Chapter 31

CYRUS

I was nervous.

I was never nervous.

Hunting gave me a certain kind of high. It filled my blood with adrenaline and excitement and sharpened my eyes until all I could focus on was the target.

Fucking gave me a thrill for how long the round lasted. It was never anything special to me. Find a willing lady-and I had never met anyone who wasn't willing-and find a private location. Or any location at all, period. Privacy hadn't really been a priority.

Fighting. It filled me with hunger. A hunger for more blood, more bodies, and only blood could quench that hunger.

Nothing. Nothing, in as long as I could remember, had ever made me nervous.

But apparently, a date with Avery could.

I was parked outside the university when I saw other cars driving in. I had initially thought that only specific cars-probably residents-were allowed to go in, but as I watched, just about any car was going in. So I decided, why not?

I drove into the university-I was given a card before I was allowed in-parked at a vacant spot beside other parked cars and shot a text to Avery to let her know that I was here. She replied almost immediately that she would be here shortly and in the meantime, I tried to regulate my breathing.

Fuck. Why was I so jittery?

She was like every other woman. There was nothing special about her. But even as the thought entered my mind, I dismissed it because it wasn't true.

Avery wasn't like any other woman I have met. Granted, I didn't know her much to determine the kind of person that she was, but even judging by her exterior, there was no one like her.

Her eyes, her lips, perky breasts that had threatened to drive me insane when she bared them for me. Fuck. My grip on control had been almost non-existent that day with her grinding on me like that and then taking it as far as taking off her top? I hadn't wanted to stop. I didn't even know that I could. And one couldn't blame me really. Not when presented with those beauties.

Those creamy globes of perfection, with pink nipples that had been begging for my tongue. I had been helpless not to give. My mouth watered as the image filled my mind. I ached to suck on them. To wrap my lips around them and-

A knock sounded on my window. I looked up, ready to yell at whoever had interrupted me from the almost vivid imagination I had been having of Avery, when I paused.

It was Avery herself. Knocking.

Fuck.

I was about to hurry out and open the door for her, but she knocked again and I had no choice but to unlock the car and let her in by herself. When she got in, her addictive scent bombarded me, assaulting my nostrils and I fought the sudden urge to shove my nose into her neck and sniff her.

She was going to think that was weird. As hell. It was a lykae thing-sniffing each other. And it was a very intimate act. But she was human and there was a huge possibility she would find it odd. I had to remember that.

Which begged the question again; What in the ever loving fuck was I doing taking this girl on a date?

"Hey. I spotted your car almost immediately." She said and then before I could say anything, she leaned over to give me a kiss on my cheek.

That threw me, and I fumbled for a bit, unsure of what to do with myself. Big and stupid.

"Hey." That was all I ended up saying.

Really smart, Cyrus.

"You didn't tell me where we were going, so I had to get creative." She gestured to her body and I took note of what she was wearing for the first time. "Casual but sexy."

She was wearing a short blue gown that stopped mid-thigh with tiny straps holding the dress together on her shoulders. For the first time since I met her, her hair wasn't braided. She had let it down and even though she was sitting and I couldn't see it very well, I could tell it wasn't that long.

My eyes, again, drifted to her bare legs in that short dress.

Fuck. How was I going to survive today?

"Yeah." I cleared my throat, putting the car into drive and pulling away. "Definitely sexy."

As I drove out of the university, I handed the card back to the security because apparently, that was the only way I would be allowed out. It showed that I had actually come in through the main gate. I guess they were just trying to be careful. Seeing that, made me know that Avery was at least, safe.

I also saw the man trying to look through my back window discreetly, when I knew that there was no way he was going to be able to see anything because my windows were tinted. I had specifically bought this car for extra security. It was faster, the tinted windows, and the color that didn't really stand out.

Except that it was, well, sleek as hell and people were going to take note of it anyway. Guys especially. So maybe what I had done wasn't a smart thing after all.

I thought long and hard on where to take her yesterday. Restaurants were top exposed, too open, and I didn't want to risk us being seen. Of course I had taken extra measures to ensure that my scent was masked, but I also couldn't take any chances.

I hadn't been able to find anywhere to take her. That was, until, I came across this really private and cozy restaurant.

It took us less than twenty minutes to get there. From the outside, it didn't look like a big place and until a person went inside, before they knew that it was.

I got out of the car and walked around to open Avery's door for her. I noticed how her eyes lit up when I did that everytime. I think she liked it, and that was enough reason for me to keep doing it even if it was just to see that light in her eyes.

When she came to her full height, I took her in whole.

The gown, as I had guessed before, was indeed short as it ended mid thigh, leaving her legs bare to the delight of my hungry eyes. She was holding a small black clutch and she had on high heels.

I placed my hand on the small of her back as we started walking towards the restaurant. Even with the heels, her head still didn't come up to my shoulder.

As we walked, the scent of her hair drifted to my nostrils. It was so strong, so pungent, and it was the only think I could smell. Her hair. Her beautiful blonde hair that bounced on her shoulders with every strong step she took. It stopped at the middle of her back and I had to force myself not to bury my nose in it.

A hostess attended to us immediately we got in, leading us to our own private cubicle. That was what I loved about the place. Everyone had their own cubicles. It was beautiful and gave the impression of privacy. We didn't have to worry about anyone seeing us or whatever the hell we were doing.

It was perfect.

What made it even better was that the chairs weren't made of wood. There were couches on both sides of a table and even if I would have preferred Avery sitting with me on one side, she took one of the couches and waited for me to take the opposite one.

I shrugged off my dissapointment.

"This place is really beautiful." She complimented as she sat.

"It is."

Water was placed on our table until we could decide on what to order. Avery grabbed the menu, her eyes darting through it and I imitated her by picking mine too when I knew that I was going to order whatever it was she was ordering.

I didn't buy food, but I was going to have to do that because of her.

She ordered steak when the waiter came back-thank fuck-and I told the waiter to make it two plates. As we waited for our food, I decided to strike up conversation.

"You said you were hanging with your friends yesterday. Was the one I dropped you with one of them?"

She nodded, taking a sip of her water. "She said to say hi."

I nodded. I felt like her friend was on my team. I assumed that was a good thing when trying to woo a girl, that her friend was on my team.

The waiter came back with our food and we immediately started to dig in. Avery ate with gusto, and I loved that alot. I like how she wasn't shy to show that she loved food even when in the presence of others.

My heart gave a hollow pang. If only she were a lykae. I would hunt for her, cook for her, feed her until she couldn't eat anymore.

But she wasn't.

I needed to stop remembering that she was a human. It made me feel bad. It made me second guess everything I was going with her.

"Cyrus?" She called and I glanced up at her.

"Yeah?"

"What are we doing?" She pushed a steak around on her plate, watching it idly before finally looking at me and my stomach rolled at the vulnerability I saw in her eyes, "Is this a relationship?"

I didn't know the full meaning of a relationship. What it entailed, how people went about it, and the likes. But what I knew was that right now, I wanted to do anything to keep her with me for as long as I could.

So I said, "Yes."

"How's that going to work?"

"Anyhow you want it. We'll go on these date things, as long as we're-"

She shook her head even before I finished, "That's not what I meant. You don't live here, remember? You said you're on vacation."

Shit. That was what I had actually told her that second time I went to the bar. She thought I was on vacation.

And really, was she wrong to be concerned? I was running for my life. How was I going to be able to fit a relationship into the fucked up schedule that was my life?

But I was determined to try. Even if at the end I was going to fail. I needed her. Not having her was not an option.

"We'll work on that. I'll think about it and I'll get back to you." I tried to reassure her, "But I'm here for now, you don't have to worry. I promise."

That seemed to be enough for her. For now. She gradually went back to eating and we started discussing about other things.

I didnt know how but we got so wrapped up in conversation, talking about everything and nothing, that by the time we were about to leave, it was so late. Later than I had initially thought it was.

I opened the door for Avery to get into the car before getting in on my side.

She checked the time on her phone. "It's so late."

"Yeah. I didn't even know it was this late."

"The dorms usually get locked earlier than usual on Sundays." Then her eyes widened and her head fell back on the headrest, "I think they're already locked by now."

Shit. If the dorms were locked, then how was she going to get in?

"Are you sure?"

She nodded. "Let me call Mariah to confirm."

She called the friend and truly, the dorms had been locked. There was no way for her to go back in. Where was she going to spend the night?

Unless....

When I looked at her, I saw that she was biting her bottom lip. It made me want to reach across and pull the lip free.

"Cyrus, do you think I could spend the night at your place?"

Oh fuck. My heart rate escalated. She wanted to spend the night at my place?!

"Yeah. Of course. I have a spare bedroom."

"Okay." She said, then went back to texting on her phone while she worried that plump lower lip.

This girl was going to be the death of me. I just knew it.