Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 79148 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79148 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
I sit down on a chair near the edge of the table in the same place as before.
Eli narrows his eyes. “You sure you want to sit there?”
My lungs suddenly feel constricted. “Do you want me to sit somewhere else?”
He smiles. “Smart girl … answering a question with another question.”
I make a face and fold my arms. “I learned from the best.”
Tobias snorts. “You’ve got a tough one on your hands.”
“Tell me about it,” Eli responds. “But I knew that when I found her.”
“Let’s just eat, shall we?” Tobias suggests.
“Of course,” Eli responds as he leans over the table and stares at me while blinking a few times. “Wouldn’t want our guest to wait.”
He keeps taunting me, and I don’t know why. It’s almost as if he’s trying to make me turn to rage and despair again.
He claps his hands, and the servers enter, carrying plates filled with delicious fruits, yogurt, breads, butter, and condiments, as well as hot plates of bacon and eggs. When the smell fills my nostrils, my mouth waters.
They place the food on the table and a few drinks such as orange juice and coffee, and I can’t help but stare at the food, wondering when I’ll be able to dig in. But I don’t know if I can.
I look up. Eli’s still staring at me, a devilish smile appearing on his face. It’s almost as if he’s enjoying the sight of me waiting for his approval. Like a dog ready to be fed.
“Go on … Enjoy,” he says with a certain kind of glee in his voice.
I pick up one of the fruity yogurt cups and drop in my spoon. Then I grab my fork and pick up a strawberry, shoving it into my mouth on full display, taking ample time to chew. He watches my every move, and when I swallow, so does he.
Tobias simply sighs and throws down his newspaper. “Enough. Get a room, you two.”
Eli turns his head to him and frowns. “To do what, exactly?”
They look at each other now, full of unbridled testosterone waiting to be unleashed. And it brings a smirk to my face. A tiny bit of power is back into my own hands, even if it’s useless and leads to nowhere. At least I can enjoy the two having a fight. Is that so wrong?
“Torturing our guests is not part of breakfast. Or lunch. Or dinner,” Tobias replies.
“No,” Eli muses. “That’s reserved for the times between.”
My jaw drops, and the strawberry I was about to eat falls off the fork and onto my plate.
“We’ll leave the torturing to Soren,” Tobias says.
Soren merely grunts and snags an already peeled egg off the big plate, which he stuffs into his mouth whole, and then rips some of the bacon to shreds with his teeth.
“Right.” Eli returns his attention to me. “Are you enjoying the food?”
How can I reply when they so easily talk about torture right in front of me?
“I … Um …”
“I suppose it’s not poisoned now, is it?” he asks, raising a playful brow.
I close my mouth and stare at him for a few seconds before I decide to play along with his game. If I can’t get through this without being challenged, then I’ll face him head-on.
“Who knows, maybe you’ve only laced some of the fruit,” I retort, and I tear a grape off the stem and glare at it for only a moment, long enough for him to see, and then chuck it into my mouth and chew on it provocatively.
“She knows you well,” Tobias muses, and Eli thrusts his elbow into him to shove him off the table.
“Enough,” Eli growls. “Amelia. Eat.”
He picks up a few strips of bacon, an egg, and a few pieces of bread for himself, taking a big bite from the egg.
“Woof,” I reply, which makes him stop halfway through chewing.
Tobias bursts out into laughter. “You sure picked the right one, didn’t you?”
I pick up a cupcake and happily munch away on it.
Eli throws him an enraged look. “Tobias, please don’t insult our guests.”
“Oh, I’m not insulted,” I reply, and I grab an egg too and shove it in my mouth, chewing and swallowing. “On the contrary, I’m amused.”
“Amused?” Eli cocks his head while Tobias just frowns and then continues eating his breakfast.
“Oh, yeah … being locked in a golden tower is quite amusing,” I retort, and I grab a few grapes and chuck them in my mouth.
Tobias almost chokes on his coffee, and Eli throws him another maddened look.
“All right, all right.” Tobias raises his hands and then picks up his plate and coffee. “I’ll see myself out.” He gets up from his chair and marches toward the door. “I have enough to do today.”
When he’s gone, only Eli, me, and Soren are left, but he’s not let out a peep since he swallowed down the egg.