เข้าสู่ระบบDarius POV"You know, maybe me and you could just have dinner together." I said it in a tone that came out closer to seductive than I had planned, and in the same breath I moved my hand to the fridge drawer and closed it casually — like the whole thing had been one smooth, connected motion and not a desperate recovery from nearly letting her open it.She blinked at me. "Yeah…" She started, then continued through the slight stutter. "…but I mean, I don't want Rylan to just be hungry since he couldn't eat the meal. So, I can just quickly fix something else for dinner for everyone. It's fine, I'll—"She turned back to the fridge and reached for the handle again.My hand was already on it.I felt her register that before she fully turned to look at me — the resistance of the drawer not moving, the presence of my hand holding it where it was — and
Darius POVIn no time, Eliana came forward with the food as we were already at the dining table.The smell reached us before she did — and I mean that in two completely different ways. For me, it smelled like an actually good meal cooked by someone who knew what they were doing. For Rylan, sitting across from me with that carefully maintained expression he thought was unreadable, it smelled like a problem.I could already see it. The slight stiffness that had entered his posture the moment she rounded the corner with the plates. The way his jaw had tightened by exactly one degree. The very controlled effort he was putting into breathing normally, which told me he was putting effort into breathing normally, which told me the garlic had already reached him and was doing exactly what I had planned for it to do.I looked away before he could catch me looking."Guess what I made
Eliana's POVHe was that close to me.Close enough that I had to make a deliberate decision about where to look, because looking directly at his face from this distance was doing something to my ability to think in straight lines and I needed my thoughts to at least be in the same general area as coherent right now.And he simply said, "Thank you."When I had thought he came for something else. You know, these guys can be unpredictable."Yeah." I responded, the word coming out before I could choose a better one … which, as soon as it left my mouth, I registered was not actually the correct response to ‘thank you.’ You said ‘you're welcome.’ Or ‘no problem’...in this scenario. Or basically anything other than ‘yeah,’ which sounded like I had been agreeing with something rather than acknowledging something.He didn
Eliana's POVSomehow, I ended up in the kitchen alone.They had both gone out to get groceries … together, which I was still processing, because the image of Darius and Rylan standing in a grocery aisle side by side was something my brain was having a hard time constructing — and I had been left in the house by myself for the first time since waking up here.I had wandered. Not with any real destination in mind, just moving through the space, letting myself get a feel for it. The living room I already knew. The hallway was long and quiet and had the kind of flooring that made you want to walk softly on it. And then I pushed open the kitchen door and stopped.Somehow, I got to the kitchen alone after they both had gone to get some groceries … and I was in here, looking at what was in front of me, seeing how plates, cups, cutleries … just name it … were scattered every
Eliana's POVI kept my eyes on Rylan and waited.Because Darius had just handed me something that didn't hold up, and I needed to see if Rylan was going to do the same thing or something different. The way he operated … the way he always seemed to choose his words with more care than Darius did. And the way he looked at situations from a step back before responding …so, I had a feeling his version of this was going to land differently.I just didn't know if differently meant better or worse.Rylan held my gaze for exactly one second. And then, without a single visible crack in his composure:"Yeah, yeah." He nodded, casual as anything. "The name of the movie is ‘How to Kiss a Vampire.’ It's a Moviemix … inspired by one of the stories from GoodNovel, actually. By a notable author; Charity Writes." Then he tilted his head slightly. "Have you seen it? Or read the book?"I stared at him.He said it so smoothly. So completely, specifically, detailed-ly smooth that for one disorienting sec
Eliana's POVWhen I finally made it out of the room and into the hallway, the voices reached me before anything else did.Low. Back and forth. And it was the kind of exchange that had history in it … not a casual conversation but something with weight and direction, two people who knew each other well enough to argue without raising their voices.I followed the sound slowly, still feeling the fog of sleep sitting at the edges of everything, my feet quiet on the floor. The hallway opened up ahead of me into what was clearly the living room…as it was wide, comfortable and this was the kind of space that had clearly never had to apologize for itself. And right there in the middle of it, I saw Darius and Rylan.I stopped just before the entrance. Just far enough back that the angle worked in my favor as they were facing each other, focused entirely on whatever was passing between them. Ther