Page 45 of Up In Flames

But she shakes her head. “You can’t. All of them that have been uncovered around the globe have mysteriously disappeared, quite a few of them after the Smithsonian got involved. We’re talking lots and lots of uncovered mounds containing lots and lots of skeletons in this country alone. Hundreds, even thousands. There have been news articles going back to the 1800s, along with drawings and photographs. The Smithsonian has even copped to receiving some of the giant skeletons, but all are lost, they say… and not giant bones.”

“A cover-up?”

She nods. “Impossible to see it as anything but an attempt to disappear information. That’s what really caught my attention. I told you that I first started researching demons for my books, but I have to admit, my interest was piqued when I noticed the intense effort made to hide the giant bones. Because we have DNA testing now. What would that tell us about our world? About our history?”

“It would shock a lot of people to think we’re not the only species of humanoid running around in recent history.”

“It might make us all less xenophobic. It might unite us.”

We sit in silence while I try to process what she’s telling me. Most of me wants to shout that it’s all nonsense. There are no such things as giants, maybe no such things as angels, and definitely nothing about me that isn’t human.

Except, in some small place within me, the recognition remains.

I might be upset over what these revelations mean, but I’ve always wanted the hard truth over a convenient lie. Still, Nina’s home has become an abode where truth dwells, and I find myself liking it less and less because of it. The need to run, far and fast, is hard to tamp down.

“Are you okay?” Nina finally asks, her voice quiet.

“Honestly? No, I don’t think I am.”

“Want to hear more, or is that enough for today?”

And I love her for being so gentle with me. Because of my size, most people aren’t. With words or gestures, they’re tough on me, as if my emotional state should match my physical. And that’s okay, because it’s made me stronger and more capable than I might have been otherwise. But her gentleness, her care, floods me with a feeling I have no words to describe.

“Give it to me. I can handle it.” And I smile at her, to let her know that even if I’m not alright right now, I will be.

“Here’s the main difference between you and the giants: they were cannibals… well, at least half-cannibals, given they were only part human and they ate humans. Point is, they hunted, killed, and ate humans. That’s why they were so hated and feared.”

“I’m not going to eat people.”

“Exactly.” Suddenly, she laughs, a light, tinkling sound exactly like the chime of the silver bell my mother always wore around her neck. It frees some of my tension. “Though I could say that you’ve already done an admirable job eating me.” And she blushes bright red.

“Well, that I intend to keep doing, but I don’t think the kids call it cannibalism these days.” I play with her hair for a moment, stroking the silky blond strands between my sausage fingers. She’s so delicate, so breakable. If I ever hurt her, I couldn’t go on living. “Do you really think I’m a descendant of these Nephilim? Or the red-haired giants?”

“Don’t you?”

“I’m going to have to think about it.”

She leans her head against me and sighs. “Honestly, you’re so much better than most of the men I’ve met throughout my life, it sort of seems like you’re not human. I can say that now, by the way, since I’m no longer devastated by how you looked at me like I was trash.”

“I never looked at you that way. I never could. I was hurt. I lied to myself.”

“Me, too.” She kisses my chest again. “But now that I can be fair and impartial, you’re nothing like a giant except in your height. And fingers. Toes. Teeth.” She squirms on my lap. “Dick.”

“Yeah?” And there’s that wave of warmth again, spreading through me. “But my dick’s not too big, right?”

She snuggles into me some more, making me hard. Again. The blasted thing is going to fall off soon from too much use. And I don’t care, so long as my last moments are with her.

“Your dick is perfect. As for the rest of you… a flower arranging, decorating, mountain of a man who can’t orgasm unless he pleases his woman first? Who wants to pay for my meals? Who volunteers at every town event, rescues cats from trees, and dives into fires to save other people’s lives at risk to his own? I’d say you’re the tops of every list, not the bottom. You’re the opposite of evil. I’d trust you with my life, Sampson. I can’t say that about too many people.”

I feel my heart tick up as my response formulates in my head. She must feel it as well, lodged against my chest. “I know it’s too soon, but I want you to be my woman. Will you move in with me, Nina? Now? Tonight?”

She yawns and snuggles against me. “Sure, but since it’s already tomorrow, can we take a little nap first?”

That we can. I draw a blanket off the couch and cover her before I spoon in behind her, holding her close to me. My eyes drift shut.

It’s been a heck of a day—a heck of a few days—but I’m ready for more of the same if it means finally having her in my life. Even if I am a giant. I didn’t even realize how much Nina still meant to me—not until I held her pussy through her ripped jeans and felt all of me align in a way I never had before.

But one more question has me opening my eyes again. “Nina?”