Page 26 of Eternal Devotion

Ensley clung and offered a light squeeze as a smile touched his lips. “You’re freezing. How long have you been standing out here?”

“Long enough.”

The flat was warm, a kiss of fire against my perpetually cold skin. The instant Ensley shut the door, three heads turned in our direction.

“Hey, everyone. This is Mordecai.” I was all too aware of Ensley’s fingers still wrapped around mine and the implication it projected. None of his friends seemed to notice or care. It was easy. Simple.

Baffling.

Ensley gestured to the redhead. “This is Marsden, aka Mars.”

Mars jumped up and shook my hand. Only then did Ensley let go of my fingers.

“Nice to meet you. I hear you’re camped out at the old Branson house.”

“I am.”

“We have got to talk about it. I need to know if Caspian is still walking those halls.”

“Later.” Ensley shoved Mars aside with a laugh. “Let me finish introductions so we can play. The guy with the glasses who isn’t paying attention is Poet.”

The man in question offered a wave but didn’t lift his gaze, too engrossed in the stack of books spread out before him. “Nice to meet you, Mordecai.”

“And that’s Zig or Ziggy. Siegmund, if you really want to piss him off.”

“Don’t ever call me Siegmund, and we’ll get along fine.”

“How about Freud?” Mars asked.

Ziggy gave him the finger before addressing me. “Nice to meet you, Mordecai.”

We shook hands.

Ziggy motioned to a high table across the room. “There’s pizza, and the beer is in the fridge. Help yourself. We usually kick in for food and drinks, but since it’s your first night, we’ll give you a free pass.” He winked.

“Thank you. I’ve already eaten.”

“How about a beer?” Ensley asked.

“I’m not one for alcohol.”

“Water? Pop?”

“Um… water, if it isn’t too much trouble, I guess.” It was easier to dispose of or leave behind without drawing unnecessary attention. No one typically monitored water intake, and frequent trips to the sink to fill an already full glass left the impression of consumption.

Ensley headed to the kitchen area while I stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, taking in the flat and his friends. I’d spent hundreds of years observing humans from a distance, watching them interact, listening to them banter or argue or fall in love. Being in the middle of it, part of it, left me feeling like I had two left feet. I knew all the dance moves but not how to execute them.

Ensley returned with a full glass of water and a plate of pizza. He handed me the former and waved me over to the gaming area. I joined him and his friends around the coffee table, admiring the setup. A three-dimensional map took up the entire surface with castle walls denoting rooms, figurines of various creatures, cannons, iron gates, and wooden bridges. Various textiles represented sand and stone, grass and mud. The intricacy was fascinating.

Poet took up most of the couch with his thick books and countless notepads. Mars sat on the far end, eating and scanning a chart of some kind. Ziggy occupied a cushioned chair. Ensley offered me the remaining chair and asked if I could hold his plate while he fetched an oversized beanbag for himself.

My worries over being singled out and questioned were unfounded. The instant Poet got himself food and a drink and checked to ensure everyone was ready, the game began with a flourish. I didn’t know what to expect but was enraptured by the sheer detail and creativity involved.

Poet began by narrating a storyline, using a craggy voice I assumed was meant to depict a fantastical creature of some kind. A wizard? A mythical elder? In his business attire and with glasses perched on the end of his nose, the image was incongruous with who I expected him to be.

I smothered a smile, but it didn’t go unnoticed. Ensley nudged my leg, grinning back, and an impossible warmth seeped through my veins, pooling in my belly. He sat close enough that the heat of his body radiated against my thigh. His scent permeated the air without my having to use enhancements. Crisp green apples and clean laundry hung in the midday sun. A summer breeze. Chamomile. A rain-speckled field of grass. He smelled like life and longing and dreams that would never come true.

My smile disintegrated, and I shifted my leg so we no longer touched.