Page 99 of Riv's Sanctuary

He couldn’t remember.

“Is something wrong with it?” A worried frown etched the human’s forehead as she looked at the contents of his bowl. “I tried, but I suppose this must be more like what I’m used to than what you usually eat.”

He could only grunt.

She sure was right about that.

The human grit her small, flat teeth, her bottom lip turning over and downward. “Does the meat taste okay at least?”

With some hesitation, he took a morsel of the braised meat and brought it to his lips.

A burst of flavor spread across his tongue and he almost choked on the food, trying to hide his reaction.

What was bad was the human's expectant look as she watched him chew.

“It’s…edible,” he ended up saying. She didn’t need to know just how delicious it tasted.

It sure as phek beat eating rock cakes and washing them down with Xurli.

Accepting his answer, the human smiled a little and settled in the seat across from him.

Eyes on her, he brought some of the rai to his mouth and fought to keep his expression cool.

It tasted good enough for him to finish an entire bowl and that was surprising. Not only did he hate rai, but he’d never met anyone who boiled rai.

Rai was usually popped in the high-temperature tube.

Clearing his throat, he swallowed the food as discreetly as he could.

He must try not to look too eager and give the female any ideas.

If this was a ploy to get him to change his mind about her leaving, she wasn’t going to be successful.

No matter how good her cooking tasted…

Or how much it reminded him that something was missing in his life.

* * *

They ate in silence with Grot at their feet underneath the table.

Well, he mostly ate.

She mostly picked at her meat, glancing at him every now and then and it was obvious something was on her mind.

"What is it?" it came out a bit more gruff than he'd intended.

She looked down and her long lashes fanned over her pale cheeks. Raising a hand, she rubbed her neck absentmindedly and he followed the motion, unable to look away from the way her fingers brushed over her pale skin.

Her skin looked so soft...it was soft.

Back at the exchange, when he'd held her, he'd felt her softness.

He’d just forced himself not to pay attention to it.

Now, though…

Now, he allowed himself the moment to look.