Page 126 of Blood in the Water

Knives? Leona was learning knives? “Where are they training?”

“Next floor down.”

“Okay? How do I get there?”

“Go downstairs.”

My eye twitched. God, it was like torture just getting information out of him. Was he doing this on purpose? Just to fuck with me? It sure as hell felt like it.

“I don’t think we officially met yesterday. I’m Caspian.” I didn’t reach out my hand to shake, and neither did he.

“Ryuji,” he replied, crossing his arms over his chest and looking me up and down. Slowly. Again, asshole. “But it wasn’t yesterday.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s been four days since the night we sprung you free.”

My eyes went wide. “Four days?”

No wonder I was ravenous.

He nodded. “I’m going to make some lunch. You want any? They’ll be back up soon.”

I stared after him as he stuffed his hands into his shorts and headed for the massive, state-of-the-art kitchen.

“I need to speak to Leona,” I called after him, a little unsure on my feet.

He shrugged, pointing his thumb over his shoulder at the private elevator in the corner of the room. “One floor down, at the gym.”

But there was a vast expanse of open space between me and the doors. My knee throbbed, the painkillers hadn’t kicked in, and I felt weak as fuck from not eating since God knows when. Dizziness suddenly overtook me. There was no way in hell I’d make that distance without falling, and I’d rather die than ask the asshole for help.

“Food sounds good,” I grumbled as I held onto the back of the couch and hobbled toward the kitchen. As much as I hated it, I’d have to wait until she came back upstairs. Wynn would keep her safe. He’d kept his promise to me. He’d saved my life. Reluctantly, I realized that I trusted him.

God, I was getting soft, wasn’t I?

“How long have you been her bodyguard?”

“Almost eight years,” I replied.Seven years, ten months, and sixteen days.

He whistled. “You’re pretty close then.”

“Close enough.” What was up with this guy?

He busied himself in the kitchen with scrambled eggs and what looked like leftover rice from the fridge. I wasn’t great at small talk, and I had no interest in shooting the shit with this guy, so I looked out the window as he finished doing whatever it was he was doing.

Finally, he placed a bowl in front of me. “Here.”

It looked…good. Scrambled eggs on top of white rice with a spicy mayo drizzle. Carrots and scallions brought color to the dish.

“Thanks,” I mumbled as I picked up a fork and dug in.Fuck me, it was good. Maybe Ryuji wasn’t as much of an asshole as I thought.

He slid into the chair beside me with his bowl and began eating quietly. The two of us wolfed down our food. Already, the dizziness subsided. By the end of the meal, the painkillers had kicked in, and I was starting to feel pretty good.

“So…” he broke the silence, a strange tone overtaking his voice. He took a drink of his glass to mask the awkwardness of whatever he wanted to say. “You sleeping with her?”

My head jerked back. “What? No.”

“Is she a virgin?”