Page 30 of Legion
Iain gave her a tremulous smile as he entered.“Naomi,” he whispered, so much reverence in his tone that nausea gripped her gut.
Fuck.
Ignoring the low curses coming from Alfie and Donna, Naomi watched the psi-demon carefully as he took slow, shuffling steps toward her—his eyes hazy, his skin clammy, his cheeks red and blotchy.
Her demon gritted its teeth, exasperated beyond belief with this guy.The entity wasn’t familiar with empathy, so it gave not one measly shit that he was in the grasp of a siren song.
“I did it,” he said with a proud smile.
Naomi felt her brow crease.“Did what?”
“Stayed away for a whole week.My feelings haven’t changed, though.That means they’re real,” he insisted.“This isproofthat they’re real.”
Conscious that people would begin piling inside at any moment, she suggested, “Why don’t we talk in the breakroom?”There would otherwise be a public scene for sure.
Sending him away wouldn’t work.Threatening him wouldn’t work.Nothingever worked.
He considered her suggestion for a moment.“Privacy would be best.”
Heading for the breakroom, she exchanged a brief look with her stepfather as she telepathed him.Don’t worry, I’ll handle this.
No, sweetheart, Belinsky needs to be the one to handle it, said Alfie.You can take care of yourself, I know, but Iain isn’t going to listen to you—not while he’s caught up in your song.Nothing you say will penetrate.
He was right on that.Iain had disobeyed his Prime, yes, but he would leave if ordered to do so by Luka.She could toss as many orders and threats at him as she liked; could even set the guy on fire—none of it would make a difference.He was determined to prove that he loved her.Plus, she’d assured Luka that she’d call out to him if such a scenario occurred, hadn’t she?
As she closed the breakroom door behind her and Iain, she telepathically reached out to Luka.Sorry to interrupt whatever you’re doing, but Iain’s here at the pizzeria.
“You look good.”Iain swallowed hard.“Beautiful.Always do.God, I’ve missed you so much.It’s been hard to stay away.”
A male mind stroked over hers, vibrating with anger.I’ll be with you very soon, Luka told her.He probably meant to have someone teleport him to the pizzeria, then.
You can teleport to the private dining room you used before.It’s empty right now.We’re in the breakroom – it’s just a few doors down from there.Noticing Iain edging toward her, she slammed up a hand.“No.”
His brow furrowed in confusion, but he halted.
“Iain, a week wasn’t going to be enough for my song to wear off.You needed to stay away for at least two.Now you’ll have to start all over again.”
He shook his head.“What?No.No, I don’t need longer.”
God, she hated this.Hated seeing what her very nature did to people.Hated having to say things that hurt them in an effort to get through to them.It sucked every time.“You shouldn’t have come here, you should have—”
“Ineedto be where you are.”
“No, you need to listen to the people around you.You need to take their advice for your own sake.”
His jaw clenched.“I am sick and tired of people telling me how I feel.Iknowhow I feel.They can’t possibly have any clue what’s going on inside me.”
“You’re feverish, Iain.The kind of feverish that comes with being under the influence of a siren song.”
“That doesn’t mean my feelings are false!”he shouted, spittle flying from his mouth.“I would know if they were!”
Evidently not.She shot him a hard look, her entity baring its teeth in anger.“Do not yell at me.”
He squeezed his eyes shut.“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.It’s just maddening having people question your state of mind and insist that you’re delusional.I know the difference between love and obsession.”
“How could you love me when you barely know me?Seriously,thinkabout it.Consider how crazy it is that you’d feel so deeply for someone you weren’t around for very long.”
“It’s not crazy, it’s—”
