When I sat up, he sat up with me. His nose twitched, reminding me of dinner.
I sprang to my feet and locked the door before racing into the kitchen to check on my onions. As I scooped them into a bowl, I noticed fur on my fingers. “You wouldn’t like this,” I called, washing my hands. “It’s too spicy.”
When I turned around to grab a dishtowel, I jumped with fright. Tak the man was standing on the other side of the kitchen island.
“I like spicy,” he said, giving me a wolfish grin.
The height of the island barely covered his black patch of hair down below. I swatted my towel at him. “I just wiped down this counter.”
He raised his hands and stepped back. “How long have I been inside?”
“Just a minute or two. You chose to stay?”
Tak furrowed his brow. “What other choice was there?”
My heart melted. His wolf hadn’t made the decision to stay—it was Tak. “How long were you in the hall?”
“Long enough to have frightened the pizza man from getting off the elevator. I took a nap after that. What smells so good?” he asked, rubbing his stomach.
I tucked my hair behind my ears. “Nothing fancy. Just some stuffed peppers. I was going to make pinto beans and cornbread, but I couldn’t let all this fresh food go to waste. Do you want me to make you one?”
An inscrutable look brimmed in his dark eyes. “You would do that for me?”
“It’s no trouble.”
He rounded the cabinet and drew close enough that our bodies touched. “It’s not a matter of trouble,” he said, his voice rough and sexy. “You’re asking if you can feed me, Hope. You must know what that does to my wolf.”
I knew. A Packmaster accepting food from a stranger was a show of trust. But between an unmated couple—especially when they had already been intimate—there were layers of complexities.
I wanted to look down to avoid his gaze, but Tak was naked and slightly aroused. Instead, I swung my attention toward the window and summoned the courage to apologize. “If I offended you at the market, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply you couldn’t afford those things.”
He put his hand over my lips. “Best gift ever.”
“Do you mean it?”
An earnest smile touched his lips. “Not everything I say is a joke.”
“Are your clothes in the hall?”
He nodded, hand cupping my shoulder.
“I’ll wash them. Go in my room, and you’ll find the clothes you lent me the day we met. They’re clean and folded up on the closet floor.”
He leaned down, his lips brushing against the shell of my ear. “Do they still smell like you?”
I shivered as he slowly turned away and strode off to my bedroom. Tak was a giant, and whenever he entered or left a room, he would dip his head to avoid thumping it on the doorframe. Barefoot, he could easily clear it, but not if he were in his boots.
It was hard not to admire that man’s body, but I resisted following him and rinsed off a few more vegetables from Asia’s garden while he got dressed.
By the time I finished stuffing four more peppers, Tak returned in jeans and a black T-shirt. He still hadn’t tidied his hair in a braid, and it made me feel as though I was seeing a side of him that he didn’t show to anyone else.
“I don’t want to upset you,” he began. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Who was that man?”
I stared at the digital screen on the oven, waiting for it to preheat. “That was him. My old packmate.”
