Page 34

W hen Evie emerged from the bathroom, the den smelled of breakfast.

A couple of fae lights trailed her to the kitchen.

Jace was at the stove, barefoot and shirtless, a pair of shorts hanging low on his hips and a shaft of sunlight illuminating gleaming brown shoulders.

Fried ham sizzled in a skillet while he cracked eggs into a bowl.

As he beat the eggs into a yellow froth, the muscles under his jaguar tattoo flexed so the cat appeared almost alive.

Heat curled through her. It was insane. She’d just had sex with the man, and already she wanted him again.

Kyler had his back to her, taking plates from the cupboard, and Tigger was supervising from a perch on a kitchen stool. On the counter, an old-fashioned French press was slowly filling with coffee.

Jace poured the eggs into a second skillet.

He and Kyler were talking something over in a serious tone.

Evie paused, not wanting to interrupt. Jace was good with her brother, treating him like he was an adult, and Kyler was eating it up.

She felt a pang of guilt—Kyler needed an adult male in his life.

Not your fault , she told herself. But she ached for her brother.

“You have to step up,” Jace said as he added red bell peppers, cheese, and chunks of ham to the skillet. “Your sister needs you. You’re not a kid anymore.”

Whoa . They were talking about her? She frowned, not sure how she felt about that.

“You think I don’t know that?” Kyler set three plates on the sturdy plank table. “I’ve been working my ass off to get a job, but no one wants to hire a sixteen-year-old.”

“Maybe the clan can find you some work.”

Kyler’s face lit up. “Seriously?”

Jace nodded. “I’ll talk to the alpha.”

Evie frowned and moved forward. “That’s nice of you, Jace, but we’re not going to be here that long.”

Jace twisted to smile at her. She had a feeling he’d known she was there all along. Guess you couldn’t sneak up on a shifter.

“Morning, babe.” His gaze moved appreciatively down her body, lingering on the band of skin left exposed by her green cropped tee. “I’m making Western omelets. Sound good?”

“Sounds wonderful. But about finding work for Kyler—”

“Why not?” Her brother rounded on her. “You know I need a job.”

“No way you’re going to drive to Baltimore every day.” And work for the Baltimore fada .

Kyler started slamming forks onto the table beside the plates. “Damn it, Evie, when are you going to stop treating me like a five-year-old? People have been working for the Rock Run fada for years and nothing’s ever happened to them.”

She set her jaw. “We’ll talk about it later.”

“It’s not up to you, Evie. This is my life, my decisions.”

Jace laid a hand on Kyler’s shoulder. “Apologize to your sister,” he said sternly.

Her brother went stiff. “What?”

“You don’t swear at your sister and you don’t raise your voice to her. She’s doing the best she can. She deserves your respect.”

Kyler flushed. “Sorry,” he mumbled. “I didn’t mean anything.”

“It’s okay,” she said.

“No, it’s not,” Jace replied. To Kyler he said, “I know you didn’t. But if you want to be treated like an adult, you need to act like one.”

His shoulders slumped. “But I’ve applied for every frickin’ job in Grace Harbor, and no one’s hiring. I’m either too young or they already have someone.”

Jace squeezed his shoulder and released him. “That’s a bitch, and I’m happy to help—but only if it’s okay with your sister.”

They both turned to her, Jace so clearly deferring to her that she couldn’t get mad at him for interfering, Kyler with his jaw set but his eyes pleading.

“Please, Evie? I don’t have to take it. Maybe they’ll have something I can do in the morning when you don’t need the car.”

She sighed. She hated being the bad guy all the time. But she wasn’t sure they should get in any deeper with the Baltimore fada. Yeah, she was trusting Jace to protect the two of them, but they wouldn’t need protecting in the first place if someone wasn’t trying to kill him.

Her gaze flicked to the still-healing claw marks on Jace’s face. “We’ll see,” she told her brother.

His face fell. “Which means no.”

“It means we’ll see,” she returned.

But it was Jace’s expression that made her flinch. His eyes shuttered and she felt his withdrawal like a physical thing. “Give your sister some time to think it over,” he told Kyler. “Pushing her is just going to get you a no for sure.”

Evie shoved her hands in her pockets. She’d hurt Jace, and that was the last thing she wanted to do after he’d trusted her enough to share his sister’s story. But her brother came first.

“Need any help?” she asked.

“You could make toast.” He handed her a loaf of bread and a knife. “Butter’s in the cooling unit.” He indicated a steel door set into the stone.

She nodded and set to work.

An awkward silence fell, each of them focused on their task until Jace set a platter of omelets on the table. “Breakfast is served.”

“Thank you,” Evie and Kyler said at the same time, but before they could take their seats, footsteps pounded down the stairs. The front door banged open and suddenly the kitchen was filled with lean, heavily muscled males.

The newcomers sorted themselves into Sam plus two other men, their faces grim with tiredness. They revived at seeing Jace, though, unashamedly hugging him and asking how he was doing.

When he turned to Evie and Kyler, the shuttered look was gone. “Meet the rest of my den. You already know Sam, and these other two are Horace and Zuri.” To his den mates, he said, “This is Evie and her brother Kyler.”

“Morning.” Sam was already pulling Evie into a hug. “You slept good?”

“Yeah.” She couldn’t help glancing at Jace. Sam’s brow shot up, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he cast a hungry eye at the omelets and all but licked his lips.

Jace waved a hand at the table. “Help yourself. I’ll make some more.”

“Thanks, man.” Sam bumped fists with Kyler and took a seat. A moment later he was tucking into his breakfast.

Next was Horace. He had dreadlocks, deep brown skin and an easy smile, and Evie liked him immediately. “Welcome to the den,” he said and gave her a kiss on the lips that had Jace growling.

“Enough already. Give the woman some space.”

Horace winked at her, and then shook Kyler’s hand. “Hey, bro, wassup?”

“Not much,” he replied, and the two of them fell into a conversation while Horace set to work making another pot of coffee.

That left Zuri. As he stuck out his hand, Evie couldn’t help widening her eyes. He was gorgeous, the kind of man women went stupid over—tall and broad shouldered with a shaved head, a narrow black mustache and a soul patch beneath his full lower lip.

“So you’re Evie.”

She gave him her hand. “That’s me.” Instead of shaking it, he brought it to his lips for a kiss—but the whole time his dark eyes scrutinized her coolly.

“Zuri’s one of Adric’s lieutenants,” Jace said from the stove where he was frying some more ham.

That figured. The man had an edge to him. She gave him a polite smile and resolved to stay out of his way.

“Ric said you couldn’t track down Corban,” Jace said.

The other lieutenant scowled. “Bastard’s gone to ground. We’re not even sure he’s still in Baltimore.”

“Ric thinks he is. Sit down and eat. You need fuel.”

Zuri squeezed his nape. “Might as well—the trail’s cold for now.”

The men helped themselves to the omelets on the table while Evie handed around steaming cups of coffee and Kyler manned the toaster.

It was obvious Jace’s den mates were tired and upset that they hadn’t been able to find Corban.

But except for Zuri, they went out of their way to be nice to her and Kyler, acting as if nothing would make them happier than having the two of them as guests for the next month. And even Zuri wasn’t rude, just quiet.

Jace took a seat at the head of table with Evie and Kyler on either side and passed her the platter with fresh omelets. Evie took a bite—and closed her eyes in bliss. The man could cook. The omelet was amazing, a perfect blend of flavors.

She opened her eyes to find Jace’s gaze on her mouth, his irises a smoldering jade.

She gave a tentative smile. “It’s really good.”

He leaned closer to murmur, “It’s a pleasure to feed you.”

Her heart leapt. She’d been afraid she’d ruined things between them, but it seemed he was ready to play again. A glance at the men told her they were focused on their own food, so she slid the fork between her lips—very slowly. When she was done chewing, she licked her tongue up the tines.

Jace’s eyes narrowed on her lips. “When I get you back to bed…,” he muttered in a voice for her ears only.

Her stomach flexed in anticipation. Their gazes locked, and sound receded as they stared at each other.

Kyler made a gagging sound. “Right here. Trying to eat.”

“Shut up, squirt.” Evie batted a fae light at him. He slapped it away and there was a blue flash.

“Jesus, Evie.” Kyler shook his hand. “That smarts.”

Evie gulped. “Sorry—I didn’t think it would…what happened, anyway?”

“It felt like I touched a live wire.”

All four men were staring at her like she’d grown an extra head. She set down her fork. “What?”

Jace shook his head. “It’s just that fae warriors use fae balls as weapons. A light shouldn’t flash like that.”

Kyler chortled. “Evie Morningstar, fae warrior. I knew you were going to try to incinerate me with a fae ball.”

She pointed her fork at him, narrow-eyed. “One more word out of you and I will.” But she frowned at the fae light, shaken. She could’ve hurt Kyler.

“A fae warrior can conjure his or her own fae balls.” Jace squeezed her knee, seemingly reading her mind. “Your Gift seems related to the lights, but unless you can form your own, Kyler’s safe.”

“We’ll just be sure not to make you mad,” Horace said straight-faced.

She rolled her eyes, and he winked at her. Evie grinned back. Sam and Horace, at least, had accepted her into their circle. She wasn’t sure why she cared since she wasn’t going to be here that long—but she did.

Breakfast over, Horace got to his feet and gave a long, bone-cracking stretch. “God’s balls, I need a shower. And then I’m going to sleep until afternoon.”

“Me too.” Sam and Zuri followed him while Evie got up and started to clear the table.

“I’ll wash if you dry,” she told Jace.

Kyler helped carry the dishes over to the sink, and then tried his phone again. It still didn’t work, but he went into the living room to play a game, leaving her alone with Jace.

“Thanks,” she said. “For offering to help out Kyler. I’m just not sure…”

“It’s okay. I understand. You could always take money from me, you know. As a loan,” he added when her spine went rigid. “We don’t know how long this is going to go on. I feel responsible for the fact that you can’t work.”

She unclenched her muscles. Maybe she was being too stubborn. If the shoe were on the other foot, she’d want to help him. “All right. But only if it’s a loan.”

“It’s a deal. Of course, you could always pay me back another way.” He set down his dish towel and wrapped his arms around her where she stood at the sink, elbow deep in soapy water.

Her heart kicked up. “What do you mean?”

“I think you know.” His lips brushed over her neck.

She chuckled and then caught her breath as he nibbled his way to her earlobe. She rinsed the last plate and set in the dish drainer, and then clucked her tongue. “That’s bad, paying a man in sex.”

“Maybe I like bad girls.” One hand squeezed her breast while the other wandered lower to her shorts.

Her nipples prickled. Heat slid over her, thick and sweet as molasses. “In that case, what are your terms?”

“What are you offering?” His cock nudged the small of her back.

“Depends.” She twisted her head to kiss his throat and then started in on the silverware. “Pretty much anything is up for negotiation.”

“Anything? Oh, angel, you don’t know what you’re saying.”

“No?” Somehow her wet hands were around his neck and his fingers were working their way into her waistband.

“If your brother wasn’t in the living room,” he muttered against her ear, “you’d be bent over the table right now, taking me.”

She gulped. She’d almost forgotten Kyler. She turned her head and gave him an open-mouthed kiss. “And I might even let you.”

He slid a finger into her damp panties for a quick, teasing touch. They both heard the front door open. “Anybody home?” Suha called.