Page 55 of Hungry Like the Wolf

“That’s not what I was talking about,” Rose said with a sly grin. “Your mate looks better than I’ve ever seen her. Good boy.”

It was Robbie’s turn to blush. He felt his own ears heating from the praise. Nadja muttered under her breath, “What the fuck, Rose?”

Rose laughed.

“You smell good on her,” she said.

Robbie opened his mouth to protest, but stopped. He’d never thought about how Nadja might smell different. He’d been so focused on getting her home and getting her actual food, now that her energy bank was full, that he hadn’t really paid attention. And then, the smells of the pack, of the pasta, of the bleach and cleaning agents always lingering in a big dining space, had all covered anything he might have noticed about her.

Robbie sat down in his chair and leaned in, resting his chin on Nadja’s shoulder and inhaling deeply, bringing the scent of her deep into his lungs.

Rose was right. She did smell different. Sweeter somehow. Richer. He thought about the time that the restaurant made them attend a wine tasting class where the sommelier talked about flavor notes. Dark berries. Chocolate. She smelled like a full-bodied red wine, rich and jammy with a complex finish.

The smell of her made his blood run hot. It made it mouth water just how good she smelled, how good he smelled on her. He stood and bent at his waist, lifting Nadja out of her chair and throwing her over his shoulder like he’d seen firefighters do. Nadja shrieked, drawing the eyes of all the pack members remaining.

“I gotta… we gotta go,” Robbie said as a farewell before turning on his heel and striding for the exit, leaving a cackling Rose and an amused pack behind.

Once clear of the mess hall, Robbie took off at a jog.

“Robbie, what the hell?” Nadja asked, pushing against his back to lever her torso more upright. He could feel the way his back muscles shifted under her palms. He felt stronger somehow, even in the last few hours.

“I’m hungry,” he said.

“You just ate three plates of that mosta—musca—whatever the hell Rose called it. Oh my god, Robbie, Robbie,” Nadja protested as he increased his speed.

“Nadja,” he said, “I’m hungry.”

He squeezed her ass with his hand. Hard, relishing her gasp behind him.

“Oh,” she said, her words a whisper in the darkness.

“Oh,” he repeated, sliding his palm down to cup the back of her thigh. “Are you hungry, Nadja?”

“I could eat,” she said, the last word breaking into another shriek as he sprinted then, the yellow light on the cabin’s porch growing closer and closer.

“You should eat.”

They barely made it into the cabin, ping-ponging off of walls and furniture as they kissed, pulling at clothing and stripping it away until nothing separated them, until Robbie pressed her against the closed bedroom door and thrust into her while she wrapped her legs around his waist. The door banged against its frame with every thrust. Nadja bit his lip hard enough that he tasted blood. He kissed her harder, smearing red over her lips, her cheek, down her throat until he latched onto a spot on the side of her neck, a common spots for bonding bites, and sucked hard.

She detonated in his arms and he followed her over the edge, feeling his muscles, feeling the sinews and connective tissue, feeling the blood pulsing in his veins, feeling powerful and animal and alive in a way he never had before.

They showered together, squeezed into the tub shower, laughing at the tight fit. They were careful with one another, washing backs and trading soft kisses back and forth as they washed the day off of them.

Nadja’s hair was damp against his bare chest as they lay in bed, her body draped over him the way he’d imagined her doing at least a hundred times.

“How did you do it before?”

“Hmm?” Nadja said sleepily.

“How did you feed before?”

She looked up at him.

“Well, before technology, I dream-walked. I don’t… like most people. I mean, I like them just fine, but that doesn’t mean I want to sleep with them. And invading people’s dreams felt so… exploitative. So I dream-walked with people who were already having those sorts of dreams and just inserted myself into them.”

“That can’t have been very satisfying.”

“It wasn’t.” She sighed. “But it was enough. And then I got banished to earth.”