Born of Stone by Missy Jane Read Free Book Online Page A

my little star, this isn’t for you. Don’t you know your place yet?”
    He seemed amused but she was humiliated. After the intimacy they had shared, he still thought so little of her? Her stomach growled loudly and he laughed long and hard. His brothers joined in and soon the humans did as well. The whole room was laughing at her while she stood hungry and miserable. She ached to run away, but like in many dreams, her feet were rooted to the ground. She wrapped her arms around her aching belly and lowered her head in the hopes no one would see her tears.
    “No, don’t cry, my sweet. There’s no cause for you to cry.”
    Orestes’s deep voice sounded in her ear both the same and different from before. She felt the heat of his palm against her cheek. Her tears continued to fall and she realized her eyes were tightly shut. Slowly she woke from the dream to the sight of Orestes’s worried face above her.
    “Why do you cry in your sleep, my little star?”
    She sniffled and the fresh scent of food invaded her lungs. Was the dream still lingering? Her stomach growled loudly and she slapped a hand over her bare belly. Orestes frowned.
    “Are you so hungry it brings you to tears? Come. I have food for you.”
    He slipped his large arm beneath her shoulders and lifted her into a sitting position. Then he moved away from her to a small table beside the bed. It was laden with dishes, steam rising from more than a few. Her stomach growled again.
    “I was about to eat when I noticed your uneasy sleep. Now we can dine together.”
    She remained mute while he covered a plate in more food than she had eaten in months. When he walked to the bed with it, she thought he meant to eat in front of her. The urge to run from the room was strong but she knew he would catch her. Better to simply struggle through the torture as she had so many others.
    “If there is anything here you don’t like, just leave it.”
    He placed the plate on the bed before her and went back to the table. When he began to fill a second plate she realized the first was for her.
    All of it? All for her alone?
    “Uh…sir, I can’t possibly eat so much.”
    He stopped stacking his plate to glance at her, giving her a grin that weakened her further. Goddess, the man was handsome.
    “Just eat your fill then. And no calling me sir. Orestes. Remember?”
    She looked again at the large plate sitting before her and wondered if she was still dreaming. But the smells were so good and she could feel the steam coming from the meat. With shaking fingers, she finally picked up one small morsel and put it to her lips. She closed her eyes and slipped the meat into her mouth, moaning as soon as the taste burst on her tongue. It was exquisite—the most marvelous thing she had ever eaten. She ate slowly to savor the experience, then quickly snatched up the next piece.
     
    Orestes was hungry enough that he had begun to impatiently pile food onto his plate without paying much attention to what he grabbed. Then Astrid moaned and his hunger was forgotten. At least, his hunger for food. His head shot up and he watched her eyes slip closed and pure bliss play across her face. She finished a small bit of beef and snatched another as if afraid it would try to run away. He nearly laughed until he noticed the hunger and wonder in her gaze. She really had been starving.
    His own hunger was immediately forgotten and he placed his plate on the table. He approached the bed cautiously, lest he frighten her.
    “Astrid, my dear, don’t eat too quickly. Your body will reject the food if you put in too much or go too fast.” She froze with a bit of chicken halfway to her mouth. “I’m not saying you must stop, but please slow down.”
    A blush colored her face and she lowered her head. He felt like the biggest ass in the kingdom.
    “No, don’t be ashamed.” He pulled himself onto the bed to sit beside her and wrapped one arm around her slender shoulders. She still held the