I clenched my jaw, trying to speak to him with my mind.What the hell, man? Are you trying to ruin this for me?
Her stomach let out a small, traitorous growl, and her cheeks flushed. So cute.
“Come on,” I said, softening my tone. “Eat. You’ll need the energy, right?”
She hesitated, then nodded, stepping forward slowly. Her finger pointed toward the plate.
“Do you… have a fork?”
Rack turned without a word, pulling open a drawer beside him. He grabbed one and set it down for her, so she sat.
Trying to make up for Rack’s curt behavior, I moved to the fridge and opened it. “Want something to drink?”
She looked up and froze. Her eyes locked onto the shelves without blinking. Her throat moved in a hard swallow before she shook her head quickly.
To the side of me, Rack grumbled, “Fucking hell, Cal,” under his breath and looked away.
I followed her gaze.
Blood bags. Rows of them. All human.
“Fuck,” I snapped, slamming the fridge shut.
A beat of silence followed, and I wanted to shoot myself in the head.Why is having a human over so hard?!
“Water,” she said quickly. “Do you have water?”
“Yeah—yeah, of course.” I glanced at Rack. He gave a stiff nod. “We’ve got plenty of water.”
I zoomed across the kitchen, grabbed a glass, and zoomed back to her.
Water. Right. I looked around. And where the hell was it?
My gaze drifted toward the sink, and I took a step in that direction, already reaching for the faucet, but Rack let out a sharp breath.
Before I could turn it on, he flicked his hand.
A bottle lifted clean off the shelf behind me, gliding through the air in a smooth arc before landing square in my palm.
I paused, then glanced at him.
“…Right. That works.”
When I looked back at her, her attention hadn’t left him. Her eyes followed the path the bottle had taken, widening just a fraction, something quiet and curious settling in her expression.
Something in my chest twisted.
I moved before I thought too much about it, sliding the bottle across the counter toward her.
“Here.”
She took it, fingers brushing the plastic before twisting it open. A few quick gulps followed, her shoulders loosening slightly as she drank.
Silence settled over the room, the only sounds coming from the faint clink of utensils and the quiet scrape of her fork as she gathered the last bite from the plate.
Then she set it down.
“I should get going.” Her gaze dropped to the oversized sweats and shirt, then lifted back to me with a hesitant smile. “Since you destroyed my pants, I’m calling this a fair trade.”
