Grabbing the pastry, I shooed Pika away as he tried to nibble it, and glowered. “I was going to eat. I have eaten. I’ve been…listening to what my system needs, and it needs rest.”

He reached for the remaining wedge of watermelon, unsheathing his teeth and taking a bite so big, pink juice dribbled through his five o’clock shadow.

I froze.

I shivered.

I couldn’t look away as his tongue darted between his lips, catching as much of the fruit juice as he could before he wiped the rest away with the back of his hand. His eyes closed in bliss, his jaw working as he chewed, his throat contracting as he swallowed.

He. Was. Gorgeous.

Drop-dead, fantasy-created perfection.

I wanted to cry.

I wanted to leap up and scratch and scar him. To make him as ugly as his chosen profession.

My appetite vanished as my stomach clenched with disgust. How could I find him so appealing when he’d sentenced me to four years of slavery?

He grabbed the chair next to me, sitting tall and selecting a big bowl of tempeh satay skewers dripping in peanut sauce, accompanied with pickled cabbage and carrot. Slipping the entire length of tempeh into his mouth, he placed the empty skewer back into the bowl, his gaze catching mine as he chewed.

Thanks to the shade offered by the large umbrella, I noticed things that the sun had hidden. Smudges decorated under his eyes, and his body seemed leaner, tight over muscles as if he hadn’t eaten in a while. His hands shook slightly as he chose another satay stick and quickly devoured it.

He ate as if he’d been subjected to elixir and all the spiritual, physical, and emotional exhaustion that came with it.

What could that mean?

Had he used another goddess last night after handing me over? Who had been the guest I slept with? I hadn’t seen him around the island, and it hadn’t been the man who’d said he couldn’t wait to be with me when Jealousy and I had bumped into the two guests.

My heart rate picked up, confusion trying to rearrange into crazy conclusions.

“Eat,” Sully muttered, doling out a large ladle of veggie mie goreng onto my plate.

Taking a bite of my pastry, I asked softly, “Why are you so hungry?”

He froze. His gaze snagged mine, turning navy with hesitation. Tearing his attention away, he grunted, “I forgot to eat breakfast.”

“Uh-huh…” I picked a gooey raspberry from the sweet custard of the pastry.

He glowered, hating my disbelief. “I was…I overdid it with exercise last night.”

“And what sort of exercise was that?” I braced myself with acknowledgement that he was busy fucking a goddess until neither could walk straight. I wanted him to admit that whatever this electricity was—that only seemed to increase in voltage between us—meant absolutely nothing to him.

That would give me clear boundaries to stop allowing my body to twist my mind, to prevent my heart from getting involved.

“None of your fucking business.” He grabbed a grain cracker, scooped up a mouthful of caramelised onion, and ate it as if daring me to ask again.

Fine.

Whatever.

I didn’t care what he got up to last night. What I did care about was what I got up to. How it happened. Who it happened with. If every instance would be the same.

We ate in silence for a bit before I poured myself a glass of freshly squeezed pineapple juice and hid my smile as Pika perched on the edge of my drink, dipping his beak in and slurping up the sugary liquid.

Sully stiffened as Pika continued to sip from my glass. His face grew stormy, as if possessive of the bird and unwilling to share him. I frowned as he whistled gently, his call acting like an immediate noose, setting Pika to flight and placing him firmly on Sully’s shoulder.

I reclined in my chair, sampling the pineapple and once again confused about who this man was. “You don’t like sharing his affection.”

He growled low in his chest. “I don’t trust others to be kind to him.”

“No one?”

His eyes flashed. “No one.”

“You have my word I’d never hurt him, Sully.”

He flinched at the use of his name. “Words don’t earn my trust, Jinx.”

“Perhaps not, but you must have some inkling of who I am as a person by now? You spend enough time harassing me.”

He bristled. “I harass you?”

“You’re here eating my food, aren’t you?”

“Your food?” His eyebrows shot into his half-dried hair. “Are you forgetting who owns this establishment?”

I placed my glass down, boldly swiping a tempeh satay off his plate. “Oh no, I could never forget that part.”

He scowled as I chewed the rich peanut delicacy. He studied me with such intensity, such curiosity, I squirmed under his stare.

“What? What is it?” I wiped my cheeks. “Do I have something on my face?”

A cold smirk twisted his lips. “Just trying to decide if you’ve changed. The first time in Euphoria normally scrambles a person. However, you still seem to have a terrible sense of self-preservation, a tongue that will only get you in trouble, and questions that won’t deliver answers you’ll like.”

I braced my spine. “Does it piss you off that I’m still fundamentally myself?”

He paused before nodding brusquely. “Actually, yes. I’m fucked off you’re still the same—even after…” He cleared his throat. “Even after being fucked within an inch of your life last night in a dimension that wasn’t real.”

“Why does that annoy you? Why aren’t you happy that I’m strong enough to withstand whatever nightmares you throw my way?”

“Because I don’t like what you make me—” He cut himself off, his hands balling on the table. “We’re off topic. You wanted to know about Euphoria.” He glanced at his naked wrist, waving it as if an expensive Rolex winked there. “Time is ticking, Jinx. I’ve overstayed my welcome as it is, and I have work to do, guests to welcome, goddesses to prepare. You get three questions about how my VR works, and that’s it.” He grabbed a handful of grapes, popping one into his mouth and chewing slowly, his eyes never leaving mine. “Go ahead. Ask.”

I did my best to keep my attention away from his lips and throat as he swallowed. “Only three?”

He nodded regally.

“Fine.” Tapping my mouth with a finger, I deliberated. Doing my best to incorporate as much into one question as I could. I wouldn’t fall for his tricks. I refused to walk away from this strange, impromptu luncheon without knowing everything I could.

Information was key. And I needed all the keys I could earn to escape.

As he waited patiently, Pika fell asleep on his shoulder, his little head bobbing with tiredness.

Leaning forward, I ignored the way Sully’s gaze latched onto my cleavage as I placed my arms on the table, pushing my breasts together. His jaw flexed, his naked chest rose with a harsh breath, highlighting muscles that made my mouth water.

My stomach reacted to him, coiling itself with barbwire, pinpricking with pain.

Stop it!

My voice cracked as I asked, “You called it VR…VR as in virtual reality?”

One question wasted.

Dammit.

He steepled his fingers, elbows digging into the armrests of his chair. “Precisely.”