Page 44 (1/2)

She reached out with a tre hand and took one of the sandwiches Her eyes closed as she bit into the bread, and she chewed slowly, as if relishing the flavors Then, driven by a need she couldn’t control, she tore into the food with abandon

"Slon," he said "I don’t want you to get sick"

She acted as if she hadn’t heard hi every drop of soda He could only watch, fascinated And spectacularly angry Clearly, she had been starved

"Where are you staying?" he asked What he really wanted to know: Who was responsible for this?

"I don’t want to talk about it"

"At least tell

"I’mnot, I’m sorry I’m seventeen"

Disappointment hit him, and hit him hard

She flattened her hand over herwide A moan of pain escaped her

He arched a brow "Tooout, "Help"

"Bathroom is to the left"

She raced into the sht on her heels When she hunched over the toilet, he did soh, like now, he alore gloves He grabbed her hair and held it back And just in time as she heaved the contents of her stomach

When she finished, he released her and stepped back "Why don’t you take a shower? Everything you need is in this rooe of clothes" He kept a few shirts and sweatpants in here He kept shirts and sweatpants everywhere, actually, alanting to be covered, never wanting to risk exposing his skin to another’s touch

A fe before, and he kind of liked the idea

But she’s only seventeen, and you aren’t a cradle robber

Stupid Cronus, finding hi to touch

At least, for now

She remained slumped on the floor and wouldn’t look up at hiain"

"All right"

"Do you need h He wasn’t sure hoould have reacted "When you’re done, we’ll talk, all right?" He shut the door, sealing her inside

Several minutes passed before he heard the water switch on While she showered, he paced, waiting Thinking Twenty-four hours, she’d said That’s how long he had with her That wasn’t long enough

He wanted to ask when she would turn eighteen He wanted to drop to his knees and pray it happened during their tiether

Creepy much?

Surely she would not become a carrier of his disease Cronus wouldn’t have sent him a carrier The moment she was an adult, Torin could allow himself to touch her It didn’t have to be sexual, either They could hold hands

To experience the warmth of another’s skin, the softness, the sense of connection, the tactile knowledge that he wasn’t alone

He ed, a cloud of stea her Wet, her hair was dark, almost brown She’d brushed it, but the strands had decided to curl With the dirt scrubbed off her face, he could see the purity of her skin Pale, like porcelain, with a slight tracery of veins Flawless

She wore his clothing, the ed on her

"Thank you," she said in that whispery voice

"You’re welcome"

He watched as she shifted uncoet twenty-four hours with you," he said, "but I’d rather not take them consecutively I’d rather spread them out One hour a day, for twenty-four days Would you be okay with that?" He could use the ti and relaxed Happy to see hi, she would want to keep seeing hiht"