Four-Letter Words by Evans, Gabrielle (top 10 books of all time .txt) 📗

succeeded in not being obvious. Beyond that, his ploy to pass along his message was an epic fail. “How was I supposed to know that? You are insane. You know that, right?”

It wasn’t just Zasha, though. Their communication skills were for dick, and no matter the topic, there inevitably ended up being some kind of misunderstanding. It hadn’t always been like this, though. At one time, Zasha had known him better than he knew himself and vice versa.

Zasha’s laughter was warm and lighthearted, and it eased the knotted muscles in Thane’s neck. “Yeah, I guess I could have thought that out a little better.” He shuffled half a step forward, but still maintained separation between them. “Forgive me?”

“Of course,” Thane answered without hesitation. Hot one minute, cold the next, Zasha’s ever changing moods were starting to give him whiplash. Funnily enough, though, Thane was finding it increasingly difficult to remain upset with his mate.

Zasha’s heart was in the right place. All he wanted was to protect Thane from every perceived threat. That didn’t sound so bad, except for the fact that Zasha was the only one finding danger in practically everything. Hell, the guy had completely flipped his shit just the night before because Thane had wanted to have a beer with his brothers.

“I guess we should get back inside. Everyone will be looking for us.” Zasha turned his shoulders and leaned toward the door.

Before he could take a step in that direction, Thane grabbed him around the waist and jerked him forward, molding their bodies together from chest to hips. “No one is looking for us, Zash.” He’d done things Zasha’s way. He’d let his mate take the lead and call the shots, but it was time for him to take some of the control back if they were going to stop chasing each other in circles.

“Thane, what are you doing? I just told you I’m not exactly stable right now.” His tone held no conviction, though, and his attempt to escape Thane’s arms was halfhearted at best. “C’mon. Let’s go.”

“I have a better idea,” Thane rasped against the smooth skin on the side of Zasha’s throat. “What if we don’t play it safe for once? What if you shut that pretty brain down and let me do the worrying for a while?” He wasn’t stupid. His body was held to certain limitations, and he got that, but he wasn’t sick. No amount of medicine or even magic would cure him completely. All he needed were a few cheeseburgers to help him recover a bit more of the weight he’d lost.

Zasha trembled from the tips of his spiky locks to the soles of his loafers. His pale, ivory skin glowed in the silvery beams of moonlight that spilled onto the porch, contrasting beautifully against the dark fabric of his button-down shirt. The seductive quality of his hooded gaze was likely unintentional, but that didn’t stop Thane’s cock from swelling as he lost himself in those golden depths.

Pressing his thumb against the underside of Zasha’s chin, Thane exerted gentle pressure, urging the vampire’s head back on his shoulders. Zasha’s lips parted slightly, releasing the breathy moan that rolled up from his chest. Twin canines peeked from beneath his upper lip, their pointed tips glistening in the lunar beams.

“Thane,” Zasha breathed. “Please.”

“Please, what?”

“I can’t. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Ah, but, lieveling, I’m not so fragile.” He didn’t know what more he could do to prove it. Good gods, it was like he had a huge “Handle With Care” sign plastered across his ass. “I’m not dismissing your concerns, but there are other ways.” He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t dying to get Zasha beneath him on a flat surface, but there were several options open to them that might ease his mate’s anxiety.

“I can’t give you what you want.” His body language had lost some of its surrender, but Zasha still made no move to extract himself from Thane’s embrace. “I don’t know if I can control it, and you’re too important. I won’t risk you like that.”

The confession was sweet—if slightly morbid—but it didn’t deter Thane. “You don’t have it in you to hurt me.” As his mate, it was encoded in the vampire’s DNA to be protective—even overprotective. The likelihood of Zasha losing control and draining Thane dry was practically nonexistent.

Weeks of sleeping next to his Infinity, spending every waking moment with him, and the persistent memories of their previous life together were making him insane. To say he was sexually frustrated didn’t even begin to cover it. He wasn’t asking for the moon, but a little compromise never killed anyone.

“Your move, Zasha.” No matter how much he ached for the man, Thane wouldn’t go any further without his mate’s permission. “Say yes, lieveling. Say yes.”

Chapter Four

He wanted to say yes. He wanted to forget all of his concerns, fall into bed with Thane, and just feel. It wasn’t that simple, though.

Blood bags kept him alive, but it was nothing like drinking straight from the source. It was the difference between a candy bar and a grilled chicken breast—if the candy bar tasted like day-old oatmeal. The packaged donor blood gave him some of the nutrients he needed, but it never quite satisfied him.

The thought of taking blood from anyone except Thane was nauseating, but his mate wasn’t strong enough to feed from. So Zasha made do with the blood bags and put on a happy face. In actuality, however, he was fucking starving. His throat burned constantly, he felt weaker than usual, and he was always about two seconds away from ripping out someone’s jugular just to quench the clawing hunger.

Sleeping in Thane’s arms night after night didn’t help, either. He loved the closeness and the warmth. Every minute he spent with his mate was a gift. Unfortunately, Thane’s constant presence also meant that Zasha always had the man’s scent in his head. It meant he was constantly at war with himself, fighting a