Page 20 of Marked By Him

For a moment, I wondered if this was what it would feel like if everything wasn’t temporary.

* * *

As promised, Roman left a pile of folded clothes outside the bathroom door. I slipped the oversized t-shirt over my head, wearing my own panties since there was no way I was letting him wash those. He’d left me a pair of shorts, but every time I pulled them up, they only fell right back down. I ended up tying the waistband in a knot on one side to hold them up.

I towel-dried my hair, then combed my fingers through it to get the tangles out as best as I could.

As soon as my feet hit the last of the stairs, I caught a whiff of something that made my stomach jump. It was smoky and peppery and absolutely divine.

I turned the corner and walked into the kitchen, and suddenly my breath caught.

Roman was at the stove, scooping some kind of meat from a pan and onto a plate. He peered over his shoulder at the sound of my footsteps on the wood floor. The moment his gaze found my face, he froze. His nostrils flared. His stare pierced the air, shooting a thread of heat across the room and coiling around my body. I was wrapped in it. Every inch of my skin felt the vibration of that thread.

“Thank you for the clothes.” I walked further into the kitchen. “And for the bath. It’s nice to feel human again.”

He turned around and I smiled.

His gaze tightened as he walked over to the table in front of the window and set two plates down. “You’ll feel even better after you eat.” He pulled out one of the chairs. “Sit.”

I sat.

He sat across from me.

I stared at the plate full of cooked carrots, bread and some kind of sliced meat. I ogled it as if I hadn’t seen food in weeks.

I speared a carrot with my fork. “This is a big place for one guy.”

His eyes never left mine as he tore off a piece of bread and shoved it into his mouth.

I held my tongue to keep from calling out the fact that he was blatantly ignoring me.

Play nice, Eve. He’s feeding you. He clothed you. He let you bathe.

I tore off a piece of bread and tried again. “You said there were others. Where do they stay?”

“I also said no questions.” His words were short and sharp as the knives in front of us.

I dropped my hands, my forearms slamming on the table and making the ceramic plates rattle. I stared directly at him. “That was before we agreed to trust each other.”

He arched a brow as he cut into a slice of meat, unaffected by my actions. “There are other houses. Two families in each cottage.”

“And yet you’re all alone.” I mocked the way he’d spoken to me earlier.

That got him going.

His jaw worked as he ground his teeth. The corded veins in his throat grew thick. The undecipherable hum buzzed between us again. His eyes had this look where thoughts and secrets battled behind them. Like he’d drawn an invisible line. On one side, he wanted to kill me and on the other—

On the other, I wouldn’t have to wonder about his touch anymore.

Goosebumps scattered across my skin. I swallowed hard and regrouped. “It’s okay. I get it. There are some things we don’t talk about.”Like my parents.I folded the piece of bread around a slice of meat. “How many people are in your camp? Unless that’s privileged information, too.”

He smirked. “Two hundred thirty-seven.”

“People?” I choked on the bite I’d just taken. “In one camp?” My eyes bugged. “Holy shit. I thought ours was big.”

“Yes, people.” He chuckled and the sound made my heart stutter. “How many are in yourcamp?” He mocked the word.

Asshole.

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