His eyes widened at my question. “No.”
Hmmm. That seemed honest enough. “Are you a junkie?”
His brows drew together and he frowned. “Also no. What—do you mind explainingwhy, exactly, you’re asking me these things?”
I ignored his question. “Are you a serial killer?”
He snorted again, his eyes gleaming strangely as they locked with mine. “Yes. I’m afraid you’ve caught me.”
I stared at him, trying to figure out if he was joking or not. If hewasa serial killer, he’d never admit it, right? The first rule of murder club was probably that you don’t tell people about murder club. And he seemed to care an awful lot about my feeling safe in his presence—he wouldn’t tell me something like that unless it was a joke.
I decided he had to be kidding.
“That’s not funny,” I said, glaring.
“No, I don’t suppose it is,” he agreed solemnly. Then he paused and added, “Who are you, Doctor De La Cruz? Please, just tell me.”
The intensity of his question left me feeling shaken. “I—I’m a doctor.”
“No,” he said firmly, shaking his head. He sounded troubled. “You’re so much more than that. And I won’t stop until I’ve figured you out.”
“Good luck with that,” I said, staring at him.
I wasn’t sure if I should be feeling angry or frightened or intrigued. Instead, I just felt safe. Like I belonged nowhere else but right here, beside him.
What the hell was happening to me?
CHAPTER SEVEN || COLE
Having reassured myself that Eli was now home without incident, I decided the best thing to do was bow out gracefully. I was growing hungry again, which meant I wouldn’t be safe around him until I had fed.
Besides, I had done enough to alarm him for one evening, hadn’t I?
I could tell, however, by the way he looked at me—his lips slightly parted and his eyes never quite leaving mine—that he was intrigued as well. Or, perhaps, something more than intrigued.
Good.
“It’s late,” I said abruptly, faking a yawn. I pulled the keys from the ignition and handed them to the doctor. “And you and your vehicle are now safely home. Therefore, I can leave in good conscience.”
With that, I opened the driver’s-side door and climbed out.
“Wait—what?” Eli’s eyes widened and his jaw fell open. He opened his door, jumped out, and made it around the car, stepping directly into my personal space. “After all that? Now you’re leaving?”
I detected a note of alarm in his voice that a regular person probably wouldn’t have heard. He sucked in a stuttering breathand then let it out. But I didn’t miss the way he crossed his arms over his chest, like he was hugging himself.
“For how long?”
With anyone else, my first instinct likely would have been to mock him. To toy with him a bit. To make sure he understood that he was nothing to me but a plaything. But somehow, when I met his eyes, I found all my amusement draining away, and I couldn’t make myself do that.
Only honesty was left behind.
“Not long,” I promised him. “I need to eat. And you need to sleep.”
He scowled back at me, like he was going to argue. But then he yawned again.
“I could make us something,” he offered. “I’m not much of a cook, but I can make pasta. Boiling water is definitely within my skill set.”
I favored him with a smile. “Perhaps later.”
