Page 97 of Twice Bitten

Dammit. He knew what happened to me last night. Otherwise, why would he have shown up with so much food? How was he getting so much intel on me?

Even with fast-food bags in hand, Alric was a sight to behold. He prowled toward me, his stride full of grace and purpose. He was dressed more casually than I’d ever seen, wearing dark wash jeans and a burgundy long-sleeved T-shirt that brought out the emerald green in his eyes.

I watched him approach, wondering what was in the bags even as I wanted to punch him in the kidney. “Wow. Did you skip dinner or something?”

Alric’s lips twitched. “I thought you might be hungry after last night’s adventures.”

I clenched my jaw. There was no use denying it. He walked into my house and went straight to the kitchen to start unpacking food. My traitorous stomach growled again.

“I wasn’t sure if you liked blueberry or cherry, so I broughtboth.” He opened one of the paper containers to show me the most enormous blueberry roll I’d ever seen.

“Erm. Blueberry.” I was a lot of things, but I was not a woman who’d turn my nose up at perfectly delicious food, no matter who’d brought it.

Alric grunted. “Thought that might be the case. I’ll take the cherry.”

The other containers were full of biscuits, bacon, sausage, and fluffy French toast.

“You must have spent a fortune on this.”

“Shifters and vampires have huge appetites. Our grocery bills tend to be exorbitant.”

“Witches eat like humans,” I said primly, disproving the point by reaching for the bacon and French toast and piling it on my plate like I’d been lost in the mountains for six months.

One of his eyebrows lifted. “Sure,” he said lightly as he fished through the drawers for silverware.

I pointed to the right one. Alric set a fork and a knife down for me and took a spoon out for the large container of extra icing he’d purchased for the rolls.

“Where is this from?” I said through a mouthful of food.

“A place called The Wooden Spoon. Doesn’t look like much on the outside, but the food reminds me of better days.”

I stopped chewing and studied him. “Your mom used to make cherry rolls?”

“Admirable attempt at prying, but no. My mother wasn’t much of a cook. My grandmother, however, could make anything she set her mind to. She made the best cornbread. It had the perfect touch of sweetness and was so moist it melted in your mouth.” His eyes took on a faraway look, a tinge of sadness in the emerald depths.

Sometimes, Alric made it difficult to keep disliking him. “Is your grandmother still with you?”

His expression flickered. “No. I lost her long ago. Therehave always been strict rules concerning the making of our kind.”

Our eyes met. I knew he was thinking the same thing as I was. I’d already shown I could shift. He wondered what else I might be able to do, what gifts he might have given me.

“I’m not a vampire,” I said lightly.

He smirked. “Just like you are not a shifter?”

I pushed my blueberry roll away. “Obviously, you know what happened to me last night. We don’t have to tiptoe around me going furry.”

“I’m merely following your lead.” He took a huge bite of his cherry roll and watched me, waiting for me to break and spill the beans.

I had no beans to spill. He had all my beans. I got up and made some coffee, not saying a word to him. I still wanted the rest of that blueberry roll, but I wasn’t going to give him the pleasure of watching me eat his food.

I’d wait until he was gone and scarf down the rest of it.

When the coffee was finished, I poured us both a cup, using the same mugs as the day before. He murmured his thanks and took a sip.

“I used the grounds you gave me. I’d be willing to pay well if your boss would offer me a supply.”

“I’ll ask.”