“Didn’t we have enough of this last night?” I asked on a laugh, nodding at the large platter and making him smirk.
“Ah, so you have started to remember?” he asked as once again he held out a seat for me to take.
“I haven’t forgotten it all, no,” I replied trying to will myself not to blush because of it.
“Well, you’re the one who demanded I order the English cheese board, getting very excited about cheddar if I am remembering correctly,” he informed me as he took his own seat next to mine.
“Mmm, the cranberry cheddar was yummy, oh and village oak.”
“But not the Stilton if I recall?” he laughed at the memory of my face as I scrunched up my nose, because eww.
“Oh yeah, now that was some potent stuff…Hell, we should have taken some with us in case we need to knock out the witch, she’s like a bad penny that one and bound to show up again,” I said making him scoff,
“Yes, well, unfortunately I think it’s going to take a lot more than cheese to defeat the bitch.”
“Smelly cheese, don’t forget that part.” He smirked at me before motioning to the platters and saying,
“Hence why I told them to leave that particular choice off the board.” My eyes went to where he pointed and I grinned big,
“Aww, you ordered me my cheeses again, you big romantic you!” He laughed at this and muttered,
“Easily pleased I see.” At this I picked up one of the fresh rolls and threw it at him, making him spill half his coffee on the table.
“Oh shit, I’m sorry… but seriously, can you go back to being super reflex Vamp and start catching shit again?” I complained making him grant me a look before telling me,
“Or another idea…crazy I know, but you could refrain from throwing things at me and solve both our problems.” I rolled my lips inwards trying to hold back the grin and said,
“Yeah, but Lucius, this is you we are talking about, chances are high that I will want to throw stuff at you again.” He paused, mopping up his coffee with a napkin and grinned at me.
“Then how about I create an incentive not to.”
“Not sure you have anything to bargain with, but I am open to hearing my options,” I replied before taking a bite of the apple I had plucked from the fruit bowl. He watched this with hungry eyes flashing like the burning sun before he leaned in close. Then he took hold of the arm of my chair and suddenly tugged it closer towards him. I yelped a little before he gave me his incentive,
“How about you get to keep your delicious ass without finding it over my knee, wearing a pretty shade of red in the shape of my hand…incentive enough for you?” he asked before taking hold of my wrist and taking a huge bite out of my apple, doing so with it still in my hand.
“Erm, yeah, that sounds like a good trade,” I said making him nod once before letting me go. But when I tried to shift my chair back, his hand shot out to the armrest and stopped me.
“I like you close,” was his only response to this and it was one that had my heart pounding. After which I poured myself a cup of tea, needing to do something with my hands. But I still had to clear my throat before asking him,
“How’s your coffee? Better now it’s in a cup, eh?” At which the intense moment left us, and he burst out laughing.
“It’s fine, but my palm is itching again.”
“You know you should get that looked at…I bet they have a cream that could help,” I said before taking a sip of my tea and then winking at him over the rim of my cup. He lowered the paper he had started reading, in Hebrew of course, and replied with,
“Duct tape could also help, now eat your lunch before I make enquiries on where to get some.” At this my lips twitched as I fought a smile at our banter, knowing just how much I had missed it. After this I took his advice and piled a plate up, making sure to get a good amount of that cheese I liked.
It also helped me relax more because we hadn’t just sat down and started discussing the giant anvil sized question mark hanging over our heads. This was until my belly was full and I couldn’t stand it any longer.
“So, I take it you didn’t just decided to pick Jerusalem as your next holiday destination and just happened to find me when sightseeing at the museum did you?”
“Unlike a nerdy little beauty I know, I don’t usually step off a plane and travel directly to the first museum I can find,” he told me making me tempted to ask why he did then, only I wasn’t brave enough.
“That’s a shame, there are plenty of treasures to be found at them,” I teased to which he lowered the paper, stole my gaze, and said,
“I believe I found the only treasure I was looking for, now let’s talk about the part where I am keeping her.” After this, and I swear it was a good job I hadn’t been trying to swallow food as I think I would have choked!
“Lucius I…” I stumbled on my words as I didn’t know what to say to that. But in the end, it didn’t matter as it turned out that Lucius had plenty to say about it.
“Alright, so before we get to the root of why you ran from me, I want you to first ask yourself an important question, setting aside those doubts of yours that are obviously flooding your mind.” I cleared my throat first, and forced out,
“Which is?”
“Why would I be here now if I was in love with another and why am I not trying to get you back to Afterlife if I was doing it solely for that mistaken love?” I swallowed hard and felt that weight in my chest that you do when facing difficult questions.
“If I am honest, I have been asking myself the very same thing since you showed up and told me that you’re not taking me back to Afterlife.” At this he looked pleased, making me state,
“I am not unreasonable enough not to ask myself obvious questions, despite what I saw that day.”
“What you think you saw,” he quickly corrected.
“There are very few ways to interpret what I saw and heard Lucius, you must know that?” I told him making him release a frustrated sigh.
“I get that, but you must also know that you’re not the only one who feels betrayed here.” At this I jerked back in my seat, one I shifted further away from his and said,
“You’re joking right?!”
“Do me a favour, Amelia, and just for one fucking second put yourself in my position.”
“I’d rather not,” I snapped folding my arms and looking away from him. Yet he continued on as if I hadn’t.
“Say I was the one who saw an innocent moment of comfort you accepted from a friend, only the way it looked was much more than what it was. Say I was the one to listen to a conversation between you and this friend that sounded like some forbidden love being confessed, when in fact, every single word that was said with me in your mind?”
“I think you can stop talking now,” I said hating where this was going…destination guilt trip that’s where!
“No! You are going to fucking listen to me, like you should have done the second you stepped out from behind that staircase!” he snapped getting angry, rising from his chair, and then making me do the same. So, I backed away as he started to stalk towards me.
“Every word that was said between me and Keira was about you! About the love that both you and your fucking mother spent all your time convincing me to keep quiet about, when it went against everything inside me to do so!”