Page 8 of It’s A Little Bit Bunny (Fangs on Ice #4)

Seven

Nikolai

I woke up well rested and looked out over the forest. The tree leaves gleamed in the early morning sun. As promised, Jules had left my freshly washed and dried clothes by the door of the guestroom. Odd. I hadn’t seen a washer and dryer anywhere, and the room I had spent the night in had no electric outlets.

How did he do that?

The imprint of a tiny body on the neatly folded hoodie told me that Barnabas must have spent at least part of his night sleeping on my clothes.

So fucking cute, both of them.

Once I got dressed, I headed out and was intercepted by Barnabas, asking for pets. It was only when the scent wafting from the ground floor reached where I crouched next to the Wolpertinger’s basket that I hurried downstairs.

I found Jules in the kitchen, a stack of pancakes on a plate next to him.

“Good morning.”

“Nikolai,” he greeted me, a soft pink blush spreading across his cheeks. “Did you sleep well?”

I stepped nearer, yawning and stretching my arms up over my head. “I did, thank you. I can’t remember the last time I had such a good night’s sleep.”

It was the truth. I usually woke up exhausted, feeling as if I hadn’t slept at all.

Jules’ eyes tracked down my body. I extended my stretch a bit, making sure that my shirt rode up.

Enjoy the show, baby boy.

“Are you hungry?” He picked up the plate of pancakes and offered them to me.

“Yeah, I’m starving. I’ll go wash my hands real quick. Barney wanted a scratch.”

“Every morning,” Jules told me as his teeth worried his bottom lip in an attempt to hide his smile.

God, he’s so fucking cute.

I had a heavenly smelling pancake on my plate by the time I joined him at the table.

“Thank you, Jules. Seriously, that’s so kind of you. I would have been okay with a cup of coffee.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. You are my guest. I…is it not normal to feed your guests? Did I get this wrong? I’m not used to human customs, I—”

“Jules, hey.” I reached out and rested my hand on his for a moment. “You’re fine, okay? I appreciate it so much. I only meant that I didn’t want to cause any trouble for you.”

“You cause me no trouble, Nikolai,” he breathed.

I licked my lips. Damn, I wanted to do something stupid—like lean in and kiss him.

“You know I was prepared to fast. This is so much better.”

Steer the conversation back to safer ground.

“If I hadn’t found you in the forest?”

“Yeah. I was going to find water and shelter for the night. That was my plan.”

“It’s a good plan. A small stream runs through the woods, not far from where we met. And along its bed you can find plenty of dry spots to spend a night.” He tilted his head toward me. “You might have been cold, though.”

“I’m definitely glad I ran into you. That bed in your guest room is fantastic.” I took another pancake and spooned a thick layer of yellow jam onto it.

Five more pancakes later—and with a guilty conscience under my belt—I capitulated.

“I wished I had room for more,” I told Jules and leaned back in my chair to give my stomach more space. “But I think I’ve reached my limit.”