I flashed him a grin. “I know. I saw your collection.”
He snorted. “Right. When you broke into my home and stole my journal.”
“Correct.”
He didn’t protest when I slid my arm around his shoulders and pulled him close. Instead, he laid his head down on my shoulder, settling his weight against me. His warmth was delicious and perfect.
“You’re very strange, Nicolas,” he murmured.
I went tense. “In a bad way?”
“No,” he said with a happy sigh, pulling a blanket over us both. “It’s not bad at all.”
As the movie played, I became aware of the fact that Eli’s breathing had gone calm and even. He’d fallen asleep, curled up against me, in my arms.
I stayed motionless for a very long time, afraid to move. I couldn’t bear the idea of waking him. Even after the movie ended, I sat there frozen, watching his chest rise and fall. I found myself realizing that, right up until that moment, I had never truly noticed—or cared—how precious a single human life was.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN || ELI
It wasn’t lost on me that Nicolas was intent on providing me with exactly what I said I needed. Perhaps it shouldn’t have been a surprise. After all, he had already demonstrated he was willing to go to great—and insane—lengths to be near me.
What was surprising was how good he was at it.
Over the next few days, we fell into a routine. On my days off, we cooked together and watched movies on the couch. Sometimes we went on walks instead. We started picking out recipes together, which was definitely an improvement for both of us. Nicolas even accompanied me to the grocery store and helped me shop—though he flatly insisted on paying for everything. We tried out recipes for all the cuisines we both liked: Italian, Thai, Mexican, and even a few French dishes. We stayed far away from soufflés, though, which was absolutely for the best.
And each day, I noticed something inhuman about him. Occasionally, he would forget himself and move too quickly. Or his eyes would gleam strangely in the light. Mostly, he didn’t seem to realize he wasn’t breathing unless he spoke. It made me wonder how often he’d actually been around humans before he met me. Regardless, I never said anything about it.
Sure, it had been alarming in the very beginning, but now it just seemed like a part of who he was. Was he also wry, arrogant,funny, terribly strange, and surprisingly sweet? Definitely. Was he bamboozled by modern kitchen devices but always pretended not to be? Check. Did he show up at my job every single night without fail so I’d never need to drive myself home dead on my feet? Always yes. Was he guilelessly peppering me with a seemingly endless list of questions about myself? A very big yes.
He was Nicolas. And, it turned out, that was what ended up mattering to me. It was very hard not to realize that I was falling for him—or maybe that I’d already fallen. For a guy with so many initial neon-red warning signs, he sure as hell seemed like a walking green flag now. My version of it, at least. Still weird—but weird in a way that was oddly… endearing.
He might be hiding things—like the fact that he wasn’t quite human—but there were things I hadn’t talked about either. For instance, Eric’s ominous text messages were becoming a daily occurrence:Who is he?mixed withYou know I can’t stand the idea of you with someone else.Or my personal favorite:I won’t let him have you.
Sorry, buddy. He’s already got me.
I didn’t reply to a single one of the messages. Instead, I blocked the sender as soon as they came in, but I was pretty sure Eric was spoofing his phone number somehow. Unfortunately, there was definitely an app for that.
But apart from him, things were kind of… perfect. Being with Nicolas in a domestic context was surprisingly easy. Despite his obvious strangeness, it felt—well, normal.
“Did you enjoy your meal?” Nicolas asked about a week after our disastrous attempt at creating a soufflé. Tonight, we’d done something much easier: a creamy Tuscan chicken dish with sun-dried tomatoes and spinach. He sat across from me at the small dining table in his kitchen. The expression on his face seemed oddly thoughtful, almost distant.
“It was amazing,” I told him honestly, flashing him the smile that was hard to keep off my lips. I’d fallen for him, human or not. “We’re getting way better.”
Nicolas inclined his head. His bright blue eyes searched mine, no longer distant but instead suddenly intent. “We’re getting better at listening to each other. It’s been a very long time since I’ve attempted to work with someone else. It’s strangely satisfying.”
He seemed uncharacteristically… serious.
I took his hand, hardly even noticing the lack of pulse—or the fact that his skin was warm when it probably should’ve been ice cold. It wasn’t really strange anymore; it was just him.
“Nicolas, what’s on your mind?”
“Are you happy?” he asked suddenly, his eyes searching mine.
“Yes,” I said immediately, without even having to think about it.
Something relaxed in him, and he returned my smile. “Good.”
I hesitated. “There is something I want to talk to you about.”
