Breakfast Offer

ALANA

"Did he try something on you?"

Wetting my lips, I nodded, seeing his jaw tick as I did. "I woke up and he was beside m—"

He shut his eyes in agony, clenching and unclenching his tightly-balled fists. "Nothing happened, though?"

Ever so slowly, I shook my head and he let out a rough sigh, his warm, minty breath fanning my face.

He was still on the ground before me and it was making me conscious. His hand lay on the sofa beside my thigh. Far away, but still so close. The heat emanating from his body was just enough to warm up my insides.

"Where is your apartment?"

"Apartment . . ." So, you see, I was quite lost in my thoughts. The way he narrowed his eyes, I worried he suspected the person inside my brain was none other than himself. But of course, how could he know. I cleared my throat and blinked back all haziness. "Oh, it's a ten-minute bus from here. Surikiye? I think that's where it is." Bad memory, peeps.

"Surtay?" There it was, his very own posh accent that I adored. He scowled, probably catching the starry look in my eyes and the lovey-dovey, stupid smile on my face. "Don't give me that look."

Stunned and a little hurt, I suddenly had no idea what to do. On cue, my stomach grumbled, filling the emptiness of the room with its howl.

"When did you last eat?" His phone was already out of his pocket as he stood to his full height. He had to be about 6'1. Compared with my 5'5, he could easily tower me. For some reason, though, he didn't make me feel that way. I felt like his equal even with the massive difference in our heights.

I stood too, leaving my backpack on the sofa. Knight scooted back and back until he was seated in his chair. The flush of colour in his cheeks never failed to knock me to the core.

"I . . ."

"What do you want to have?"

It was rushing out of my mouth before I could stop it. "Eggs?"

His mouth dropped open in disbelief. "Eggs," he repeated slowly. When I nodded, he continued talking in that baffled way. "You mean to say the first time you have the chance to eat anything from our world-famous food, you'll eat eggs?"

Okay, now I felt dumb. "They remind me of home," I said quietly and his mouth quickly shut.

I knew why. He cooked for me. Sure, the eggs he made were mostly either over or undercooked but that feeling. That joy in just having the honour to sit next to him wasn't something that I'd ever felt again.

His lips quired into a lovely smile that had my heart beating faster. "Okay,"