“But maybe I should tell my Mistress? Er…Jillian? Or should I call her ‘Chef,’ now?” Kalis shook his head. “It’s fucking confusing, you know?”
“I know. Human females can be that way.” Hard sounded unperturbed. “They can be stubborn and emotional and confusing as hell—it’s enough to drive you fucking crazy!”
Kalis shot him a look.
“They why did you and your brother take one for a mate?”
“Because they have so many good qualities that make up for all that,” Hard said. He gestured with both hands. “They can be courageous and caring and sweet and so fucking beautiful it hurts to look at them…” A fond look came over his face. “I don’t know how Kind and I got along before we met Suzanne. We’d be lost without her.”
“I feel the same way about Jillian,” Kalis admitted. “Been dreaming about her for two years. Now that I’ve finally met her, all I want to do is hold her and pleasure her and protect her…”
“But she’s scared to fucking death of you because she saw your other form,” Hard murmured.
“Mmm-hmm…” Kalis nodded and sighed as he shaved off a third and final piece of thaelite and laid it carefully to one side. “It’s enough to drive a male crazy. I can’t help what I am. And I’ll never be able to bond her to me unless she can accept my Ursus.”
“I’d say you ought to get to know her a little better before you start talking about Claiming her and bonding her,” Hard pointed out.
“True.” Kalis looked down at his hands. “Who am I kidding?” he growled. “I had my chance at love—lost my mate when I was only twenty-five cycles old. And we B’varren Kindred usually can’t bond more than once. I just thought maybe…maybe the Goddess was giving me another chance, you know?”
“And maybe she is,” Hard said. “Look—work on impressing Jillian in the kitchen to start with. She’s like my own mate, Suzanne—cooking is her first love. If you can prove yourself in here, you’ve got a shot with her. She… Hey—listen to what she’s saying…” He cocked an ear towards the pantry and grinned at Kalis. “She’s admitting to my female that she’s attracted to you, Brother!”
“I know it—I can smell her heat when I’m near her,” Kalis growled. “Problem is, I can also smell her fear.”
“Just give it time—the two of you only met yesterday,” Hard counseled.
“I know. It just feels like I’ve known her forever because I’ve been dreaming of her for so damn long.” Kalis tried to control the frustration in his voice and couldn’t quite manage it.
“I know the feeling,” Hard said sympathetically. “Kind and I Dream-Shared with Suzanne for months before we finally came to claim her. I was fucking ready to burst when we finally took her in our arms. The first time we saw her—”
“Oh, are you telling Kalis the story of how we first met?” Suzanne asked, coming up to her mate. She and Jillian had finally exited the pantry—clearly neither of them had any idea that their “private” conversation hadn’t been exactly that.
Kalis felt a little bit guilty about hearing the bits and pieces of their talk that his superior Kindred ears had picked up, but really, what was a male to do? And anyway, at least now he knew for sure that Jillian was willing to admit she found him attractive.
That was good, because her body being attracted to him was one thing—clearly she was responding to his Bonding Scent. But the fact that she was willing to acknowledge it on a cognitive level was something else. If only her body was involved and her mind wasn’t interested, it would create a dissonance that would only push her farther away from him. So at least…
“So you’re in—at least for tonight,” Jillian said, breaking into his train of thought.
Kalis looked down and saw that she was standing right next to him and staring up at him fearlessly. Her willingness to be close to him gave him hope. Maybe Hard was right—maybe he had to impress her in the kitchen first.
“You mean I have the job?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
She nodded.
“Suzanne and I have agreed we’ll use this dinner service as a test. If you do well and it seems like you’re a good fit for Pat-ar, then we might talk about something more permanent.”
“Thank you.” Kalis nodded. “I’m grateful for the chance to prove myself.”
“Great. So how’s the soup?” she asked, abruptly switching subjects.
“It’s doing well, Mis—Chef,” he corrected himself quickly. “All ready to add the rest of the thaelite now. Would you like to oversee it?”
Jillian nodded.
“Yes, especially since I’ve never made this particular dish before.”
“Come with me, then.” Kalis went to drop the paper-thin shavings of thaelite into the simmering soup pot. He and Jillian watched as they slowly dissolved and the color of the jumja soup turned from bright red to deep blue.