Page 9

Kaspian was still a little pouty when I woke him up. He had indeed fallen asleep on the drive home and didn't get up even when the garage door rumbled down. I woke him with caution. If he was one of those guys who got violent when abruptly woken, he could do some serious damage. But Kas only scowled at me and looked around.

“Ah. I see. It was not a dream,” he muttered.

“No, I'm afraid not.” I patted his shoulder. “You're still here. Sorry. But come on. You've got a better place to sleep than my truck.”

Kas stumbled after me into the house, and I helped him out of his new shoes and clothes so he could crawl into bed with only his underwear on. I appreciated the view, but I was even more tired at that point and as soon as he was in bed, I hurried out. By the time I got to my room on the second floor, I was loopy. I got my shoes off, then passed out on top of the covers, fully dressed.

Sometime in the middle of the night, I woke up enough to get my jeans off, but then it was right back to dreamland for me. Although, I didn't dream. Too tired for that. When I woke up the next morning, it felt as if I'd only just gone to bed. Except for being refreshed, of course.

With a jaw-cracking yawn, I sat up. Then I yelped.

Standing in my doorway was a huge, handsome man from another planet.

“Holy shit,” I hissed. “You scared the shit out of me.”

Kaspian wrinkled his nose.

“Again, it's a saying. Not literal.” I got up and pulled off my T-shirt.

In boxers and socks, I pushed by Kaspian and went to the main bath. He followed me.

“I am . . . I feel . . .” Kas cleared his throat.

“Can you feel out there?” I waved at the hallway. “I gotta do my business. Unless you wanna watch me pee. No judgment. Everyone has their kinks.”

He scowled and stepped back.

“Not your thing?” I chuckled and closed the door on him.

When I opened it again, I was even more refreshed, thanks to the emptying of my bladder, the brushing of my teeth, and the water I splashed on my face.

“Okay, what's wrong?” I pushed past him again, to go back into my bedroom and over to the closet. “You feeling some anxiety over your situation?” I dropped my boxers. Then I bent over to pull on the fresh pair.

“I, uh.” Kas made a soft, strangled sound.

I grabbed a pair of jeans and looked over at Kas. Yup, that little flash had been enough to remind him that I was hot too. With a good night's sleep under my belt, I was ready for round two of our hunger games. May the odds ever be in my favor. I took my time choosing a shirt to wear, giving him a good look at my back and chest.

Finally, Kas managed to string a sentence together. “I have thought about what you said last night.”

That got my attention. I pulled a classic white collared shirt off its hanger and turned to look at him as I slipped into it. “And?”

“And I can see how my behavior might be misconstrued here. By you. A human with no king. I know that you are not one of my subjects. I should not have assumed so much with you.”

I snorted and got my boots on.

“I would like to start over.”

“All right, buddy. No problem.” I patted his chest as I walked past him again. “Come on. Let's get some breakfast. I'm starving.”

“I am quite hungry as well,” relief filled his tone.

“That was a half-ass apology.” I looked over my shoulder at him as we went down the stairs. “But I'll accept it since it was probably your first.”

“I have apologized before.” He drew himself up. “I wasn't born a king.”

I laughed. “Ah, so you only lost the ability after you got crowned?”

“Kings don't have to apologize. We make difficult decisions that must be made. Apologizing would be asinine.”

“Well not apologizing here would just make you an ass.” I went into the kitchen and got the coffee started. “Have a seat.” I waved at one of the high stools set under the kitchen island. “This is going to take a few minutes.”

“ You are preparing our meal?”

“Don't sound so surprised.” I got the eggs out of the fridge along with some veggies, cheese, and bacon. With those on the counter, I put the skillet on the stove, tossed in some bacon, and turned on the burner. Nothing better to cook eggs than bacon grease. “I'm not a gourmet chef or anything, but I can feed myself.”

“Thank you.” He paused, then added, “For everything.”

I looked over and grinned. “You see? Now, that's how you make friends and influence people.”

Kas grinned back.

As the bacon cooked, I chopped the veggies. Kas sat quietly, watching me, until the coffee pot beeped. He flinched.

“It's the coffee machine letting me know it's finished brewing.” I grabbed a couple of mugs from a cabinet and filled them.

“Coffee? The same brew as we had at the bakery?”

“Yup. Well, it won't be as good as theirs. I don't know what they do to their coffee to make it taste phenomenal. I buy the expensive beans and it still doesn't taste like theirs.” I took the mugs to the island, then grabbed the creamer out of the fridge.

“Beans?”

“Coffee is made from ground coffee beans. The coffee maker slowly pours water over the grinds to brew the beverage.” I waved at the machine. “There are different types of coffee beans, some better than others, and depending on how much you roast them can’t affect the taste . . .” I trailed off when I saw I was losing him. “Anyway, mine isn't as good as theirs, but I have snickers creamer, so you may like it even more.” I poured some creamer into his mug, got a spoon, and stirred it for him. “Try it and tell me if you want it sweeter.”

“What is snickers? My mind says it's when someone laughs in a bad way.”

I paused, staring at him. “Huh. Yeah, that's correct. I hadn't thought about that. What a terrible name for a candy bar.” I made a face. “Snickers isn't satisfying at all.”

“Candy?” He looked at the mug. “In a beverage?”

“Oh, yeah, baby,” I drawled. “Go on. It's chocolate, peanuts, and nougat. Basically a liquid dessert.”

Kas took a sip, blinked, then drank more. “Delicious.”

“More?” I lifted the bottle of creamer.

“No, this is perfect. Thank you.”

“You're welcome, Your Majesty.” I bowed dramatically, then poured some creamer into my mug.

“Please, don't do that.”

I put the creamer away and looked back at him. “Do what?”

“Use my title and bow. That felt a bit insulting. I'm not sure why. And it also upsets me. I fought hard to gain the throne and now it's gone. Out of my reach. I am stranded on a planet populated by humans who don't understand me.” He waved at me. “Or respect me.”

“I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disrespect you. I guess I was being a bit patronizing.”

“Yes! That is the word. You were mocking me.”

“I was trying to be funny, but you're right. It was mocking, and you didn't deserve it.” I sipped my coffee, then went back to cooking the bacon. “I can't imagine how hard this is for you. Frankly, I'm surprised you're not freaking out. I would be. Oh, and freaking out means, uh, getting hysterical.”

“I don't get hysterical.”

I snorted. “Of course not.”

“What is that?” He was suddenly standing at my shoulder.

Ah, yes—the power of bacon.

“This is bacon. It's one of my favorite foods.” I grabbed some paper towels, put them on the counter, and set the bacon on them to drain. I know. Don't come for me. Then I got some plates. When I turned back, Kaspian was eating a slice of bacon. “Hey! You're supposed to wait until I have everything finished.”

“No,” was all he said.

I burst out laughing. “Yeah, all right. Bacon is impossible to resist.” I broke a piece in half and popped it in my mouth before I took the pan over to the island so I could slide the veggies into it. “Just one piece!” I smacked Kaspian's hand when he reached for another. “I'm putting it in our omelets.”

“It's perfect as it is.” He made another grab for the bacon.

“No!” I smacked him again.

Kas jerked his hand back and narrowed his eyes at me.

“Go sit down!” I pointed at the stool.

He made grumbling sounds but did as he was told. As I gathered some spices, I heard the grumbles turn to sighs. A glance over confirmed that he had remembered his coffee.

Shaking my head and grinning, I got back to cooking. The kitchen filled with the scent of oregano and thyme along with asparagus, mushrooms, onions, garlic, and tomatoes. Lovely. As they cooked, I tossed some leftover bread I'd gotten from Mana into the toaster oven. When the veggies were done, I scooped them onto a plate, beat the eggs, and made the first omelet, filling it with veggies, bacon, and some cheese. I slid the plate onto the island in front of him.

“There. Try that.” I went back to the stove to make mine.

A few seconds later, Kaspian declared, “This is very good indeed, Demetrius.”

“Met,” I said. “Remember? Call me Met.”

He grunted.

The toaster dinged just as I finished cooking. I gathered the butter, my plate, and the bread, then took them to the island. After setting everything down, I climbed on the second stool beside Kas, then got right to eating. First things first—I tore off a chunk of bread, then handed the warmed loaf to Kaspian.

He didn't need instruction. As I buttered my piece, he tore off his own hunk. Like a pro, Kas slathered on the butter, then used the bread to help push bits of omelet onto his fork. We were soon making happy food sounds together.

When we were done, I washed up. It didn't take long since there were only our plates, utensils, and one pan.

“You wanna sit in the backyard while we digest?” I grabbed my coffee and cellphone.

“Certainly.” He followed me out the backdoor and over to the iron chairs I had under the cherry blossom tree.

I sat down and leaned back to look up at the fluffy pink blossoms. They wouldn't last long, and then I'd be paying the price for this display, raking up pink snow. But they sure were pretty while they lasted. And who am I kidding? I don't rake up shit. I leave them to rot. It fertilizes the soil.

I'm not someone to harp on how long things last. As I mentioned, the old me would have been happy with a single night with Kas. But the arrival of the morning sun hadn't changed my new goal. In fact, I was resolute now. I was going to get more than one night with Kaspian. And I wasn't above using his situation to my advantage. He needed me. He had already adjusted his attitude for me. What else would Kaspian be willing to do for his only friend?

My phone rang.

Grimacing at it, I wished I hadn't brought it outside with me. But a firefighter can't leave his phone unattended. He might be needed at any moment. I picked up the phone and saw that it was the station. Yup, just as I feared.

After swiping the screen, I held it up to my ear. “Met here.”

Kas watched me intently. The phone. Right. I hadn't told him about those yet.

“Met!” Gromit hissed.

I jerked upright. “Yeah, man. What's wrong?”

“You still with you-know-who?” he whispered.

“Yup.”

“Fuck! Where you at?”

“Home.”

“Fuck! You need to get the fuck out of there, right the fuck now!”

“What happened?” I stood up.

“Someone talked, man. One of those fucking medics. Had to be. You know one of us would never betray you.”

“How do you know someone talked?”

“Because the fucking men in black are here. Fucking Will Smith and all his friends!”

“What?!”

“Yeah, dude. They got the sunglasses and everything. And the Chief just gave them your address!” Then he went quiet. “Yeah, Mom, I know. I promise I'll come by tomorrow but right now, I gotta go , okay?”

“Okay. Got it. Thanks, buddy. I owe you.”

“Yeah, love you too.” The line went dead.

“Shit!” I grabbed Kaspian's arm. “Get up! We gotta go now!”

“What is that thing you spoke into?”

“It's called a phone. We use it to speak to people over long distances, and Gromit just called me from the station. They're coming for you! Come on!” I pulled on his arm as he stood.

“Who's coming?”

“People who will lock you up and then cut you up.”

“What?” He scowled at me. “Met, I can handle—”

“No, you can't! Just trust me on this and get moving!” I ran for the house.

Kaspian gave up on whatever he was going to say and chased after me.