A slurping noise sounded behind me. With a growl, I turned. Alex sipped on his hot drink, shirtless, black leather pants tied low on his hips, barefoot, and his crazy yellow-orange hair fell past his shoulders in a heap of sunlight.
“What?” I said it slowly, purposefully showing my fangs.
He slurped more of whatever the hell was in the purple I Heart Unicorns mug and shrugged. “Just watching.”
“Don’t you have a woman to please?”
He laughed at that, “Don’t want to kill her with all the pleasure, wolf. She’s sleeping.”
“Then go be anywhere else.”
“Ethan’s gonna be pissed about his stairway, all that wood.” He licked his lips. “Wood, wood, wood—”
“If you won’t leave, I will.” I turned on my heel and stomped through the dust all the way down the stairs and into the kitchen.
Damn it, I’d promised I’d make her something to eat.
My eyes darted to the freezer as indecision washed over me. My mouth pooled with saliva.
All that meat.
All that blood.
I shook my head.
Just cook the meat, Mason. Don’t eat it raw. That’s not normal. None of that is normal for a wolf.
The kitchen was blessedly silent except for the sound of pots and pans hitting the stove as I rummaged through trying to find a cast iron skillet that would sear the filet mignon I’d spied earlier when I was playing mind games with myself and chomping down on the dry pinecone I still tasted on my tongue.
I jerked open the fridge, grabbed a bowl of berries, and started popping them in my mouth. Their sweet juices exploded over my tongue, coating it with sweet intensity that reminded me of tasting her. Serenity.
Hell, just my luck. She tasted like my favorite fruit.
I rolled my eyes and dropped some oil in the stove then grabbed the filet and slammed the door to the freezer only to see Cassius looming at me with a dark expression.
At least his wings were tucked back.
His arms, however, were crossed like he was pissed.
“Can I help you?” I busied myself with the steak while he paced in front of the granite breakfast bar and then pressed his hands onto the solid black rock.
“What the ever-loving hell were you thinking?”
I shrugged and flipped another berry in my mouth. Raspberries, they tasted more like her than blueberries did. I made a note then burned it up in my head and ignored the pang in my chest. It matched the pain in my gut that told me I needed to eat something other than a freaking berry. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. The vamp’s hungry. I’m making her meat.”
“Steak.” Cassius sighed and then groaned. “It’s a steak. You’re cooking her a steak not making her meat.”
I shrugged.
“You cooked for Genesis too,” Cassius said, the air crackling with tension. “It’s typical to cook for one’s mate…”
I grabbed a spatula and dusted some cracked pepper onto the steak, “Genesis was a starved human who was getting fed from a psychotic vampire with a man bun.”
“At least I know what you really think of me.” The smell of honey and vanilla filled the room briefly as Ethan swept past Cassius and stood next to me with his arms crossed as well. “You do that to the stairway?”
I ignored him.
“The fact remains…” Cassius’ voice deepened. “…you are making her a meal. After…” He cleared his throat.