After he paid, they headed home. As he pulled up to Mike’s place, he checked out the area and thankfully didn’t see any cars with someone sitting inside. While he hadn’t researched how far it was to Thomas Ridge, Wyoming, he imagined it would take quite a few hours to drive it. That meant Doug wouldn’t be in Wildwood yet, even if he left seconds after Cassidy’s call to Mindy.
The two of them carried in the groceries. “What do you want me to do?” he asked.
“You said you were an expert at making brownies.”
Did he say he was an expert? It didn’t matter. He could read instructions. “I got this.”
While Cassidy sauteed the chicken, he prepared the brownie mix, poured the batter into a glass container, and placed it in a pre-heated oven. Zach was surprised that his friend had such good cooking gear. Most likely his mom had given him a starter set when he moved out of their house.
Now came the best part—licking the bowl.
“Don’t ruin your dinner.”
He laughed. “Seriously? I could eat all of the brownies and then eat half of the chicken.”
“Is that so?” Cassidy stepped over to him and swiped a dollop of batter from the bowl and slid her finger into her mouth.
He moaned.Shit. Hair sprouted on the back of his hands, and his nails almost sharpened into claws.
“Zach?”
He turned his back to her and inhaled, needing to think of something other than the amazing woman. She placed her hands on his shoulders and turned him around.
“It’s okay. I get it,” she said.
There was no way Cassidy could understand what his body was doing right now. His need had never been higher. So what was he to do?
CHAPTERNINE
“What do you g…get?” Zach asked, his voice actually cracking.
Cassidy thought his reaction was adorable. She might come from a small town, but people talked. Everyone she worked with at the farm was a werewolf, so it wasn’t as if she was oblivious to Zach’s reaction. As much as she wanted to ask him if he knew they were mates, she wasn’t sure if now was a good time.
Since he’d asked a question, she had to come up with a plausible answer. “There is nothing better than raw batter, though raw chocolate chip cookie dough is my absolute favorite.” To help erase his embarrassment, she dipped her finger in the batter and dabbed some on his lips. “Taste it.”
He ran his tongue along the edge and licked it off. Now it was her turn to almost moan. Her desire to kiss him was strong, but she didn’t need to become sidetracked.
“I think the chicken might need to be turned over.” Cassidy rushed over to the stove and flipped over the chicken.
Zach cleared his throat. “Can I do anything?”
“Find a large, glass dish for the casserole.”
He searched the cabinets until he found what looked like a baking dish. “This work?”
“Yes. Now put a dollop of the olive oil and some of the tomato sauce on the dish and swirl it around to coat the bottom.”
Without complaining this was women’s work, he did as she asked. Once given a chore, Zach seemed to relax, though she still couldn’t stop thinking about how she had wanted to lick the batter off his lips.
Stop it!
Once Chris Wentworth was the new Alpha, hopefully Doug would give up his quest to be with her, and she could enjoy Zach and Mike. Or was that wishful thinking?
“Cassidy? The buzzer is going off.”
Crap. She shook her head. Daydreaming wasn’t good. “I’m on it.”
Once she removed the chicken from the pan, making the rest of the meal went quickly. Efficiency was one of her strong points. Zach removed the brownies from the oven when they were done, and she made the salad.