Free Longed-For Hunger by Marisa Chenery Page A

wouldn’t have to run that gantlet every time he returned from a date with Nyx. Those two would drive him crazy if they pounced on him every time he came home. He knew they meant well, but damn, a man could only take so much before they started to drive him insane with their well-intentioned questions. Denger pushed off the door and chuckled to himself. He could just picture what it would be like once Nyx moved into the headquarters. With three women living under the same roof, they would more than likely take strength in numbers and try to keep all the warriors in line. Of course the males of the place wouldn’t stand a chance against them, most especially their mates. After so long living without women among them, having them here was like a breath of fresh air. Denger couldn’t wait to add Nyx to the mix.
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    Longed-For Hunger
    Chapter Eight

    Denger followed the prickling of his skin to the side alley of an empty store that had a large “for lease” sign in the front window. This would be his third undead he’d encountered that night. Rounding the corner to the back of the building, he looked right and left, searching the dark shadows as the prickling grew stronger. The undead was close. Damn close.
    He’d just drawn his sword when a solid mass slammed into his side and bodychecked him into the brick wall closest to him. Grunting when his shoulder connected with the immovable building, he quickly recovered and kicked the undead away before he could sink his fangs into his neck.
    The thing hissed and bared his fangs as he circled around him. Denger shook his head. “Is that all you got?”
    The undead hissed again and tried to take him down in another body check. Denger easily sidestepped out of the way. The undead pulled up short and in a flash, changed direction for another run that Denger easily avoided.
    “What do you think you are? A football player?” he taunted. “To take down one of Ra’s Chosen you have to be a lot quicker than what you are.”
    That didn’t seem to stop the undead from making another attempt. Growing bored with it all, Denger lifted his sword and struck out so the blade caught the undead across the stomach as he ran by. Stepping back, waving the stench of decomposing flesh out of his face, he watched the undead turn to dust.
    That one taken care of, he headed back around the building to the front. It was late, only a few hours before dawn. The time had come to call it a night. The undead would soon be returning to their lairs where they literally slept like the dead during the daylight hours. Once the sun broke over the horizon, they dropped into their unnatural 63
    Marisa Chenery
    sleep wherever they happened to be, which was the reason why the undead hid themselves away well before dawn.
    Before returning to the headquarters to catch a few hours of shut eye, he drove to Nyx’s apartment building. Denger pulled over to the curb and parked his Mustang before he got out. He stood out on the sidewalk outside and looked up. No lights shone from her windows. He could picture her lying in her bed soft and warm in sleep. Her lips would be slightly parted as she breathed, just as they had been that afternoon. He’d watched her sleep in his arms for an hour, just content to hold her. A surge of longing washed through him. He didn’t want to go back to his quarters and get into his cold, empty bed. Denger wanted to flash himself, Ra had gifted all his warriors with the ability to bend time and space, into Nyx’s apartment and slip into bed with her. He’d pull her close, so he could feel her heart beat against his chest. On the verge of doing just that, Denger quickly reined himself back. He had a feeling Nyx wouldn’t be unhappy to have him back in her bed, but he didn’t think he could come up with a plausible enough excuse as to how he managed to get into her locked apartment. And it wasn’t as if he could say he climbed the outside fire escape and jimmied a window open since the