The Book of Azrael (Gods & Monsters, #1)

by Amber V. Nicole

Then those words. They were so similar to what I had spoken. What was this feeling? Was I sad for him—sad for the love he would never again see? Or was it pain—pain for the woman he was leaving behind? Would she feel lost and abandoned, too, like I did at the mere thought of losing my sister?

“You need a friend, and lucky for you, I’m here.” I playfully shoved him with my shoulder, lightening the mood and keeping him distracted. He looked at me. “Lucky me, huh?”

I didn’t remember how long we talked, but somewhere amidst her laughter and smiles, I decided I would rip the world apart for her.

“You already consume my every waking thought. Must you consume my dreams as well?”

“Don’t you know? Love is the purest form of destruction there is.”

I knew nothing of love, but I knew I wanted her, needed her, and dreamed of her. It was the most inappropriate and irresponsible thing I could ever want for myself. I just wanted to feel, and a single touch from her set my body alight. I wanted her hands on every part of me, and I wanted it more than I had ever wanted anything. It was the most selfish desire in the world, but I wanted her more than a crown, more than a throne, more than air.

I had kissed and been kissed thousands of times in my lifetime, but nothing compared to this moment. With the right person, a kiss was so much more than a kiss. It was pure, unfiltered ecstasy. A part of my soul had been waiting for this woman, and one kiss from her had undone me. A voice I couldn’t ignore quietly insisted that she was what I had been missing.

“That’s eight ways now, because when we leave here, I’m going to fuck the word friend out of your vocabulary.”

“I thought I’d lost you.” It was a whisper, and his gaze flicked to mine as if he were shocked he had said the words out loud. “You know better than that. I’m impossible to get rid of.” I shook my head with a smile playing on my lips as I threw his words back at him. “Like an infection.” He didn’t laugh or smile, and he didn’t attempt a joke as his eyes bored into mine. “If that is true…” The fear in his gaze shifted, becoming another primal emotion. “… then I wish for you to infect me.”