Noah shrugged. “I already have.”
She thought about Darius’ wary interview of her. “What if the other Ankh tried to hurt me?” A distressed frown appeared between his eyebrows but he continued to keep walking. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, what if they decided to turn on me for some reason and… they tried to kill me?” Now his jaw clenched so tight it looked close to shattering. He appeared to be trying very hard not to look at her. “Then they’ll have to go through me first.” At the determination on Noah’s face, Eden bit her lip feeling giddy. He meant that. He really, really meant that.
A surge of emotion ripped through her in that moment and without another thought Eden grabbed the front of his shirt, tugging him down into a kiss. She felt his surprise under her lips but it lasted a mere millisecond before he was kissing her back, his arms wrapping around her waist and drawing her tightly against him. His familiar scent, heat, the feel of his heart pounding against hers, his skin heating up under her hands as she cupped his face between her palms, sent Eden into shivering combustibility. Opening her mouth to deepen the kiss, she felt the way her involuntary shudder affected Noah as their tongues flicked against one another’s. His muscles tightened under her and he squeezed her so tight she’d probably be bruised in the morning. But she didn’t care. Kissing Noah was everything she ever dreamed it would be, and as his hands slid across her back, snagging her top up so his fingers brushed her bare skin, Eden wished they were anywhere but in the middle of a street. They came up for air once, only to plunge back under for more, Noah’s groan against her mouth sending her into whimpering convulsions.
Where are we again? She thought vaguely, desperate to collapse to the floor and drag Noah down with her.
“Ahem.”
They both froze, lips still locked together.
“Don’t you need oxygen yet?”
Val.
Eff. Eff. Eff. Eff. Eden pulled away from Noah breathlessly and shared a somewhat stunned look with him before they turned to Val. The ancient warrior stood in the middle of the street, arms akimbo, eyes glittering with humour.
“We killed the other soul eater in a mall parking lot off Princes Street. Did you get yours?” Eden groaned at the deliberate double entendre as Noah answered, not taking his arm from around her waist. “Eden did. Cyrus has a clean-up crew coming.”
Val’s grin widened. “Congrats on the first kill, Eden.” Her eyes flickered over them mockingly.
“That might help soften the blow when I tell Cyrus about this little development.” She gestured between them.
Oh crap.
Eden turned to Noah.
He sighed. “Crap.”
Chapter Twenty. Forever is a Long Time
Despite her threat, Val didn’t tell Cyrus about the kiss when they met him back at the Douglas’ home.
The walk back to the house had been fraught with a tension that had Noah clenching and unclenching his fists. He’d known Val had enjoyed herself, these humorous little snorts had bubbled up from the back of her throat every ten minutes or so.
Eden on the other hand… Noah hadn’t been able to get a read on.
She hadn’t touched him since the kiss and had walked with a foot of space beside them so there had been no chance of touching. The fact that she had initiated the most surprising and hottest kiss of his entire seventy years (and he’d had a lot of kisses) didn’t mean a thing if she wouldn’t look at him.
He stood back with his arms crossed over his chest as Cyrus proudly grilled her for a detailed description of her kill. He tried to shake himself, he really did. It had just been Eden’s first kill after all. But it had also been his and Eden’s first kiss.
And oh gods, he hoped it wasn’t their last.
“I’m really jealous,” Tobe said stepping towards Eden with a sly smile. “But I’m really proud too.”
Eden grinned at her and let Tobe hug her, which only made Noah think about how it had felt to have Eden pressed up against him. He swallowed, shifting uncomfortably as he flushed red hot at the memory. That kiss wasn’t nothing. And it wasn’t their last. You didn’t kiss someone the way Eden had kissed him and not mean it.
Right?
He groaned. This was so payback. Kharma working her magic again.
“Are you alright, Noah?” Cyrus asked, hearing his groan.
“Oh, uh yeah, yeah. Just hungry,” he covered.
Cyrus nodded. “I say we celebrate. Is there not a late night pub still open around here, Christopher?”
“There is indeed.” Christopher grinned.
Everyone was so happy for Eden.
And so they should be. Before she’d effed him up with that kiss, he’d watched her take down that soul eater with finesse and power. They’d just armed themselves with another amazing warrior to help aid the cause.
And me? Noah winced, watching everyone file out the house, watching Eden file out the house without so much as glancing back at him. His eyes narrowed in determination. I got something I’m not letting go of without a fight.
***
Sitting across from Noah with all their warrior friends around them was excruciating for Eden.
Inside she was a jumble of confusion. Noah was acting weird. Maybe I shouldn’t have kissed him.
Maybe he totally regrets kissing me back. According to rumour, Noah wasn’t a settling down kind of guy and she wasn’t a casual kissing random people kind of girl so where did that leave them?
Uh nowhere, Eden, she snapped irritably at herself.
As Noah laughed at something Tobe said, Eden pushed back from the table and asked if anyone wanted anything from the bar. Only non-alcoholic drinks were shouted at her as she headed up. She had just ordered the drinks when heat flooded the space next to her and his yummy Noah smell enveloped her like a warm, sexy hug. Bracing herself, Eden looked up at him as he leaned casually near her.
“We gonna talk about it?” he asked her softly and just the mention of it had her eyes falling to his mouth.
She flushed and shifted her weight anxiously. “Not if it didn’t mean anything to you.” Her heart jumped at the touch of his hand against her lower back, drawing her closer to him, a move she allowed without even questioning it. “It meant everything to me,” his reply was low and rumbly and did all kinds of things to her insides.
Relaxing, Eden couldn’t help smile as she moved nearer. “Good. Me too.” Those pale eyes of his darkened and fell to her lips and she had only a moment to catch her breath in surprise as he leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to them right there in front of everyone. It was a sweet kiss that promised so much more.
Heart pounding at what this meant for them, it took Eden a moment to register the arm that slid past them as they drew apart. It thunked a glass down on the counter, and recognising the silver ring on the strong hand, Eden tensed.
Cyrus stood before them, his face completely expressionless as he stared at her. “I suspect this means you forgive him, then?”
She bit her lip, not sure how Cyrus was going to react to the news: overprotective father figure which was bad news for Noah? Or a Princeps who was happy for two of his Ankh?
When his eyes flashed Eden suddenly guessed that it was going to be a bit of both.
Staring Noah down, Cyrus warned in a low voice, “Make one wrong move…”