He huffed when I reminded him that they needed to study us and take our blood. He let them for about ten minutes before going back by Aurora for love and food.
“Do you want the duck?” she smiled when he shook his head. “Burgers first. Yes, a man with good taste though funny that a lion wants cooked.” She smiled when he huffed again. “I think it’s endearing. You like my cooking.”
He really did.
She went into one of the bags she’d brought and pulled out a warming container.
“Wow, I’m officially hungry,” Ha-joon grumbled as he moved closer. “Those smell divine. That’s not a normal burger.”
“No, they’re cheddar bacon burgers,” she told him. “I bought premade from the grocery store once, but they were too expensive for what you got. Mine are half beef and chicken—both organic—and antibiotic-free bacon with shredded cheddar cheese mixed in. I also put in dehydrated onions so they plump up from the meat juices as I smoke the burgers on the balcony.”
“I’d be purring for a lunch like that too,” one of the magics said as he gave Aurora an appreciative look.
Yeah, I growled. He rolled his eyes at me but focused back on the task.
She fed me two of her amazing smoked burgers while scratching under my chin before I let them poke and prod me some more. I drew the line when someone tried to stick a thermometer up my fucking ass, snapping at them but not making any threatening motions.
“We can do it magically so please check,” Monroe drawled, giving them a look to remember themselves. Glad the warlock was on my side at least. Like… Have some respect that I was a person and not a damn lab rat.
It took another hour, and all the food was gone by then. I was lounging on her soaking up that she was rubbing my bellyand snuggling with me when my lion let me know he was tired and had to change back. I made noises to let Aurora know and she kissed my nose before turning away and letting me grab the towel after I shifted.
“Thanks for the food, beauty,” I said quietly while the others were distracted.
“You’re welcome,” she muttered while still facing away from me.
I hesitated for a moment but then decided to take the chance. “I don’t want to sound ungrateful or make you uncomfortable, but I’m a bit jealous of my lion. You touch his stomach and even his butt, rub his face and you won’t even look at me in a towel.” I hurried on when she flinched. “Kissing your hair and hugs are great but—”
“But you want more,” she whispered.
“I want to know if there’s a chance for progress?” I asked, sounding confused to myself. “I’m not going to lie that I don’t want more. I do. I’ve never hid that, but I’m not trying to push you. I don’t want to push you more—not pushing is more important than progressing physically.”
She let out a slow breath and turned to face me. “You need hope that I can get better.”
I mentally cursed. “It’s not about you getting better, Aurora. We’re both broken for different things. Fuck, I think everyone is pretty fucking broken, and I don’t say that to downplay what you’ve been through. I’m saying it because I don’t think there’sbetterin the way you make it sound sometimes.”
“No, I understand, you’re not dismissive like that,” she accepted. She closed her mouth and then opened it again before trying one last time. “I’ve felt ready to progress, but I haven’t known how to articulate it. I know this century or even the previous one has allowed women to—I don’t know I will ever be a woman who can make the first move.”
That was the green light I needed. “I’d like to start kissing your cheek too like I do your hair. Is that okay?”
She gave me a relieved smile. “Yes, I think that would be lovely.”
But then she did that cute thing where she cleared her throat and hurried to change the topic and busy herself. It was her armor in a way, and I knew I probably shouldn’t like it because it came from a place of pain, but… So much about Aurora was honestly cute.
I redressed and kissed her cheek, thanking her for my food and helping my lion through all of this. She accepted it, but I heard her heart race a bit, her cheeks flush.
Just not from fear. No disgust or hurt like when I’d kissed her lips.
It healed a part of my soul that I could be so tender and patient with her, really it did. That wasn’t why I was with her, but a lot of men would have bailed, especially one who hadn’t gotten laid after being in prison for twenty fucking years.
“Those of us not needed for this conversation, let’s step out,” Ha-joon said once the conferring seemed to be all done. He turned and gave me the best even look he could. “Swing by my office if you have any questions or you’ve got my number. Seriously, use it.” He cut a glance to Aurora before turning away.
Got it. He didn’t want to make her uncomfortable by being here for the results or like he was there as Ellie’s representative even. Not to muddy the waters basically.
It was solid of him and I appreciated it. It seemed to miff Aurora like she was a problem, but I muttered to her that it was appropriate like he had a conflict.
She settled then but was still nervous like I was. In the end, it was under a dozen people who we’d worked with pretty fast after meeting Monroe.
“The news isn’t great,” he started with a bang once we were all seated at a large table off to the side. He started with Aurora. “As you know, this condition is normally for women who are abused in the months after giving birth, but more than that, it’s normally women who have given up in a certain manner.
