Page 29 of Fire in My Blood
I wake up, lying on my back on a soft surface. After slowly peeling my eyes open, I look up at a high ceiling before my eyes find Lucas, who’s sitting next to me.
A thrill runs the length of my spine, and a smile curves my lips. His gaze is on my body, his eyes almost glowing, like he’s enjoying the sight of me and is trying to memorize every detail.
“Lucas?” I can’t hide the amusement in my voice.
His eyes widen and snap up to mine. “Um, I didn’t want to disturb you. By taking off your clothes, I mean…” He looks away.
I’m speechless. He was checking me out, and now he’s acting all embarrassed that I caught him staring. In myexperience, it’s unusual for someone with his looks to get flustered like that. They’re usually too cocky to care.
Lucas visibly pulls himself together and turns back to look at me with a neutral expression on his face.
“How are you feeling? Do you want something to eat? I can go and fix you something while you take a shower. There’s a bathroom through there.” Using his thumb, he indicates a door behind him. “I’ll find you something to wear.” He starts to get up.
“Lucas.” I grab his hand, before he can move away. “Where are we?”
A gentle smile curves his lips. “We’re at a mansion belonging to a friend of mine. He’s away, so we have the house to ourselves. Nobody can get to us here. The security system is top notch, and I know the security personnel well. You’re safe here.” He turns to go, and I let go of his hand.
As soon as Lucas leaves the room and closes the double doors behind him, I scoot off the bed and take in the room. It’s large and tastefully decorated in soft colors. A big bay window with a bench seat spanning the width of it takes up most of the wall opposite the double doors.
I move to the door to the bathroom. Before entering, I remove my coat and place it on a chair. The bathroom lights turn on automatically as soon as I open the door. White ceramic tiles cover the walls from floor to ceiling and are perfectly contrasted by the dark gray shale tiles on the floor.
I remove all my clothes and leave them in a heap in a corner before stepping into the shower. Everything I need is on a shelf in the shower stall, even a new razor.
A sigh of pleasure leaves my lips when the warm spray of water hits my skin. I stand there for several minutes with myeyes closed, just reveling in the feel of the tension gradually leaving my body and flowing down the drain with the water.
I take my time washing my hair and body, before I eventually turn off the water and grab one of the big soft towels to dry off.
Wrapping the towel around me, I go in search of my hairbrush. It’s in my purse, which I find on the floor by the bed.
Lucas must have come by while I was in the shower. There’s a large neatly folded T-shirt on the bed.
After brushing out my hair and leaving it down to dry, I hang the towel in the bathroom. I put on the T-shirt and chuckle when I see myself in the mirror. It reaches almost down to my knees and could be mistaken for a dress.
I have a quick look around the bedroom, but there’s no sign of my small overnight bag. It’s probably still on the back seat of my car. Which leaves me with no panties and no bra, since I don’t want to wear the dirty ones I left discarded on the bathroom floor.
A knock on my door brings me to a halt, my spine stiffening.
“Erica?”
I breathe out a sigh of relief when I hear Lucas’s voice. “Come in, Lucas.”
He strides into the room, carrying a tray with sandwiches and two cans of soda. After putting it down on the bedside table, he turns to me.
His lips part when he sees me, and his gaze lowers until it comes to rest on my breasts, which are no longer held in check by a bra.
I shiver but not because I’m cold. My nipples tighten into sharp points poking at the material of the T-shirt.HisT-shirt. The fact that I’m wearing his clothes suddenly feels very intimate.
Lucas turns away abruptly. “I made you some sandwiches. You should eat.”
“What about you? Don’t you need to eat something? Or have you already eaten?” I study his profile. He looks like he has taken a shower, as well, and his dark-brown hair is still wet. The T-shirt he’s wearing now is bigger than the one I snatched from my brother’s office, but his muscular chest and shoulders are still pronounced.
When he turns back to look at me again, his lips stretch into a smile. “Do you remember I told you I draw energy from my element? I built a fire in the fireplace in my room and restored my energy from the blaze, so I’ll be fine for a couple of days.”
Considering his words, I go to sit down on the bed next to the bedside table. The sandwiches look delicious, and my stomach rumbles in agreement.
“Thank you, Lucas.” I give him a warm smile. “What does being an elemental really mean? How did you become one?”
He licks his bottom lip. “I’ll tell you more about that in the morning, okay? You should eat and then get some sleep. I need to talk to security before I go to bed.” With that he heads to the door.