“I didn’t know youcouldmove so fast. Here.”
She handed the spatula back to him, and he scooped up several strips of bacon from the pan and shoved them into his mouth one after another. While she watched, he devoured the whole dozen.
“Wow,” she said when he swallowed the last bite.
His face flushed bright red, and he took a step back from the stove. “That was beyond rude of me. I’m sorry.”
April’s laughter seemed to surprise him. “I’m fixing you breakfast. I want you to eat it.”
“Of course, but courteously, from a plate.”
“That’s nonsense, Mal. I’ve been worried sick that you were slowly starving. You could shove the entire pantry into your mouth right now, and I’d be thrilled.”
The blush ebbed from his face. After another moment, he smiled. “Then I’ll just say thank you.”
“Good call.”
In a few minutes she had delivered six eggs and nine pancakes onto his plate, two eggs and three pancakes onto hers. True, she had intended to eat two or three bacon strips herself, but she’d never tell him.
Seated at the table, Malachi stared down at the food with a ravenous gaze.
“Just eat, wolf,” April said. “However you need to. We can talk after.”
He nodded. He slathered his pancakes in butter and sprinkled them with cinnamon sugar. Then he proceeded to clean the plate in about three minutes. Meanwhile April took human-sized bites at human speed.
“Do you need more?” she said when he finished.
“Not now. I might eat again in an hour or two.”
“Well, if you need to eat ten times today, that’s what I want you to do. Okay?”
“Thank you.”
“My pleasure.” She reached across the table, and he set his warm hand into hers. “I mean it, Malachi. It’s my pleasure to see you well again and to watch you enjoy something I made.”
He nodded, slowly as though absorbing her words deep inside him. She hoped he was.
“So,” she said. “I thought only vampires could blur into motion like that. Wolves can do it too?”
“I believe vampires are faster than we are, but yes, we can move faster than human sight. It’s not a reflexive ability, though. A wolf typically uses it only in extreme circumstances.”
“Which is why I haven’t seen y’all blurring all over the place during a cookout volleyball game.”
“Correct.”
Extreme circumstances. He really had been hungry. She sipped her coffee and finished her pancakes, and then Malachi took both their plates and silverware to the dishwasher. She smiled. He always had to contribute somehow. Seeing the lithe movement of his body after days of his limping and holding himself with tension, she gave a soft sigh. Her wolf was well again.
“I owe you an apology,” he said when he returned to the table.
“I doubt it,” she said.
His words held a rumbling self-deprecation. “I kept you from a sound sleep last night. And I…I…”
“You slept on me?” She grinned.
The man actually covered his face as he growled some more. It was one of his most endearing moments since she’d met him, but she kept herself from laughing outright. He seemed truly distraught.
“Malachi, I’m not upset. Ichosenot to move and wake you. Ichoseto let my exhausted wolf get the uninterrupted sleep he needed. Understand?”
