AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Okay, heavy breather, why are you here? Did the punching bag somehow die a slow, painful death after I left?”
“I followed my nose.” Remmus inhaled once more for effect. “My place doesn’t have a kitchen; how did you get so lucky?”
“Perks of being me.”
“Mmm.” The masculine rumble from his chest had a shot of desire racing through her blood. “Tell me more, Blondie.”
Quirking her lips to the side, Ava asked, “Are you always such an outrageous flirt?”
“I try to be. Is it working?”
With an undignified grunt, Ava picked up the decorating bag. Fully aware of the Raeth who was staring at her unashamedly, she worked efficiently, trying to dissolve into her task.
Each swoop of the decadent topping was perfect, the act of it second nature. Her concentration was split between where her fingers iced the pie and where they wanted to go—to Remmus. His silent presence was merely another reminder that he was here for a purpose. Multiple purposes. And at least one he didn’t know about.
Finding her voice, she said, “Aidan mentioned that you had a bunch of clanless joining your clan. Is that true?”
“Yeah, a hundred at least. We ran out of space for them, so we had to start building new houses.” He paused, then shrugged. “It’s a bit strange, to be honest. First Zeke’s clan and now this. All the unfamiliar faces after centuries of the same clansmen.”
“I’m sure,” she replied. “Do you have a database to keep them all straight? Pictures?”
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him shake his head. “No. Even though they’re new, we can still tell who is a part of our clan and who isn’t based on clan bonds. Eventually, we’ll put names to faces.”
Ava deflated internally. Without a picture database, she would definitely have to go to clan lands to see the new clansmen for herself. The sketches of the three Raeths who’d murdered her parents floated into her mind, but she wasn’t at a point in her relationship with Remmus to explain why she wanted to find them.
At some point during her silence, the man shifted to get a better look at her craft, and the intensity of his study had her blushing. To kill the escalating nervousness, Ava asked, “Interested in taking up baking as a hobby?”
“No, I’m just helplessly intrigued by your skill.” His honesty was a welcome reprieve. “I love food, but I’m a dreadful cook.”
“Cooking and baking are two very different animals,” she replied.
“You’d know all about animals, little wolf.”
Something far headier infiltrated his voice, a shadow that spoke of desire and want. It shivered over her skin like a lover’s caress, making her involuntarily drag in a breath of his minty scent. Relaxing again into her craft, her mind wandered.
“What was the Heat like?”
The words had left her lips before she could stop them, and when she glanced up in their wake, she saw his cheerful countenance falter. When he dropped eye contact, she almost apologized, but he spoke before she could express regret.
“Miserable,” came the confession. His handsome features clouded, the seafoam green of his eyes murky with memory. “I hated every moment of it. One thing I know for sure, though. I’d give anything to have experienced it with someone I loved.”
The heartfelt revelation shocked her, and her shoulders sank. It made her wonder who he had been with that inspired such regret, and why she felt his pain as though it were her own.
Ava’s hand moved to pat his of its own accord, the wolf within prompting her to ease his suffering.
“Hey, I’m—I’m sorry I brought it up,” she managed to say. “I—ah, don’t know why I asked.”
Remmus’ eyes lifted to hers only seconds later. “Curiosity killed the cat, little wolf.” His flirtation returned with a vengeance. “Fortunately, I take penance in the form of cupcakes.”
“What makes you think I’ll feed you a cupcake?”
“’Cause you like me,” he answered pragmatically. “And while I didn’t say anything about you feeding me a cupcake, I’ll happily take you up on the offer.”
“Oh, I like you, do I?”
Narrowing her eyes at the near-stranger on the stool, Ava palmed a cupcake, holding it out of his reach like a taunt. When Remmus gamely reached for it, the move made his torso inch closer to hers, the long lines of his body stretching across hers as she snickered playfully at their game.
When she raised her eyes to face him, she realized the predicament they’d now found themselves in: his lips were only inches away from hers.
