Lello laughs again. And even Ned smiles. But I don’t think it is funny. Jade was imprisoned in the harem with us. He has had enough of men drooling over him and not taking no for an answer.
“Shall I kill him for you?” I offer.
Silence falls. Three pairs of shocked eyes turn to stare at me. Their bodies freeze. I swallow uncomfortably. All right, that was clearly the wrong thing to say. I was only trying to be helpful. Apparently, my social skills are still rusty after all.
“Oh gods, no!” gasps Jade in horror as he stirs from his initial shock.
His movement spurs Ned into momentum, and the vampire bends over, cackling with glee and delight.
Lello takes my hand. “It is very sweet of you to offer, Gray. Thank you. But please don’t go around murdering people.”
“Unless we specifically ask you to,” clarifies Ned in between his cackles of laughter.
“All right,” I whisper softly.
Jade covers his mouth with his hand. His eyes are full of fear. I don’t want him to be scared of me. This is awful.
“Please don’t murder Flyn!” he begs.
I just said I wouldn’t, didn’t I? People are so confusing.
Oh, what’s this? Wait a minute. I’m getting the faintest whiff of some emotion from Jade. It’s fondness. He likes this Flyn, even though he claims not to. Well, now everything makes sense.
I can’t blame people for not speaking the truth. It’s hardly as if I display all my secrets.
“I won’t,” I promise him.
He stares at me for a long moment. Then he nods and resumes his cookie making. It looks as if we are making mountains of them. Several different types.
Ned finally stops laughing and starts sweeping up some errant flour instead. I hand Lello my bowl of freshly mixed dough. I hope he has another task I can busy myself with. It will distract me from my social awkwardness and make the time pass quicker until Mal returns. I like these three, but Mal is the only one who truly understands me. He would not have been horrified by my offer.
Lello offers to show me how to operate a contraption called a dishwasher. I nod eagerly. I have a lot of catching up to do, and I’m keen to do it. I want to fit into this modern world.
And I want to fit by Mal’s side.
Chapter twenty-one
Lello is an excellent cook. These cookies are delicious. And it is all his doing. He was definitely the chef. The rest of us were merely his minions, following his directions.
He has made me a wonderful hot chocolate too, complete with whipped cream and some colorful things he calls sprinkles.
These people I barely remember are sharing their food and drink with me. As well as blessing me with their warm companionship. They are allowing me to sit here at the kitchen table with them, as if I belong. It is making me think that perhaps there are good people in the world after all.
I take another sip of my delightful drink and let the conversation roll over me. Tiny beams of sunlight are escaping from the edges of the blinds, but Ned doesn’t seem worried about them. It seems he is young enough that sunlight is not too much of a problem.
Suddenly, a distant noise has my ears pricking. It is a car. Is it Mal’s? I listen intently as it draws closer. It is Mal’s.
I put my drink down, jump up from my chair and throw myself into the shadows. I materialize by the front entrance of the house, fling open the door, run down the steps and jump up into Mal’s arms, wrapping my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck.
He catches me with a soft laugh and holds me against him.
“Not a monkey, remember?” he teases.
But I don’t care. He is here. He came back. He is holding me. His manly scent is washing over me, and his essence is entwining with my own. It feels like peace, safety and home.
“Did he behave?” Mal calls over my shoulder. It seems the others have also come out of the kitchen. Probably to check where I am, since I did literally disappear without saying a word.
“Gray is not a dog!” snaps Lello.
