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Unease tore through me and I reared back as far as I could with the hand against my nape. “Don’t compel me,” I whispered frantically. “Don’t.”
“Then jus’ eat tha food. Or else I’ll ’ave ta force-feed ye.” Eoin let go of me completely and I sagged against the bed. My thighs trembled around his waist. He reached out, snatching the food from the guard before shooing the other man out. “If I were goin’ ta kill ye, it wouldn’t be by poison. An’ I don’t ’ave ta resort ta drugs ta get a mortal ta do what I want. Tha food is safe, lass.”
He handed me the thermos first, removing the lid before placing it in my hand. The enticing scent of hot chocolate wafted to my nose, making my mouth water. It was sugary and decadent, and I caved quickly to the urge to drink. The liquid nearly scalded my mouth and tongue, but the rich, luxurious flavors of chocolate and milk was worth it.
I moaned as I drank, delighting in the beverage. The thermos was tilted up and I was drinking the last drops before I realized it. The sweet drink sat heavy in my empty belly, but I was finally, truly hungry for more. And actually willing to eat. As I sat the thermos down, I licked my lips to get all traces of the hot chocolate off my mouth and carefully met Eoin’s eyes in quick glances.
I was hesitant to hold his stare for too long, but he didn’t seem intent on snaring me in his gaze as long as I willingly ate.
“Scoot ov’r,” Eoin said, gesturing with his free hand. I did, giving him space to sit down on the bed beside me.
I was weirdly jittery. Whether it was from the fresh dose of sugar running through my system or from being in the presence of the Abhartach king, I was unsure. But the feeling was almost… pleasant? Something akin to butterfly wings fluttering not only in my stomach, but along my skin until I was shivering with anticipation.
Sable’s words of giving Eoin a chance rang loudly in my ears so I forced myself to remain sitting still, to remain compliant, to ignore the odd wishes of my body to be closer to him, and just let the two of us exist in the same room without one of us trying to kill the other.
Although, to be fair, Eoin had never truly tried to kill me. That was only on my end.
As I watched, the dark-haired man unwrapped the sandwich and pulled a chunk off before reaching out to me. I realized, suddenly, that he was hand-feeding me.
Instinctively I wanted to revolt, to reject the idea of being catered to and treated like an inept child by my enemy, but instead I found myself leaning forward. My lips touched his fingertips as my mouth wrapped around the bite of the sandwich. My tongue dove out, swirling to grab the crumbs left behind on his fingers.
The mildly pungent flavor of sulfur assaulted my senses as I bit down into the egg salad sandwich. It was highlighted by the bright, acidic spark of mustard and the earthy spice of paprika. The bread was nutty and buttery, soft as a cloud as it broke apart under the gnashing of my teeth.
We sat in companionable silence as bit by bit, piece by piece, Eoin hand-fed me two egg salad sandwiches. I was full to bursting by the time I took the last bite.
And desperately thirsty.
Thankfully, while I had been eating, the same guard from before had stopped by again and dropped off two bottles of water. I reached for one now, intent on quenching my thirst, but Eoin caught my wrist as I reached across him.
Startled, I looked up at him, hesitantly meeting his gaze. His moss-green eyes were hooded, the long, sooty lashes fanning out over his cheeks as he gazed back at me.
He leaned in close as I sat still as a deer in the headlights. His nose ran up my neck, tucking behind my ear before grazing up the lobe.
Eoin sat back, but just far enough away that I could look at him without going cross-eyed. I could still feel his breath on my cheeks as he spoke. “You reek.”
Eoin
Chapter Fifteen
“Ex—excuse me?” she stammered as I rose, pulling her up from the bed with me.
“Ye heard me.” I tugged her along behind me, her feet lightly dragging on the tile. “Ye need ta bathe.”
Her arm jerked under my hold, but I held strong.
“You can’t make me do anything!” she shouted at my back, and I ignored her, tugging her in front of me and pushing her through the bathroom doorway with a firm hand between her shoulder blades.
My mouth found her ear as I shuffled her toward the shower. “We ’ad t’is conversation already, didn’t we?” I reached around her and turned the water on and then stood back from her, arms crossing over my chest as she glared at me. “I don’t like repeatin’ meself, Ottavia.Get in.”
She stood there, her hands clenched at her sides, eyes flicking quickly from mine to the shower water as she had a mental conversation I wish I was privy to. With a hard flex of her jaw, her arms crossed over her chest, chin tilted up at me with attitude. “No. I won’t do it.”
“Ye’d rather smell like a rancid bag o’ shite than be clean?” Her lips pursed but she didn’t respond. “I know ye are used ta being ’round mangy mutts, lass, but ’round here, we bathe.”
“Will you stop with the dog thing? I get it. You’re a vampire, you hate werewolves.”
The room had started to steam up, the air feeling thick and muggy as we continued to stare at one another. It annoyed me that she defended the mutts, more than it should. Why should I care that the La Rosa wench in front of me had a thing for fur?It didn’t, I told myself.
Feeding off my annoyance, I gripped onto one of her arms, yanking them apart on her chest. She yelled, “Hey!” but I continued, grasping the end of her sweatshirt with my other hand. With one hard jerk, I ripped it over her head and tossed it onto the floor.
