Don't Hex and Drive (Stay a Spell #2) - Juliette Cross Page 0,50

picked a few for later next week. My stomach rumbled as I perused the jackfruit, of all things. They were so ugly looking, but the fruity aroma reminded me that I’d skipped breakfast.

“If you’re looking for a ripe one, then take this one.” A large dark hand with long, well-manicured fingers reached in front of me and picked up one of the strange-looking fruit.

My breath caught in my throat as I twisted to face Devraj. I blinked a few times, not prepared for his dazzling smile this morning. It didn’t irritate me like it usually did. Rather, I couldn’t help notice the way his lips were so well-shaped and wondered how those lips and his canines had made a woman come without him touching any other part of her.

“It’s lovely to see you,” he said, his voice lower, deeper than his usual light-hearted, teasing tone.

That’s when I realized I was still staring at his mouth. And he’d noticed.

“Oh.” I shook my head. “Jules needed me to pick up three.” I grabbed the one he held in his hand and tucked it into my shopping bag, quickly maneuvering to another topic. “Did you take care of Darren? I mean, did everything go well last night?”

“All good. He’s under my compulsion not to reveal that we know anything about them. And he’ll be contacting me as soon as there’s a plan for their next move.”

I nodded and picked up a jackfruit, but he stopped me with a hand, two of his fingers overlapping mine. I froze as he said, “This one is underripe. I can help you find two more good ones if you like.”

I put that one back and pulled away. “Cool. Fine. That would be great.” I tucked my hair back behind my ear. “How do you know so much about jackfruit anyway?”

“It’s native to India, did you know?”

Feeling a little idiotic, I answered honestly. “No, I didn’t.” Glancing in his basket, I added, “Superfan of fruits and veggies, aren’t you?”

“It’s kind of hard to avoid when you’re a vegetarian,” he teased with a grin. “Well, mostly.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “But you’re a vampire.”

“So observant, Miss Savoie.” He picked up a jackfruit, looked at it, then put it back down. “You do know that vampires eat and drink human food.”

“Of course, I do. But a vegetarian? Really?”

“I’m Hindu, and many of us are vegetarian,” he said matter-of-factly. “Not as devout as I’d like to be, but even after three hundred years, some things never leave you.”

Okay. Now I was completely fascinated with this man. I couldn’t help but dig deeper, having given up my fruit perusal altogether. “What do you mean?”

He kept on the search, but his gaze skimmed to me every few seconds, leaving a trail of heat wherever it flickered. My cheeks, my mouth, my eyes, my shoulders. When I remembered the feel of his thumb brushing my mouth last night, heat filled my cheeks.

“The way I was raised, we didn’t eat the flesh of any animal. My mother always taught me we should not take life when we can eat other things to nourish our bodies.”

I stood there and stared at him. The way he spoke of his mother with such reverence had me speechless. But something gnawed at me. I didn’t point it out to be mean-spirited, but because I was so floored by the contradiction. “You don’t eat the flesh of animals, but you drink human blood.”

His jaw tightened before he glanced at me, still sifting through the jackfruit. “I didn’t choose to be a vampire. So yes, I drink blood. To stay strong. To stay alive. But I do not take lives.” Then he turned to me, his amber eyes fixed heatedly on me. “Open up, Isadora.”

I swear to you, I didn’t think he was talking about my shopping bag. Stunned for a few seconds, I blinked my surprise away and opened the bag. He set two more jackfruit inside, his gaze never leaving my face. Fixed and piercing. And now it was time for me to go.

“Thank you.” I cleared my throat, tucking my hair behind my ear again, even though it hadn’t fallen away from the last time. “I appreciate the help.”

I honestly needed to process what he’d just told me. My former feelings of annoyance had vanished, replaced with sympathy and admiration in the course of a short conversation over exotic fruit.

“Well, bye then.” I awkwardly waved then beelined for the checkout register. Shaking my head, I reminded myself this