Page 39 of Fear the Reapers
His words sounded more like an order than a request. It was almost as if asking just wasn’t in his vocabulary. I had complicated feelings towards Cyrus. I knew he had the power to end me at any moment, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that he enjoyed having me around. We had this fiery banter between us and even though he could be an asshole, I liked fighting with him.
I slipped the zipper of the garment bag down and felt the buttery fabric graze against my knuckles. As the bag fell to the floor, it revealed a royal blue mini dress. It was that same form fitting buttery fabric as the dress from the other night, but this dress hit just above the knee and had a high slit. So apparently Cyrus was a fan of Jessie’s dress on me.
As I slid on the dress, Jessie’s words from that night replayed in my head. “They’re literally going to be eating out of the palm of your hand.”Maybe this was my chance to test that theory and who better than Cyrus to be my test subject.
???
“Tris had to go meet the guys, so it’ll just be us tonight.” Cyrus called out, probably hearing the click of my heels descending the stairs.
I circled the staircase and froze when I saw the kitchen setup. Cyrus had pulled out all the stops. Standing in front of the kitchen island was a chef preparing dinner for us and as the aroma of his ingredients hit my nose, my mouth salivated.
“What is this?” I asked, my face a mixture of shock and confusion.
“Dinner.” Cyrus said, as his eyes took in my outfit.
“Why are you being so nice to me?” I asked, eyeing him curiously.
“I wanted to show you what life with us could be like, if you embraced it.” He said, running his hand through his silky dark hair.
“It’s not like I have much of a choice, either way.” I said, lowering my voice as I glanced at the chef.
I didn’t know how freely I could speak in front of him. Sure, I was in my own shitty situation, but that didn’t give me any right to put anyone else at risk.
“Don’t worry about Alessandro.” Cyrus said, seeing where my mind was at. “He works for us and understands how much we value our privacy.”
“Sit.” He said, gesturing towards the dining room table that served as the front row to my humiliation only hours ago.
Alessandro laid out a feast for us. With each course of the meal, Alessandro would explain each dish and describe the ingredients and special preparations he took. I didn’t know what half of the things he offered were, but every single bite was delicious.
Our appetizers were slices of ripe melon wrapped in prosciutto. I thought the combination would be awful, but the flavors pair well together and I had to stop myself from gorging on them.
The second course was the most delicious lobster bisque I had ever tasted. Truthfully, it was the only lobster bisque I had ever tasted, but everything Alessandro touched tasted like magic.
For the main course, he treated us to shrimp scampi pasta. I could taste the freshness in every ingredient, and the buttery sauce he made was to die for.
My tastebuds were overstimulated and my belly was full by the time he revealed dessert, but I couldn’t turn away the decadent chocolate souffle Alessandro had carefully prepared. The moment its creamy texture hit my tongue, my mind catapulted into pure bliss.No wonder the rich seemed happier. If they could afford to eat like this every day, I would be too.
As I eagerly dug into my souffle for a second bite, I looked up to find Cyrus’s eyes focused on me.Fuck.I scarfed all that food down like a behemoth, and he was probably regretting treating me to this meal.I was mortified.
I had never learned proper etiquette, and The Reapers seemed like the type of people that would turn their nose up at that. My cheeks flamed as I slowly lowered my fork and folded my hands in my lap.
“Why did you stop?” Cyrus asked from across the table.
“I’m full.” I chirped, looking everywhere but back at him.
“Bullshit.” He countered, getting up from his seat and bringing his own souffle.
As he made his way towards me, my heart pounded in my chest.Had my rude behavior finally set Cyrus off?He seemed the most even keeled out of all of his brothers, but maybe that was just because I hadn’t done anything to trigger him yet.
“Eat.” He ordered with his brows furrowed.
“I’m not hungry anymore.” I said, shrugging my shoulders and praying like hell that he’d drop the subject.
“Lie.” He spat as his nostrils flared.
“So, you’re a human lie detector now?” I scoffed, piercing my eyes at him.
“No.” He offered. “I just watched the way you reacted to that souffle. You want it, so eat it.”
