With our lessons done for the day, Annabelle skirted out the library door while I pretended to be consumed with gathering my books. I needed a few minutes alone with the professor that had been on his best behavior for the past ten hours.
The door slammed shut, and an electric surge announced his arrival. “Miss me?” he whispered from behind, as his arms ringed around my waist, making the half day sitting next to Chris entirely worth it.
“Maybe a little,” I answered, twisting in his arms. I was just readying my lips to rest over his when his eyes flashed towards the door.
“Someone’s coming.”
Before he could remove his entangled arms from me, I weaved out of them and shot over to the chaise, grabbing up the throw pillow and heaving into a sitting position at the same moment the door groaned open.
Stella sashayed into the room, her beauty lighting up the room like a magnesium bomb going off. Her hips swayed to the beat of her footsteps as she approached William, not even sparing a look in my direction. Not that I could blame her, everything around William blurred into obscurity.
“Dinner will be waiting for you on the South patio tonight,” her cupid-shaped lips announced. “It will be ready in just a few minutes.”
“We’ll be there shortly.” William shot her a brief glance, and then turned to me, eyeing me scrupulously.
Stella must have left, for I heard the door shut, but even in all her goddess-like beauty, she was no match for the man before me when he held me with his stare.
He cleared his throat. “Are you hungry?”
Simple enough question, and in the past, whenever anyone had ever asked me the same thing, it had been a simple enough answer of yes or no. However, William’s inquiry unsettled me so much I couldn’t respond immediately.
I hadn’t eaten a single morsel, or drank a drop of anything since awakening two days ago. Odd at the very least, but what was even more unnerving, was that I hadn’t even craved either one. I should have been famished or parched beyond repair, but I wasn’t. I didn’t feel the need to eat or drink anything. I felt fine—perfectly sustained.
“Should I be?” I questioned, hoping he would be able to explain yet another Immortal phenomenon.
He tried to keep his lips pulled tight, but his forehead was lined with his amusement. “Well no, not necessarily, but perhaps you’d humor me.” His attempt at concealing the smile was faltering. “Don’t worry, I’ll explain this too.”
I sighed, and relented. “Alright . . . let’s eat.”