Men who help with housework also tend to have more sex
Evelyn's p.o.v
My bladder contracted painfully, an unfortunately familiar ache that had developed gradually over the last few hours. However, it wasn't the only ache I was experiencing and I found myself clutching onto my pounding head in what could easily be passed as a hangover, but I had a worrying feeling it was something much worse than that. I'd had many a hangover before, drinking far more than I had last night, and yet it was never like this. The unfamiliar room spun as I tried to sit up.
Light was just beginning to creep over the horizon and spill into the cabin room, the wooden slats above the window slowly becoming illuminated and the cobwebs among them exposed. A cleaner would have a field day with this room.
Once the need to empty my bladder had become too much to ignore, I softly padded over to the bathroom while taking extra care not to wake Luca from his bed just across from mine. I couldn't help gripping onto the room's fixtures as I made my way to the toilet, not trusting my unsteady equilibrium and spinning head. Luca's broad back was facing me, and from this position he shared alarming resemblance to a marbled Greek statue. Silent, sculptured and scarily still.
The bathroom was now light enough that the overhead bulb was unnecessary and as I made my way to the toilet, I prayed not to stand on one of the many cockroaches while barefoot. Reaching the toilet, I swayed ever so slightly before crouching down beside the basin, my head perched above the rim just in case I felt the need to throw up. This wasn't normal, something was wrong.
Luckily, I managed to leave the bathroom without conducting a cockroach massacre and when I re-entered the main room Luca was still fast asleep. Thank God for that because if there was something seriously wrong with me, at least I'd have the chance to sneak away and find help. But first I needed to get dressed.
I eyed the entrance door slowly, it would be so easy to just run now but I knew that Luca would be up in a matter of seconds if I tried to escape. Despite him being relatively friendly so far, apart from the whole kidnapping part of course, I really didn't want to test how far I could push my luck before he snapped.
I tightened the loose shirt around my torso before tiptoeing past his bed, cursing myself for choosing the one furthest from the bathroom. The bed was just in reach when a deep voice froze me to the spot.
"Heading somewhere?" His voice was amused and I tried to keep a short leash on my sharp tongue.
"If I was planning on running away don't you think I would've gotten changed first?" I spun to face his bed only to find him sat up and shirtless atop the mattress with an amused smile. The sight of his bare chest, corded with tight muscle and partially covered with intricate tattoos, awakened something I would rather stay asleep.
"I don't know, but you'd certainly attract attention if you escaped wearing nothing but that little shirt." His eyes were now drifting up my body and it only added to the unwanted feeling in my gut. I told myself it was nothing and dismissed his comment.
"It's not very practical." I began to look for my clothes, knowing that I had left them in a small pile somewhere at the end of the bed.
"I don't know, I think it could be very practical." Now there was no missing the sexual edge to his tone and I could feel my cheeks heating under his watchful gaze. However, his comment didn't scare me. I somehow knew that he wouldn't try anything with me; it was deeper than just a gut feeling. It was almost as though I could read his mind.
I was still searching for my clothes with my back to him when I replied, "So now we get to the real reason you kidnapped me, it was for my body."
I wasn't expecting his response so when he suddenly shot up and reappeared before me in a matter of seconds, his hands gripping my shoulders and forcing me back into the far wall, it took me by surprise. He had crossed the room with unnatural speed, his body a mere blur and his strength impressive when pressed up against me.
"That is not who I am, Evelyn believe me when I say I get plenty of attention without having to force myself onto women. I would never sink so low and if you're still so desperate to leave after the first three week quota, you are free to go. You have my word." His eyes searched mine for a long second before handing over my folded dress from the night before. "However, I get the distinct impression that once you realise who you really are, you will not be so inclined to run."
"And what makes you so sure of that?" I questioned with an air of disbelief. He quite literally tied me up in the back of his truck against my will, bastard was out of his mind if he thought I was planning on sticking around. Especially when he currently had me pressed up against the wall, caged between his arms.
"We can offer a type of freedom you will get nowhere else; we can make it fun." He rose a slender eyebrow down at me and an icy fingertip ran imperceptibly up the palm of my hand. I suppressed an unwelcome shiver as he lingered at my wrist. The man had a certain lure that I knew couldn't be completely human. "As I told you before, three weeks of the month is contracted to assassination duties, the other is yours to do as you wish."
I stayed silent, unwilling to acknowledge my eventual hand in the death of others.
"Are there people we need to worry about? Will your parents try to track us down?" Luca had bent his face down to mine now, his voice was soft but I could see the hard edge beneath it. He asked again. "I have to look out for my friends and I will not risk their safety. Will your parents try to track us?"
Well, it was kind of depressing, but never the less the truth. "No, no they won't."
"I wish I could compel the truth from you but it just doesn't seem to fucking work on you. I'll just have to take your word." He needn't worry about my parents when they didn't even try to raise me or Hope, instead preferring to hand off the responsibly to complete strangers. What kind of parents would do that?
"I don't know who my parents even are, my foster parents certainly won't come looking and my sister is in America." I didn't want to think too much about how this whole situation would affect Hope. "It's safe to say that you and your friends are in no danger from my family." My tone was sterner than I meant it to be and Luca was quick to pick up on the feud with my birth parents. His eyes darkened for a moment and I could've sworn there was a pain of his own simmering in them, but seconds later he had blinked the look away. I mentally noted it down regardless: Family is a sore point with Luca, and in that we share common ground.
"As I said, give us three weeks before you properly make up your mind. If you choose to go your own way, you'll be constantly living in in the shadows, hiding from the authorities and fearing for your life." His eyes swept to the door behind us and I could tell that he was agitated to hit the road again now that the sun was rising. "We should go before the body is discovered."
"The body of the woman you killed." I reminded him.
"Of course." He planted a chaste kiss to my throat and then lingered for a second, the gesture so at odds with his condescending tone that it caused my head to spin. Warm breath danced along my skin. "Don't provoke me or it could easily be your body taking her place."
I was done with his empty threats.
He caught my wrist a second before my hand could connect with his cheek, lifting one dark brow in warning. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."
"I don't know. Last time it was a pretty effective stress reliever." Deciding that scowling at him probably wasn't the wisest decision after an attempted slap, I instead looked past his head and toward the opposite wall.
"I know you only like arguing with me like this because it turns you on." His words caused me to hold my breath, teeth clenched together in irritation. I didn't have to look toward his face to know his eyes were alight with mischief. He was having far too much fun in winding me up and I held back my sharp retort, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of getting under my skin. "However, now that we're officially working together, I will not allow myself to be with you so there's no point."
"Well then, it's a good thing it doesn't turn me on." I lied through gritted teeth. Fighting with him stirred something dark and sinful inside me. It was twisted and I liked it. "I think you're a parasite."
"Speaking of all things deadly and virus related, how are you holding up?"
I debated lying to him, but what was the point? My head was spinning and I was pretty sure I had a temperature. "Not great, I think I'm starting to show symptoms."
"Shit." He pushed away from me with a muttered curse, leaving me to stabilise myself against the wall for support. "Get changed quickly, if you're no longer asymptomatic then we don't have until tonight, trust me when I say we need to hurry."
I used the bathroom to quickly change back into my clothes from yesterday, cringing at the short length of the dress. It somehow seemed even shorter in the crude light of day and almost every inch of my legs were exposed. Sucking it up, I left the bathroom with some more questions for Luca. He was waiting patiently at the end of the bed for me, his gaze quickly finding the short hem of my dress, causing him to blink hard. Then blink again.
I offered a timid smile, not wanting to imagine his reaction to me in the scandalous black dress Alicia had opted for. "Better than you remembered?"
"Is that a trick question?" He stood up from the bed, his sapphire eyes travelling down the front of my leopard print mini dress and then back up again.
"Maybe? Maybe not..." I snorted and walked past him to the bed, deliberately giving him a full view of the low back. "What do you have planned for today anyway?" I simultaneously tugged down on the hem of my dress upon noticing him eyeing the short cut again with an uneasy expression. He seemed reluctant to reply.
"Before realising that you're potentially on your deathbed?" He asked the rhetorical question while opening the door and hurrying me along with rushed hand gestures. "We'll travel through Belgium and should be at the Paris house before sundown. Now hurry, we should leave before the owners wake up, I don't want to raise any more suspicion than we already have."
I scurried after him, forcing my shorter legs to meet his quick pace. The walls were playing optical illusions in my head and when they began to close in around us, I staggered. The corridor leading toward the staircase was short and decorated sparsely with brass ornaments, causing our voices to echo off the wooden walls. The red rug running the length of the hall was worn away at the edges, the old material carrying out the test of time.
"Why are the walls moving, surely that's a safety hazard?" I scoffed.
There wasn't a second to catch my breath when Luca suddenly stopped at the top of the staircase, his eyes landing on mine. "Everything will be fine once you turn." He breathed out a long sigh. "The virus gets inside your head but you can't let it, not until we meet up with the others. Can you do that for me? Promise you'll stay with me, just hold my hand."
"Turn? Like what, a sex change or something?" I tried to make sense of what he was trying to tell me. "As much as the idea of having a dick intrigues me, I think the novelty would wear off rather quickly and despite period pain, I actually quite like being a girl. Thanks for the offer, but I'm going to have to pass."
His bright eyes searched mine with curiosity before blowing out a deep sigh. "Fuck. I really wanted to give you a full day with us first. I wanted you to realise that this lifestyle is something you'll want, to let you make up your own mind." He tugged an agitated hand through the front strands of his hair before adding, "But it's too late for that now."
"What will happen if I refuse your help?" I asked cautiously.
"If we don't intervene with the viral process soon, you'll start having seizures and after that you will emerge brain dead within minutes. Do you want to die?"
Honesty. I had to be honest.
"I'm not scared of death or the idea of it, I never have been, but I don't think I'm ready yet. I don't want to die when I haven't experienced anything." Anything but pain and loss.
"Then you need our help." He breathed, a silent apology flashing in his eyes. When I didn't give an immediate reply, his eyes narrowed with a look I couldn't quite decipher. "Promise me you'll try not to let it get into your head."
"I promise."
He didn't offer a reply and simply turned away, continuing down the stairs as though our conversation had never happened at all. Except now my hand was gripped tightly in his. I was surprised when he allowed me to sit in the passenger seat beside him, even more so when he didn't insist on binding my limbs together as he had last night. Something had changed between us. I could feel it.
"What? No head-sack or shackles today?" I teased as we pulled away from the log cabin, the small building shrinking into the distance behind us. I wasn't sure if it was the mind tricks or just that we were moving really fast, but the world outside was blurred and swirling. Definitely not right.
"Don't give me ideas."
"Sorry." I rolled my eyes at his irritated tone before daring a glance over his in direction. Even without contact lenses his body was hard to miss.
He fixed me with a quick look before muttering, "That wasn't my idea by the way, Lewis isn't very trusting at first and thought the full precautions should be carried out. I personally prefer to dance with fire, so if you're asked about last night, just say you slept in the ties. For your sake and mine."
"And when exactly will we be meeting the others?" I wasn't exactly thrilled at the idea but if it meant an end to this pain in my head, then maybe it wasn't such a bad thing.
Luca didn't reply straight away and instead continued to look out at the road ahead. When I followed his gaze, I suddenly received my answer in the form of a sleek, black Range Rover followed by a motorbike. I suddenly found myself hoping it was just another hallucination side effect.
"Sooner than you think." He grinned at me before pulling over to the side of the road, the black truck bobbing its way through tall grass and dried mud before we reached a small clearing not too far into the forest. The clearing was far enough from the main road that it was completely out of sight, a deliberate decision I assumed. Not seconds after we had hopped out of the truck, Jax and Lewis appeared at the edge of the circular space. There was a strange atmosphere of suspense and I didn't like how serious all their faces were.
"Evelyn, lovely to make your acquaintance again." Jax swung his right leg over the side of his motorbike, climbing off the vehicle with a confident smile coating his lips. I didn't know how to stand before them and found myself just sort of awkwardly resting my hands upon my hips in a defensive gesture. It was the most threatening stance I could muster.
'Yeah, well done Evelyn I'm sure your puny arm muscles are really gonna get them trembling in their boots.' My subconscious tutted at me with an eye roll. I ignored her and remained where I was.
"I wish I could say the same, but under these circumstances, I'm afraid I really fucking can't." I forged politeness with him and felt Luca tense beside me.
"Well aren't you just a bundle of joy." Lewis spoke up as he locked the Range Rover with a flash of his keys, "After watching the harm we inflict on our victims, one would assume you'd be less... hostile toward us." Luca's eyes shot to mine with a flare and he gave a small, reassuring smile at the mention of victims.
"She isn't a victim, Lewis." Luca spoke over him with a sharp look before stepping even closer, leaning into my space in an almost protective manner. I tried to push him back with an elbow, not wanting to appear weak, but he simply nudged my elbow out of the way. "She's showing symptoms so we need to work fast. I think she can help us reduce the time of our service. I think she can help us."
"How exactly?" Lewis questioned and I didn't like the disbelief in his tone, as though I could never be of any help to them. Although, I was inclined to agree and it certainly didn't help to see how expendable I really was in his eyes. Useless.
"She is equally as dangerous as me, if not more so." My brow furrowed in confusion and I scowled up at Luca. He brought a red, shiny apple from his jacket pocket in the form of breakfast, spinning it before idly playing catch in one hand. His expression was bored and contemplative as he assessed his two friends and then me. What on earth was he talking about? "Don't be fooled by that truly adorable, puppy-like exterior. I mean, look at that smile!"
His tone dripped in sarcasm and artificial sweetness as he shot a sly grin in my direction, trying to wind me up on purpose. I gritted down on my molars and forced myself not to land a swift kick to his balls, instead turning back to look at Lewis and Jax. When their gaze switched to me, it was assessing. "I'm not following, she is dangerous?" Jax was now the one to raise a question.
"Here, this will explain everything." I watched, eyes wide and mouth agape as Luca bit into the rosy apple, right before ripping into the palm of his hand with an elongated canine. A warm, wet wrist bumped against my mouth. He swallowed the mouthful of fruit with a sickly sweet smile and encouraged me to do the same. "Drink up, sweetie. Not every day is your death day."
I shook my head, refusing to submit to drinking his blood.
There was no way I would be letting the crimson substance anywhere near my mouth. "You need to drink or you will die. Do you get that? To stop the virus you drink, we kill you, then poof, like magic, you come back. Easy peasy, so drink."
"No way Jose." I shook my head with wide eyes. I was very aware that this was the kind of way people could catch AIDS and despite my lack of fear and the pain ripping through my head, I still retained enough brain cells to know that this was a death sentence in itself. This was like the weird cult rituals I saw on crime TV shows. "Are you serious?"
"Deadly- no pun intended." He stalked forward a step, offering a murderous smile. "This is the only way to stop the pain in your head or you're going to die. I know that to you this all seems crazy." Luca was still enjoying the red apple, paying the core of his snack more attention than the girl he was offering up his blood to.
"You're not wrong there." I muttered, glancing between the three of them. There was so much pain, my head felt as though it would explode from the pressure of the never ending pounding.
"I'm not asking you." This time there was no niceties, it was an order and one I would be crazy to refuse. He elongated the slit along his hand and I couldn't help but gawp at the dazzling canines he used to do so. "Drink."
It would stop the pain.
The only coherent thought that kept repeating again and again was that I needed to stop this pounding in my head. His blood would stop the pain. Anything to stop this pain.
I reluctantly parted my lips around the bleeding gash along his palm, the warmth of his blood suffocating my lips and paralysing my senses. At first, the taste was everything I expected it to be: warm with a coppery tang, salty and revolting to swallow. However, as I began to latch my teeth deeper into the gash, it began to taste different. It's flow travelling through my body and awakening every part of me in a way unknown before now.
Luca dropped the half eaten apple in an absent-minded gesture, the core hitting the hard grass with a forgotten thud. The sound echoed in my ears.
"Fuck." I registered Luca's voice but couldn't focus on anything other than his hand. I was disgusted at myself for enjoying it, the taste becoming more and more appealing as I gripped onto his wrist and angled my head toward his palm for a deeper bite. I relished in the sultry thickness of his blood, suddenly wanting nothing more than his touch on me as I continued to drink. The sound of my own moan registered as the warmth continued to fill my mouth, my eyes fluttering closed as lust and desire ignited throughout my body.
"That's it. Drink up." His voice was slurred and raspy. I was on fire when his other hand drifted down my body as though he also needed the skin-on-skin contact. Calloused fingers closed over mine and his lips grazed the shell of my ear before slipping down to my neck.
I could feel my body changing. Power surged through me and my limbs seemed weighted down, almost heavier somehow. I fell into the feeling of Luca holding my body and all I could focus on was his heartbeat pounding in my ears. His touch on my body was electric, every part of me felt alive.
"Luca, you need to stop, you're going too far." I could hear other voices around us but their words only caused me to latch on tighter, the small groans of satisfaction escaping Luca's mouth encouraging me on. If possible, he seemed to be enjoying it as much as I was.
"Yes, that's it keep going." A deep voice I recognised as Luca urged me on, his strong arm holding me tight to his body. "Just a little bit more."
A rush of adrenaline surged through my bloodstream, tightening every muscle and fibre within my body and causing me to shiver in a mixture of pleasure and pain. My skin felt tight and silky, marble smooth just like Luca's. My nails, currently clamped around his hand, were firmer and their length noticeably longer. A sudden excruciating pain caused me to pull away from the gash with a sharp screech of agony. My gums were on fire, cainines aching worse than any toothache I had ever experienced.
I was a serial flosser and as a child had never skipped out on a well done sticker from my dentist. Why were my teeth putting me through agony? I was every dentist's wet dream.
"What's happening to me?" I sank to my knees, a thick darkness enveloping me in a constant, throbbing pain. I wanted to rip my teeth out, anything to stop the pain. Thick blood dripped from the corner of my mouth, leaving a long trail along my chin and down my neck. "What did you do to me?"
"I saved you, you're welcome." It was Luca's sarcastic voice that broke through the pain induced fog, forcing my head to snap up with a snarl. He held up both hands in mock surrender, "Look, you just need to breathe."
"Breathe? Fucking breathe?" I snarled again, surprised at my sudden animalistic outburst of anger. "Why thank you, I hadn't thought of that."
There was a blinding agony that rippled through my body, bones crunched then snapped and in that instant I knew things were never going to be the same. The changes I'd just experienced were not a temporary fix and by allowing Luca to give me his blood, I'd become every bit of the monster I'd feared from a young age. The only thing I'd ever feared: the demon lurking beneath my skin. The mutation.
Yet I didn't feel disgusted by myself, as a matter of fact I suddenly felt like the demon beneath my skin had been freed. There were smooth hands at my neck, holding me from my place on the floor but before I could see who it was, there was a blinding crunch and then everything went dark.
Someone had killed me. I knew it with a certainty I'd never felt before. Death was eerily silent. There was no bright tunnel of light offering to bring me back into the realm of the living. I saw no happy vision of my family waiting for me with open arms, bathing in some eternal paradise. Not that there was any family who would want to greet me, anyway. Yet, the mere thought of an eternity spent in this terrifying darkness made me panic and for the first time in my nineteen years on this planet, I felt real fear. I was petrified of the endless abyss of darkness that seemed to have no end.
It couldn't be like this forever. It just couldn't.
When my eyes finally reopened, the last thing I expected to see was the scene I was greeted with. Where were the blinding flames, scorching lava and devil horns?
All round me danced an assortment of pink and red flowers, emerging from long blades of grass for as far as the eye could see. Which was far. Bloody far. For a girl that had to squint in class just to see the board since seventh grade, I could see for miles around. I shuddered in the watery sunlight as it trickled through the green canopy above, casting long shadows across the grassy clearing. Cool wind weaved through a large disperse of poppies just in my peripheral and caused goosebumps to raise along my arms.
Bright sunlight danced in my vision, but I didn't have to squint. The most beautiful man with icy blue eyes and raven black hair gazed down at me. His muscular arms held on to me, offering me support as I tried to manuever my new body.
I'd seriously gone to heaven, my fate had placed me into heaven despite all my sins? Seriously? This had to be a mistake or God had a twisted sense of humour and this was all some cruel practical joke. Magical gates would suddenly open from somewhere and I'd revive an apology for being taken to the wrong place. Straight to hell with you, whore.
"Jesus?" I looked up at the beautiful man holding me, but as his features came more and more into focus, I found myself feeling as though I recognised him from somewhere. His blue eyes devoured me. I could hear laughing but had no idea where the ethereal sound came from, only that it was nearby. "Holy shit, where are we?" I breathed, looking around in us awe of the beauty.
Wait, did I just swear in Heaven?
"Cut it out guys, she's just confused." I recognised the voice above me all too well. It was Luca's chuckle that awakened something deep within me and I couldn't help but stare at him. This wasn't Heaven, far from it and I found myself scrambling out of his grip only to land flat on my ass.
Luca offered a timid smile but as I continued to watch him, I quickly came to the realisation that his hand was still seeping blood, the wound healing rather slowly due to his excessive blood loss. The smell was overwhelming and suddenly all I could think about was more, more blood. Hot breath scorched my throat with every gasping inhale. There was nothing but fiery pain in my chest and the smell of blood shut my brain down completely; the blood would put that fire out.
"You okay?" It was Lewis' voice that spoke but I couldn't control myself, everything turning to white noise except the sound of Luca's beating pulse so close to my mouth. Just one more bite-
I opened my mouth, canines exposed, when a firm pair of hands clamped down on my shoulders. Lewis unsuccessfully tried to yank me back from Luca who was up in an instant, pulling me away from Lewis and instead dragging me with him, shielding me with his hard body. He hissed out a venomous warning at Lewis and Jax who were watching us with careful expressions. He was a menacing force before me, fangs and claws elongating, ready to take on either of them at a moments notice despite the weakness he had acquired due to the blood loss.
I took another step back, the fresh air away from his heated breath clearing some of the blood haze, allowing me to think more rationally.
"Stop, I'm good." I shook off the residual shock at my change and stepped into the space between them, brushing off Luca's concern and holding out a hand. The fire in my throat dulled and I began to think clearly again.
"You have only just changed, you're going to have an insatiable hunger for months, if not years yet." Jax took a few cautious steps toward me and held out both hands in a peaceful gesture. "Hey, it's normal."
"I said I'm fine."
There was a slicing of flesh and then Lewis was holding out his palm with a deep gash engraved into his skin, a smug look covering his face. His dark eyes appeared soulless in his ambition to prove me wrong. "I'll bet."
I didn't like the dismissing tone of his voice and when I looked down at the blood in his hand, I found it within myself to hold back. Despite my heart screaming at me to leap forward and tear into his bleeding palm, my head told me to restrain myself and not give in. I held his gaze.
"I. Said. I'm. Fine." I pronounced each syllable slowly and then just to really prove my point, I folded my arms across my chest. It was awfully painful to maintain such restraint, as though my head was about to explode with the amount of desire rushing through me at the thought of just another tase of blood. However, my headstrong nature proved resilient and I held my ground. It looked like not everything about me had changed, then.
"Well shit." Lewis chuckled while wiping the residual blood off on his jeans, his glassy eyes shining with humour as he nodded at Luca, "Only other person I've ever seen with that kind of restraint is you."
"Here, take this." Luca reached around and chucked another apple in my direction. The action was quicker than anything my mind could respond to, and I physically flinched away from the flicker of red aimed right for my face. However, before my brain could possibly fire synapses to the muscle receptors in my arm, I'd caught the apple mere millimetres before hit me square in the face. Impossible, and yet I was unharmed and holding the shiny apple between two steady hands.
"Damn, I want her on my my team next time we play baseball!" Jax piped up just across from where Luca was stood, a steady smile set across his lips. His eyes flickered between my hand and the apple over and over again.
I dropped the hand from my face, but didn't lose grip on the apple as I stormed over to where Luca now stood with a smug grin that infuriated me. If possible, he now looked even more attractive in death. Go figure.
"Hey asshole, that could've dislocated my jaw." The apple in my fist rose to face height and I paced closer to him, trying but failing miserably, not to lose my cool.
"But it didn't." He pointed out with a half-assed shrug and passive smile. I bristled.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't launch this pretty, little orchard grande right back at your ugly mug?" I rose a challenging eyebrow, assessing the weight of the apple in my hand along with the new strength running through my veins. It was power, pure and undiluted power coursing beneath my skin.
"Ugly, really?" Luca scoffed a disbelieving laugh but upon registering the way I raised the apple even higher in his direction, he thankfully held his tongue.
"Try me."
His eyes squinted in my direction and he took another step closer. "Maybe because I just saved your fucking life?"
"You tricked me into drinking your blood and then snapped my neck. You killed me." For every step closer he advanced, I took two.
"Hey. Hey children!" Lewis jumped into the space between us and used those tree trunk biceps of his to ease us further apart. "Let's not throw all the toys out of the pram just yet, yeah?"
"She started it." Luca scowled, looking down at me with a challenging look.
"Eve, just eat the God damn apple." Lewis fixed me with a sharp look and I glanced down to the fruit balanced in my right hand. "And Luca, can you please just act your fucking age."
Even as I lifted it to my mouth, I asked, "Why?" Although, I had already swallowed a generous mouthful before they got the chance to reply.
"Because it will take the edge off your hunger for a short while, curbing the desire for something sweet." Luca levelled a look in my direction before clarifying, "And I'm not talking about your sweet tooth for dessert, instead something rather wet, sweet and metallic- you catch my drift?"
I didn't argue and finished off the apple in record time, the sweet scent and tase more incredible than anything I'd ever eaten before.
"Why apples?" I reluctantly followed Luca back to his truck, climbing into the passenger seat after following his instructions to do so. Lewis and Jax had also retreated to their personal vehicles which left the two of us alone again. Although, I had no intention of launching more fruit at him. At least not for a while, anyway. "Also, I'm sorry about flipping out on you. I just felt so overwhelmed and took it out on the easiest target."
His face turned to me as the truck rumbled back to life, his eyes surprisingly soft and humorous. "Well, I don't exactly want to give you type two diabetes and the amount of sugar you're gonna crave until you get real blood... I don't want to witness that kind of sour patch kids killing spree."
"So what's the plan now?" I slid down in the seat, trying to get comfy for the drive ahead.
"Well you've had a vibrant past so on the drive to Paris I'd like to debrief you."
"Don't you think that's a little dangerous, public indecency and all?" I risked a quick glance across at Luca, gauging his irritable mood and wanting to lighten it. "I would demand you take me on a dinner date first but given my previous choice of profession..."
"Evelyn." He shot a stern look at me but I could see that it was only surface deep. I bit down on my cheek as his eyes narrowed at my smart reply. He was pissed but still found me amusing and I could see that potent contradiction working overtime in his mind.
"Yes, sorry. I'll be serious. Debriefing, got it. Ask away, I'm all ears." I nodded my head, trying my best to smother a smile.
"You've got a damn smart mouth and it's gonna get you killed at some point, you know." His lips quirked to the side in a dark smile before adding, "but as for the apology, save it. You're gonna have far more important arguments with me before we're done here, trust me."
I grumbled a response that went along the lines of 'whatever you say, boss,' but the truck had already pulled away from the clearing before I got the chance to say anything audible. So, instead I asked Luca what kind of music he had stored away in the dash and that's how I learned all about my initial captor turned saviour's awful taste in 80's classic rock music.
Oh God. This was going to be a long drive unless I introduced him to Blackbear, so it was a good thing I had every intention of doing exactly that.