Pierre reached out his hand to Eirin. "Come on. Let's eat. Your stomach is going to start protesting again if you don't."
Eirin could feel the embarrassment flowing through her whole body as her face turned a fiery red, a hot, liquid shame that made her want to disappear. She went back to her chair, her movements slow and deliberate, wondering why she had done such a ridiculous, childish thing. Her mind was so consumed with the image of Shade, of his presence, of his sudden, sharp gaze, that she couldn't hide it.
"What are you doing?"
The voice, a low, smooth, and utterly familiar sound, came from right behind her.
Eirin flinched, her body a tight, tense thing, and dropped her spoon on the ground with a loud, clattering sound. She slowly turned around, her gaze meeting the intense, dark eyes of Shade Cromwell, who had appeared behind her as if he were a ghost.
