Page 26 of Carnival
A low, lazy smirk tugs on the corner of his lips as he approaches me, coming to a stop at the edge of the bed, right in front of me. My eyes flicker up to meet his, and if I didn’tnotice it earlier, I sure as fuck notice it now. He’s very tall, as in, freakishly tall. He’s about 6’5, and that’s a foot taller than me.
“Good morning, sunshine.’’ The undertone of mockery doesn’t go unnoticed by me, and my brows furrow together. “How did you sleep?”
“Fine,’’ I keep my voice flat. “Where am I?”
“Just… a temporary residence,’’ he shrugs, putting the tray with food next to me, then pulls the chair from the desk closer, sitting in front of me. “Eat. You’re hungry.’’
The sandwich is very thick, with an ungodly amount of cheese — just how I like it. I bite the inside of my cheek, contemplating whether or not to eat, but when my stomach makes the ugly noise again, I give in to the hunger and carefully pick it up in my hands, taking a small bite.
My eyes roll to the back of my head as the taste coats my tongue, my senses going into overdrive. This has to be one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever tasted, and the more I eat, the more I can taste different things he put inside.
“Easy,’’ he says, a hint of teasing in his voice. “It’s all yours.’’
I ignore him, grumbling incoherently as I finish the sandwich, the hunger subsiding significantly, though I could eat a lot more. I wipe the corner of my mouth with my thumb, and James quickly grabs my wrist.
Shock bursts through my body, my eyes holding eye contact as he brings my thumb to his mouth, sucking off the sauce. His eyes hold a different kind of hunger, the one I’m familiar with, and somehow, the same hunger I want to get used to.
My throat bobs as I swallow, pulling my hand back, but the lingering sensations of his touch remain in my mind, making me second-guess everything.
“Why did you bring me here?”
“To test a theory,’’ he leans back in the chair, his legs spread. I have to remind myself not to ogle him and give him the satisfaction of seeing me flustered, but it’s getting harder to get my brain and body to cooperate.
“What theory?”
“The theory of how much you remember.’’
“Remember what?” The frown forms on my face again, and his vague responses start pissing me off. “Stop beating around the bush and tell me what’s going on.’’
James leans in, elbows on his knees as he stares right into my eyes, trying to see past the mask of indifference that I’m trying to keep up.
“So you don’t remember,’’ he mumbles, something akin to disappointment in his eyes. It’s gone before I even know if it’s true or a fragment of my imagination, and he distances himself from me.
“You’re really starting to piss me off,’’ I scoff. “Either tell me what I want to know, or I’m leaving.’’
“It’s cute how you seem to think that you have any control of the situation,’’ a deep chuckle rumbles through his chest. “But, to satisfy your curiosity, this room was once yours.’’
I freeze, and when he confirms what I’d previously suspected, I don’t know how to respond. I sit on the bed, hands on my lap, blinking and trying to make sense of the situation. I blow out a deep breath, deciding to question him more.
“When was this my room?”
He lifts a shoulder. “Who knows?”
A small growl of annoyance slips out, my brow twitching. “Stop being vague! What the hell is going on?”
He doesn’t like my tone, apparently, because before I can see it happening, he pushes me down on the bed in a lying position, crawling on top of me and holding my chin tightly. His lips brush against mine, but this is far from a romantic encounter. The man’s pissed, body trembling with anger.
“Don’t ask questions you can’t handle the answer to,’’ he murmurs, voice low and threatening. “I won’t give you the satisfaction of having all the answers laid out before you. If you want to know, you’ll have to work for them, hellion.’’
I clench my teeth together, hands fisting next to my body. “No.’’
He lifts a brow, momentarily shocked, or perhaps confused?
“No?”
“No,’’ I repeat.
A deep laugh reverberates in the room, his body heat making my anger impossible to keep, though I put on a front, not wanting him to see how the laughing has caught me off guard.
