Page 139 of The Invite
A dark cloud full of rage appears in his coal-black eyes. Proving he can not only read me like a book but peer straight into my broken soul, he demands, “Who tried to crush yours?”
“Nobody,” I lie. His lips purse admonishingly. I reluctantly mumble, “They didn’t succeed.”
I sigh in relief when he drops the topic.
Turning my body away, he spoons me with my back to his front. His breath gusts like a warm caress against my neck. Closing my eyes, I curl my palm around that is resting between my breasts and welcome the sleep I missed last night. Before I can fall into a peaceful slumber, Augustus’s husky tone jolts me. “And, Nessa?”
“Hmm?”
“I’m far from pushing you to your limits.”
CHAPTER – 34
Nessa
After a strange morning, I’m spending an even stranger afternoon.
Doing grocery shopping with Augustus like we’re a couple living together.
According to him, I’m not eating enough and will soon starve to death if cereal, bread, and ramen noodles are all I have.
After a short nap in my bedroom, he covered up my nakedness in his tee and roamed around shirtless, displaying his toned and tatted upper body for my hungry eyes. Downstairs, he fed me breakfast while making me sit on the kitchen counter.
His calculative gaze took note of everything in the cabinets and the fridge while I ate a bowl of cereal.
When he suggested—no, announced like an authoritarian—that we were going to the grocery store, I stopped with the spoon midway to my mouth.
With an amused glint, he slowly pushed the bite between my lips and told me we’d leave once I finished eating and got dressed.
It jolted me out of my stupor, and I croaked out, “Together?”
“Yes.”
“It’s the middle of the day.”
“So?
I narrowed my gaze and dragged out, “So… We can’t be seen together. I’m still your teacher, in case you forgot. Besides, I can do my own grocery shopping. I don’t need a chauffeur. Also, I have food for another week before I need to buy more.”
In other words, I’m waiting for my salary.
“We’re going to the grocery store in the next town. Besides, nobody will recognize you since you live like a hermit and the only public place you visit is school. Whoever sees us won’t know you’re my teacher unless you shout it yourself or get it tattooed on your forehead. Lastly, what you have is unhealthy snacks, not food. It proves that you aren’t capable of doing grocery shopping on your own if cereal is your definition of nutritious food. We’re going together, that’s out of the question.”
“Cereal is healthy and at the top of the food chart.”
His lips twitched. “Not if it’s the only thing you’re eating day and night.”
I opened my mouth for a retort, but he shushed me with a finger and a stern order. “No more arguments.”
Later in my tiny closet, which felt even smaller with Augustus’s large body standing inside, he picked out a pair of leggings and a cropped zip-up hoodie for me to wear. I changed in front of him because he didn’t leave, nor had I requested him to since I already knew the answer. I asked what he did to my old clothes after stealing them.
His response was to joyously say he burned them as if they personally offended him. Once I finished dressing with my hair loose and flowing in curls, his eyes burned a trail down my body.
Halfway descending the stairs, I asked him, “Why is taking me shopping such a big deal to you? The car, then the clothes. I don’t need charity, Augustus.”
I felt insulted. I wasn’t embarrassed I had less money and was struggling to make ends meet most days.
There was a time I didn’t have to worry about any of that, but life taught me it can all be gone in the blink of an eye. It made me humble and appreciate the little things.
