Page 11 of Shifters' Fated Summer
I almost leaned in for a closer look. There was something intriguing about his dull teeth and lack of needle-like vampire teeth. I could tell myself I found his teeth gross or lacking, but in reality, I liked them.
A flash of blunt fangs scraping as lips pressed to my skin played behind my eyes. My breathing hitched, and I banished the intrusive thought.
Ridiculous. This man wouldn’t be putting his mouth on me. Absolutely not. No way. Not going to happen. Nope.
My tongue wet my lips, and he definitely noticed. His mouth curved into a smirk.
Why was his smirk so handsome it made me weak in the knees?I would have to pretend my body wasn’t responding to him because this was lunacy.
I needed to get out of here before I threw myself at him. The longer I was away from Evrin, the worse it got. I needed my patron.
After I got some food, I would leave. It was for the best.
“So, um, should we?” I asked, moving my arms to cross in front of my chest.
“Yeah,” he said,his velvety voice suddenly hoarse. He cleared it with a cough. “You’re probably hungry. Come on.”
I nodded silently and fell into step behind him.
Luca twisted to glance at me and slowed his pace until we walked level to each other. I shied away, trying to move behind him, but the stubborn asshole wouldn’t let me.
He slowed to a comical pace and raised an eyebrow at me. A resentful sigh hissed between my teeth, and I fell into step beside him.
The hall twisted and flowed into an open space with a railing that overlooked a lower floor.
My feet halted.
The entire far wall, spanning two floors, was glass - fucking massive windows. Beyond the crystal sheen, a glittering lake stretched, hemmed in by sprawling forest.
A sunset stretched above the tree line, softening the light into shades of peach and lilac that painted the treetops and limned the sparkling waves.
Holy shit, I didn’t know anywhere in the world looked likethis. It should be a painting hung in the den.
The raw beauty overwhelmed me, stirring up a longing I’d never experienced before. Homesickness for a place I’d never been -farsickness.
What was it like out there?
Cool and dark under the trees, or warm on the shore with a mist of lake watercooling my ankles? Did it smell like water and sunshine, or dirt and pine?
“You okay?” Luca asked, yanking me from my imaginings, that insufferable smirk back on his face.
I had to close my gaping mouth to sneer at him.
“Fan-tastic.”
We trailed down a wide staircase into a living space. Squashy couches circled low tables scattered with books and small plants in ceramic pots.
Everything was so open and full of light.
Great wooden columns supported the upper floor we had been standing on, and underneath, hallways branched off.
A kitchen was nestled in the center of the back portion of the space. Sage green cabinets lined the wall, broken by shining, steel appliances. The sleek metal looked like something from a sci-fi book with all the buttons and knobs. I barely remembered what a kitchen looked like, but surely this was out of the norm.
“Everyone is eating on the deck,” Luca said, brushing past me into the kitchen. “But there should still be dinner left. Holt usually makes enough for lunch the next day.”
He eased the oven door open and pulled out a glass dish. Grabbing a comically large spoon, he scooped something wet onto two plates.
What the fuck did they eat?
