That alone told me everything. If it were urgent—if blood were spilling or someone was dead—he would have opened with it.
But this. . .this was the kind of news a man rehearsed in his head, the kind that stuck to the back of his throat and refused to come out.
My stomach tightened.
Whatever it was, it would change everything.
Reo straightened slightly. "First, I'll tell you this. . .”
That phrasing alone told me the story was bad. My Roar always started with good news when he was afraid of what came next. He liked to pad the blow, soften the blade.
My pulse quickened anyway.
Reo sighed. “Hiro is sleeping."
My chest tightened, but with warmth, not dread. "He's actually sleeping?"
"In his bed. In his room. He's been asleep for four hours now." Reo's expression softened. "Your Tiger fed him breakfast this morning. The Eggs Benedict was exceptional. That hollandaise sauce. . ."
Reo lifted a hand to his lips, fingers curling just so, and with a satisfying smacking sound, he performed a chef's kiss. "The sauce was absolutely divine."
The significance of the gesture wasn't lost on me. Reo rarely praised anything with such enthusiasm.
A spark of pride ignited within me.
The sauce was damned good.
My mind hitched on the thought. I imagined the sauce, warm and creamy, trickling down the curve of my Tiger’s bare breasts, pooling around the stiff peaks of her nipples. The thought was scandalous, obscene, a welcome perversion.
Tantalizing.
Arousing.
My tongue ached to make this happen in real life.
Reo pulled me out of my thoughts. "I've had your chef's version dozens of times, but hers was different. Lighter. More lemon. The balance was perfect."
“Okay. Okay.” I rolled my eyes. “That’s quite enough.”
A bitter taste of resentment seeped into my mouth.
They were all partaking in the buffet of her affection, her care, her skills. All things reserved just for me, my exclusive rights, were now being greedily spread around my household like limited rations in a war camp.
I pulled in a deep breath, tasting the salt air, feeling it fill my lungs, trying to calm the wildfire that was suddenly roaring in my chest.
It was irrational, this anger.
But, I didn’t care.
Reo cleared his throat. "Anyway. . .the guards reported that Hiro ate everything on his plate. Everything. One of them swears he even licked the plate clean, though I can't confirm that personally."
Despite my jealousy, my lips twitched. That sounded exactly like something Hiro would do with food that good.
This was good and bad. Good that he had some semblance of joy during his grief. Bad because now my brother would double down on wanting to share Nyomi.
I sighed.
"After Hiro finished eating, he went upstairs." Reo's voice warmed with relief. "He was so full of food and exhausted that he didn't even shut his door.”
