Chapter 4 Breakfast
Breakfast
I meant to take a two-minute shower, but the water wasn’t back to ice cold like I expected - it was slightly warm. Cautiously, I inched the handle toward the left, and the water warmed further. Suddenly, the hot water in the shower made sense. This was heavenly.
My muscles melted under the gentle pounding of heated water. The shampoo in the shower smelled of plants - mint and eucalyptus if the bottle was accurate - and it tingled as I scrubbed it into my scalp.
A foaming body wash that smelled like vanilla glided over my skin, stripping away a feeling of grime I wasn’t even aware of. It was unfair how luxurious these bath products were.
After sudsing up and rinsing my entire body, I washed my hair a second time. The drag of my nails over my clean scalp made me want to purr. And who knew when I would get the chance to get this clean again?
After Evrin turned me, I would enjoy luxuries like this. Well, maybe not hot showers, but more showers at least. It was something else to look forward to.
Maybe I could talk to Evrin about showers for the donors because Luca was wrong - we weren’t blood slaves.
The fact that Luca had a bathroom in his hallway, one that you could use alone and lock the door, was wild. Did he even realize how lucky he was?
Between taking me captive and then putting me in a comfy bed and offering me food and a shower, I was so confused. It hurt my brain to think about.
That was probably why I felt that pull toward him that I was trying to deny and ignore.
Finally, I turned the shower off by sliding the handle all the way to the right. It splashed a bit of cold on me before it shut off entirely.
The towel felt like the softest bedding ever as I rubbed it over my body and squeezed the water out of my hair. I was tempted to wrap myself up and stay in it all day, but being around my captors in a towel seemed like a bad idea.
Feeling a million times better, I inspected the clothing waiting for me in a neatly folded pile on the bathroom counter. They were odd.
Gingerly, I pulled on a pair of pants that gathered at the waist and ankles and hung loosely over my hips. The pockets on the side were deep enough I could slide my entire hands into them.
Luca cleared his throat and shifted his weight on the other side of the door, and I pulled on the loose gray t-shirt and dragged a comb through my wet hair before I gently knocked on the door.
It swung open, and the tall, dark, tattooed man stood facing me. Neither of us said anything for a long moment. His gaze lazily explored me, and I let him. He provided the shower and clothes, so it seemed fair exchange.
As long as he keeps his hands to himself.
Part of me was waiting for him to make demands, and I hoped it wasn’t more than I could handle.
He opened his mouth and pressed his tongue to a canine tooth as his gaze skated lower.
I almost leaned in for a closer look. There was something intriguing about his dull teeth and lack of needle-like vampire teeth. I could tell myself I found his teeth gross or lacking, but in reality, I liked them.
A flash of blunt fangs scraping as lips pressed to my skin played behind my eyes. My breathing hitched, and I banished the intrusive thought.
Ridiculous. This man wouldn’t be putting his mouth on me. Absolutely not. No way. Not going to happen. Nope.
My tongue wet my lips, and he definitely noticed. His mouth curved into a smirk.
Why was his smirk so handsome it made me weak in the knees? I would have to pretend my body wasn’t responding to him because this was lunacy.
I needed to get out of here before I threw myself at him. The longer I was away from Evrin, the worse it got. I needed my patron.
After I got some food, I would leave. It was for the best.
“So, um, should we?” I asked, moving my arms to cross in front of my chest.
“Yeah,” he said, his velvety voice suddenly hoarse. He cleared it with a cough. “You’re probably hungry. Come on.”
I nodded silently and fell into step behind him.
Luca twisted to glance at me and slowed his pace until we walked level to each other. I shied away, trying to move behind him, but the stubborn asshole wouldn’t let me.
He slowed to a comical pace and raised an eyebrow at me. A resentful sigh hissed between my teeth, and I fell into step beside him.
The hall twisted and flowed into an open space with a railing that overlooked a lower floor.
My feet halted.
The entire far wall, spanning two floors, was glass - fucking massive windows. Beyond the crystal sheen, a glittering lake stretched, hemmed in by sprawling forest.
A sunset stretched above the tree line, softening the light into shades of peach and lilac that painted the treetops and limned the sparkling waves.
Holy shit, I didn’t know anywhere in the world looked like this. It should be a painting hung in the den.
The raw beauty overwhelmed me, stirring up a longing I’d never experienced before. Homesickness for a place I’d never been - farsickness.
What was it like out there?
Cool and dark under the trees, or warm on the shore with a mist of lake water cooling my ankles? Did it smell like water and sunshine, or dirt and pine?
“You okay?” Luca asked, yanking me from my imaginings, that insufferable smirk back on his face.
I had to close my gaping mouth to sneer at him.
“Fan-tastic.”
We trailed down a wide staircase into a living space. Squashy couches circled low tables scattered with books and small plants in ceramic pots.
Everything was so open and full of light.
Great wooden columns supported the upper floor we had been standing on, and underneath, hallways branched off.
A kitchen was nestled in the center of the back portion of the space.
Sage green cabinets lined the wall, broken by shining, steel appliances.
The sleek metal looked like something from a sci-fi book with all the buttons and knobs.
I barely remembered what a kitchen looked like, but surely this was out of the norm.
“Everyone is eating on the deck,” Luca said, brushing past me into the kitchen. “But there should still be dinner left. Holt usually makes enough for lunch the next day.”
He eased the oven door open and pulled out a glass dish. Grabbing a comically large spoon, he scooped something wet onto two plates.
What the fuck did they eat?
“Here, forks are in the caddy.” He reached past me, and a tattooed arm brushed my waist before I jerked away. Again, his skin was a furnace, warmer than my own. With one eyebrow raised in question, he offered me a sharp-looking metal fork. “Summer?”
My skin tingled where he had touched me, and I desperately tried to ignore it as he held out a plate.
“This is…” I trailed off, taking the plate from him. Every piece of this was bizarre, and I didn’t even know where to begin.
Typically, we were fed plain foods on paper plates and bowls with plastic silverware. But Luca handed me a glossy ceramic plate. It was heavy even without the lump of saucy food in the middle. A spicy scent wafted off the unfamiliar concoction.
“Delicious looking?” he filled in my unfinished sentence.
With an ease I envied, he used the side of his fork to cut a piece, speared it, and popped it in his mouth. A low rumble rolled from his chest, and my stomach clenched.
“What is it?” I asked, poking at the food. It was a swirl of greasy yellow and watery green, with something beige at the bottom. Little flecks that looked like chopped up leaves freckled the top.
Luca cocked his head. “Green chili chicken enchiladas.”
“Oh,” I said, having no clue what most of those words were. I remembered chicken, and the color green obviously, but I’d never heard of enchiladas.
Clumsily, I copied his motion and severed a corner before eating it off the fork. Bright, hot flavors burst across my tongue, tempered by a fatty, creamy taste. My eyes watered, and I forced myself to chew and swallow it.
“That’s so hot,” I said, eyeing the rest of the dish suspiciously. “Like temperature and flavor. How is that possible?”
When my gaze rose, Luca was right in front of me, looking down at my face with concern pinching his brows. “What do you normally eat?”
Inching back, I set my fork down. “I don’t know, foods. Bread, oatmeal, maybe cereal.”
“Meat?” I shook my head. “Anything spicy?” he asked.
“Is this spicy?” My nose wrinkled as I peered down at the enchilada.
“Yeah, it’s spicy but also hot. I’m getting the feeling you didn’t have heated showers, heated food, anything.” His jaw ticked again, and I wasn’t sure how to interpret it.
“Of course not. That’s not normal.”
“It’s not normal they didn’t give you hot food or have a fucking water heater. That must have been absolutely miserable.”
His pity cracked something inside of me, breaking open the delusion I was currently living. I was eating with my kidnapper as if he were a friend, and he was making me question my entire life.
Were things miserable in the den? Sure.
But cold food and cold water was nothing to cry about. I’d been through so much worse.
That was life. They gave me a home and I was so grateful. I loved Evrin. And Luca was making me question things.
Turning away to hide the tears pricking in my eyes, I spied a bowl of apples on the counter. “Can I have some?”
Luca nodded, and I slipped an apple into each pocket, steeling myself to face him.
“Look, I appreciate all of this - the clothes and food. But I should be going. How do I get out of here?”
Luca’s expression closed off, his brows lowering and jaw tightening. “I’m afraid that’s not a good idea.”
Anger sparked in my chest. Was he serious?
“Didn’t you just try to convince me that my vampire was bad because he wouldn’t let me leave? Pretty hypocritical of you to do the same thing, don’t you think?” My lip curled, showing off my own teeth.
At least he had the decency to look ashamed. “Summer, you’re going to go into venom withdrawal soon. We can’t let you do that alone. You could die.”
That spark of irritation turned to a cold chill.