A Legacy of the Damned: Daughter of Astaroth

Chapter 24 - The Torture of Playing Nice

The two women nod but Jenny especially looks reluctant to leave. Her eyes move from Sacha to me then back again before she follows her partner out, quietly closing the door behind them.

"Have you had your lunch?" He's peeling his jacket off before draping it over the back of a chair. His voice is casual but his gaze is intense and steady on me.

"Not yet," I answer, capping the nail polish. "Don't you have a lunch meeting or something today?"

"Why? Eager to get rid of me?" he asks teasingly. This time he's rolling his sleeves up over his arms. His very sexy arms. His skin is sunkissed golden with a light dusting of hair. I can see the veins and the flex of his muscles underneath that smooth skin.

I have to force my eyes back up to his and the smirk that tugs the corner of his lips up tells me that he's aware of the effect he has on women...on me, right at this moment.

"What if I am?" I get up from the sofa to sit on one of the bar stools at the kitchen counter as he opens the fridge to inspect the stack of glass containers. They are all neatly labeled, identifying the content.

"I'd say that's too bad, princess, you're not getting rid of me that easily. I intent to have lunch with you," he says.

"What if I don't want to have lunch with you?" I challenge.

One of his perfect eyebrows lifts up. "You'd rather have lunch by yourself?"

No. I'm dying of boredom all day and his presence brightens up the apartment. It brightens up everything. My body is buzzing and the butterflies are fluttering in my stomach. Every atom in my body is aware of his every movement. My whole being comes to life.

When he's not around, I feel hollow and I crave that feeling of having him near. I crave him. How deep would I sink when he leaves me again? How damaged would I be?

There's a crushing feeling inside but outwardly I shrug as though it doesn't matter to me one way or another.

The corners of his lips curl up. "As I said, I want to have lunch with you. Now, what do you feel like having for lunch?"

You. That answer seems to come up so fast and so loudly in my head that for a second I thought I'd voiced it out loud. Oh, God!

I clear my throat and quickly ask, "What are the options?" I brace my arms against the gleaming quartz countertop to watch him. He investigates the content of the fridge while I investigate his butt clad in the dress pants. He does have the sexiest butt I've ever seen.

He rattles off several names of the food while I'm not paying the slightest attention. "Well?" he says, turning to look at me.

"Whatever you feel like having," I reply, tearing my eyes off his amazing behind just in time. I think.

One of his eyebrows rises and his mocking, cocky smile makes another appearance. "Alright, baked salmon on wild rice pilaf sounds good," he makes a decision.

He heats up the food and I help prepare the salad. I won't ever admit to him that I've never done that before- preparing food. It's surprisingly kind of fun.

When everything is ready, we have our meal on the balcony again.

It feels good to enjoy the meal and the conversation and to be able to look across the table and watch him watching me. His green-golden eyes never stray away from me for too long. Halfway through lunch, I feel his leg brushing up against mine underneath the table. Soon, the tips of his fingers touch mine on top of the table and I don't feel like pulling away. I like the feeling of warmth that spreads through my body from his touch.

I enjoy his company. Very much. Perhaps too much.

While the conversation between us flows very easily, I notice that he's not giving me anything that I could use against him or something of any use that I could report back to my father. Even all the information about his family last night was something that anyone could have discovered through the internet.

He doesn't trust me, which is fair. But I feel this sting in my heart. I want him to trust me, which is ridiculous because I know what I'd do if I gained access to anything that could be used to destroy not only him but his family and his whole kind.

I wouldn't even trust me.

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Hello everyone!

Thank you so much for your support and love. You guys are the best!💗💗💗 I'm done feeling sorry for myself and now I'm hunting for info. and I won't stop until I get what I want 😊.

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Have a wonderful week and Happy Ramadhan to my Muslim readers!

Much love,

Nicole♥