Page 37 of Recipe for a Curse

“If it has been a long time, maybe your control is better?”

“Haven’t been around people much to test it. Better safe than sorry.”

“Does the full moon make you grumpy? Moody? I have a friend whose dogs get all weird and howl. Every month like clockwork. Full moon and they sing the song of their people.”

“Song of their people?” Rio seemed amused. “Sounds annoying for their owner.”

“Dog dad,” I corrected. Because Brand treated those dogs like his kids. “He doesn’t mind. He has a good size plot of land so they can run around and be dogs. They seem happy.”

“Just to howl at the moon?”

I shrugged. “It doesn’t always have to be big things. I’m happy to be cooking for people. Sometimes it’s not the big things so much as a culmination of little things, yeah?”

He stared at me for a minute or so, his gaze intense, but less guarded. “Yeah.”

“Let’s not worry so much about what’s to come. I’ll keep you fed. And all will be okay.”

He pulled me into his arms again, squeezing me almost tight enough to hurt, then said, “I hope you’re right.”

“I’m always right. It’s part of being young and fabulous.”

Now he did laugh. “Okay, I’ll agree to that.”

I patted his chest. “Get the cart ready, dinner is about to be served.”

“Can’t wait for steak, but those sticky buns have been tempting me all afternoon.”

“I made lots for you,” I said.

“I’ll take your sticky buns any day, over all the rest.”

I felt my cheeks heat with embarrassment. Had he meant that to sound sexual? And of course, my body responded. I so needed looser pants. I shooed him away to work on building the warming trays. Food first, then I’d drag him off for a bit of making out on my couch.

Dinner was good and everyone moaned over the sticky buns, wondering why I hadn’t made them sooner. I promised to add them to the semi-regular rotation. By the time I dragged Rio upstairs, both of us bogged down with food, I ached to curl up with him, to taste his lips sweetened by the honey and nuts. Rio, however, was being overly cautious. Kisses he allowed, but that was it.

Wrapped up in his arms, aching for him, I wanted him to throw a bit of caution to the wind.

“In a couple of days,” Rio promised.

“Is this the full moon thing again? Are you a werewolf or something?” I teased. “Sexy times make you wolf out?”

“Not sexy times,” Rio said softly. He reached up and captured my hand, delivering a kiss to my palm. Then he rolled me into the heat of his embrace, wrapping himself around me, which made me both hard as a rock and sleepy at the same time. “It’s not really like the romance novels. Sexy alphas in control, demanding the submission of their omega.”

I laughed. “You read omegaverse? Next you’ll tell me you love mpreg.”

“I’ve read mpreg,” Rio agreed. Then he let out a long sigh. “Haven’t read in a while.”

Then I remembered his place had been destroyed by the snow. He probably hadn’t had a lot of money for books prior to that. Though I’d made sure the local library had a fair share of gay romance with my special requests. “I have lots you can borrow.”

“For pointers?” he teased.

“Sure,” I agreed.

“Sounds good to me,” Rio agreed.

I sighed, but let it go. No reason to push. We had time, I hoped. Keeping Rio busy at the manor seemed to give him purpose, which had him talking about leaving less. And that had become my new goal. Keep him busy, mind focused on tasks rather than his internal struggles. With him fed and warm, he was finding a groove with the rest of us, and that made me happy, even if he wouldn’t end up with me in the long-term.

I tried not to think about that. The idea that once he was healthy and stable, he might not want to stay. Was I just convenient to him? A willing body? The thought made me a bit melancholy. I dozed a bit; I couldn’t seem to drop off into actual deep sleep. Lying beside him for a while I tried to focus on recipes instead of my internal frustrations. And it was almost midnight when Rio seemed to either fall into a fitful sleep, or check into a nightmare that grabbed his heart and squeezed because he made some very whining dog-like sounds, and writhed in his sleep. Was this the moon thing he’d worried about? Another strange checked box in the list of oddities he seemed to have?