Evans, Gabrielle - From This Moment [The Moonlight Breed 7] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic Ma by Gabrielle Evans (ebook reader with highlight function .TXT) 📗

“Amazing,” Zavion praised as he fought to control his breathing. He slumped exhaustedly against his mate, unsure if he’d be able to  move at all before morning.

Cian chuckled quietly against his temple. “Oh,  darlin’, this is  simply intermission.”

* * * *

“What’s the plan? Please tell me there’s a plan. It’s been three

days! I’m probably being poisoned as we speak.” Zavion’s hands

From This Moment                       57

went to his throat, and he gave a dramatic heave of his chest. “I can  feel it killing me!”

It wasn’t really funny, but Cian still had to bite the inside of his  cheek to keep from laughing. Oh, his fox was a feisty thing. “Calm

yourself, Zavion. We’ll be gettin’ a report anytime now. Try not to  worry so much.”

“How can I not worry? Maybe something happened. I mean, we  should have definitely heard  from someone by now.”

“These things take time,” he tried to explain.  “The Enforcers can’t  just go stormin’ the castle gates, now can they?”

“I don’t see why not,” Zavion argued. “There are lives at stake!”

Considering Zavion’s was one of those lives, Cian understood the  concern. He hadn’t been sleeping very well because of his constant

worry over that very fact. Still, Zavion was taking overreaction to a

whole new level. “Is anyone sick? Are ya feelin’ rundown?”

“Well…”  Zavion trailed off and crossed his arms over his chest as

he flopped back on the couch in the common room. “No,” he finally  answered with a huff. “I’d like to keep it that way, though, if it’s all  the same to you.”

“You’ll not be usin’ that tone with me, Zavion Dobbs.” He didn’t

want to be snappy with his mate, but truth be told, he was just as upset

about the  abundance of non-information.

That, combined with his lack of sleep, was making him short-tempered. It pissed him off immensely that Zavion would think he was anything but fully dedicated to finding a cure for whatever toxins were flooding his lover’s body.

“I’m here because it’s my job. That’s true enough. If you’re thinkin’  a job is all this is to me, though, you’re not knowin’ me at

all.”

Zavion’s  eyes rounded, and his lower lip began to tremble as he pulled his knees close to his chest and hugged his arms around his shins. “I’m sorry, Cian.”

58                        Gabrielle Evans

Damn it all, it just wasn’t fair. Why did the man have to look so heartbroken? It wasn’t as though Cian had  even raised his voice. He just didn’t appreciate the assumptions Zavion was making about what he did or didn’t feel.

Sighing heavily, he crossed the room to ease down on the sofa beside his lover. “All right now.” Wrapping his arms around Zavion, he tucked the smaller man close to his side and petted his silky locks.  “I’m sorry I upset ya.”

Zavion sniffed and burrowed closer. “No, you’re right. I shouldn’t have said that.” He was quiet for a long time before he spoke again in a wavering whisper. “I’m scared, Cian. I don’t want to die.”

The mere thought of losing the man in his arms made his pulse race with anxiety. He’d been lost, completely and irrevocably captivated, from the moment Zavion had first spoken to him in that musical voice. It had been damn foolish for him to wait so long, and he hadn’t been totally honest about why that was.

Yes, he’d been confused at first. Part of him had wanted to play things cautiously until he knew which one of the twins gave off that alluring scent. Then there was another part of him that had just been scared out of his ever-loving mind.

If Zavion could provoke such emotions in him as only a friend, how easy would it be to fall head over feet for the guy if they became something more? When he’d finally gotten one of the brothers alone and realized his instincts had been right all along, there had been no more excuses left for him to hide behind.

“Do you remember that day it snowed, and you were trying to

teach me and Zuriel how to build a snow fort?” Zavion asked out of

the blue.

“Aye, I remember.” How could he forget? The little brats had  failed miserably at building a decent fort, but that hadn’t stopped  them from pelting him with snowballs until he was dripping wet and  freezing.

From This Moment                       59

“And do you recall Raven showing up after  sunset and tackling  you?”

“Yes,” Cian answered carefully. He didn’t know where the line of  questioning was going, but he had a feeling it wasn’t anywhere good.  “The big idiot damn near broke my bloody neck.”

“I didn’t like it. He was stretched out on top of you, pinning you  to the ground, and I wanted to rip every strand of hair out of his  scalp.” His head tilted back on his shoulders, and he looked up at Cian  with wide, innocent eyes. “Does that make me a bad person?”

“Raven is an idiot.” Lord, the man was but a fool.

One day, he’d find his mate, though. One day, Raven would be getting a nice big slice of payback for all the hell he’d given the mated pairs in the coven. Cian really couldn’t wait for that day to come. He’d be the first one in line with a huge, shit-eating grin as he

watched the vampire flounder.

“That’s not what I asked.”

“No, it doesn’t make ya a bad person.” If it did, well, Cian was a  maniacal bastard, because he probably wouldn’t have been able to  show as much self-restraint if their positions had been reversed. “It  makes ya right territorial.” He tapped Zavion on the tip of his nose  and winked. “I’ll tell ya a secret, though.”

“What secret?”

“I think you’re cute when you’re jealous.” Then he tossed Zavion  to his back on the cushions and  loomed above him, encouraging his  mate’s legs around his waist. “Gotcha.”

“You cheated,” Zavion accused, but not as though he really cared.  His arms encircled Cian’s neck, pulling his head down for a long,  lingering kiss.

Now that he’d caught the shifter—or maybe Zavion had