Page 91 of Thirst
“Pictures.”
He waited a moment and when I didn’t add anything, gave a tiny sigh. “D’you need anything? Food? Blood-wine?” His gaze landed on the untouched tray on the kitchenette counter and he crossed the room, lifting the lid on a blue earthenware soup bowl. “You didn’t eat?”
“I forgot,” I said just as my stomach growled.
He shook his head. “Go wash your hands. I’ll heat it up.”
My hands? I shot a glance at my smudged fingers and winced. There was probably a streak across my cheek, too. Correction: two streaks, according to the washroom mirror.
I scrubbed up and brushed out my now-dry hair, this time leaving it loose around my shoulders. When I returned, a steaming bowl of lobster bisque waited on the counter alongside a crusty baguette and a glass of ruby-colored blood-wine.
My mouth watered. “Thanks,” I muttered, sliding onto the stool and curling my fingers around the spoon.
Cain took the stool beside me, close enough that I could feel his warmth along my arm and thigh. When I chanced a look at him, he was watching me eat with an indulgent smile, though something darker edged it.
The answering pull in my body was immediate. I shifted on the seat, my skin tight, needy.
“You forget to eat much?” he asked.
I tore off a piece of the baguette. “No. Perla doesn’t let me.”
“Perla?”
“The lair housekeeper.”
“Yeah? You two close?”
I nodded. “She’s like the big sister I never had.”
“Human?”
“Yes, but she’s a former thrall. She’s smart, knows how things work. She looks out for me.”
“And you need that? Protection?”
My fingers dug into the baguette. “I didn’t say that.”
“No,” he said. “You didn’t.”
“Anyway, that’s all I’m saying about Perla—or the lair.” I popped a piece of bread into my mouth.
He blew out a breath. “I just want to know more about you. I’m not fishing.”
“How do I know that?”
A muscle in his jaw worked. “Fair enough. But I am interested. You never said anything about this Perla before.”
“You didn’t ask.”
He made an exasperated sound deep in his throat. A warning.
A danger-tinged thrill shivered through me, and my pulse beat in my ears, wild and hard. Goddess help me, I was enjoying this, wanted to see how far I could push him.
Which was why I had to stop.
“Hey, I understand.” I gave him my widest fake-Nyx smile. “It’s not like we had that kind of relationship. It was just sex, right?”
His hand caught mine, halting the soup spoon midair. “The hell it was.”
