“My grandfather died when I was nineteen and left me a third of his oil company,” Sawyer explained. “And I built this house when I was twenty-two.”

“You built this house?” Gemma asked, using a section of the orange to gesture around the room.

“Well, I didn’t build it with my own two hands,” Sawyer said, but he didn’t need to.

His nails were perfectly manicured, and although he hadn’t touched her, Gemma would guess that his hands were baby-soft. He didn’t look like he’d done a day’s work in his entire life.

“So what’s the deal with all the white?” Gemma asked.

“It’s pure and clean and fresh.” Sawyer smiled as he talked about it. “I wanted a house that was filled with light.”

“But don’t you get bored?” Gemma asked. “Don’t you ever want to look at something blue?”

Sawyer laughed a little and gestured at the windows behind him. “I have an entire ocean made of blue. I can see all the color I want.”

“Fair enough.”

She stared down at the peeled orange in her hands, almost willing herself to eat it. When she finally took a bite of a wedge, she instantly regretted it. Normally she loved the fruit, but now it tasted horrible, as if the juice were made of battery acid.

“Ugh.” She grimaced and tossed the orange in the garbage, unable to eat any more.

“Was there something wrong with it?” Sawyer asked, watching her shake her head in disgust.

“No, I don’t think so.” She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

“Do you want me to get you something else?” Sawyer offered, making a move toward the fridge.

“No, that’s okay. I don’t think I’m hungry after all.”

“Are you sure?” Sawyer asked. “Because I don’t have anything else to do, and I can make a pretty mean omelet.”

“That’s okay,” Gemma insisted, and started backing away from the kitchen. “I think I’m going to go lie down.”

“Okay,” Sawyer said, sounding disappointed.

He hadn’t been that excited to see her, but he still seemed sad to see her go. Gemma might not have the same kind of hold on him that Penn and the other girls had, but she was still a siren. Without even trying, she could still enchant a man.

She hurried away, practically jogging back up the stairs. Taking a bite of the orange had made her feel even worse than she’d felt before. As soon as she got to her room, she slammed the door shut, then leaned against it.

Her whole body was shaking, and taking in deep breaths of the salty air didn’t seem to help. She wiped the cold sweat from her brow, unsure how much longer she could do this. Eventually she’d have to feed.

5. Searching

FIVE

Searching