to eat is not one of them.” She leaned in toward him. “I think you got some. What do you think, Blythe? Are those little strain lines on his face? As if his blood hunger is starting to claw at his guts? I don’t think they were there before he left for his date.”
    Blythe gave his face a closer inspection. “You know what, Desiree? I think you’re right. Those are new.”
    Denger rolled his eyes. “You two can assume whatever you want. I’m not going to give you the intimate details of my sex life.”
    He pushed past them and started to walk down the hall toward his private quarters. Blythe and Desiree were obviously not done with him yet, because they fell into step on either side of him.
    “Ah ha,” Desiree said rather loudly. “You said your sex life . You did sleep with Nyx. And the strained look must mean you managed to do it without feeding from her. I guess the countdown has begun.”
    They had just reached the door to Kysen’s quarters. He must have heard them talking, because he stuck his head out into the hall and laughed. “Giving you the third degree, are they? Poor Denger. I’d offer you some advice on claiming your mate, but I think Blythe and Desiree will have that covered better than I would.”
    Without stopping, Denger flipped Kysen off. The sound of the other warrior bellowing with laughter followed him down the hall. It was bad enough he had to put up with the women bothering him. He didn’t need Kysen yanking his chain on top of it all.
    Reaching his door, he opened it and stepped through. Blythe and Desiree would have followed him inside if he hadn’t turned and braced his arms across the opening.
    “Enough of the twenty questions already.” When they made no move to leave, he sighed. “I take it you two aren’t going to leave until I at least tell you something.”
    61
    Marisa Chenery
    Both women gave him large smiles, giving him a good view of their fangs. “Nope,”
    Blythe said. “We aren’t going to let you get off that easily.”
    He gave a pained sigh. “All right. I slept with her, and no, I didn’t bite her. I haven’t told her what I am yet. I’m going to see her again tomorrow for lunch.”
    Desiree narrowed her eyes. “For someone who slept with the woman who more than likely is his mate and didn’t feed from her, you look awfully, how should I put this?, not agitated. The first time Set and I slept together and he didn’t get to sink his fangs into me right afterward, he barely managed to keep himself in check.”
    He groaned. “Please, I do not need to hear about you and Set in bed. And it was hard. Okay? Especially since I had to keep it hidden from Nyx. I ended up giving one of her pillows a new set of holes. Now go away. And Blythe, don’t you need to start cooking dinner?”
    Blythe chuckled. “Fine, I’ll take the hint. We’ll leave you alone. Just remember, if you need any advice, or if Nyx has a hard time understanding all this once you tell her what you are, Desiree and I are here for you.”
    “I’ll remember.”
    Once he closed his door, Denger leaned back against it and took a deep breath. He hoped to hell he