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“On the counter.”
Her eyes flashed to the set of knives, but her upper lip curled to bare her teeth. Ignoring them, she continued on her rampage. Isaiah stood, mute, only then registering the package of sausage she’d left abandoned on the counter.
Calmly, he stepped into the kitchen and grabbed a frying pan from under the counter and a spatula from one of the drawers she hadn’t raided yet.
Noticing Isaiah’s entry, Rukia had stopped her whirlwind of activity. She sulked in the corner, her arms folded tightly over her chest. Indignation poured over her expression, her fingers tapping rhythmically on her bicep. She glared at him with palpable malice.
Isaiah flipped on a burner and started cooking the sausage she’d abandoned. He absently cut up some bell peppers and mushrooms, frying them with a variety of spices next to the sizzling sausage.
Rukia, still silent, sat down on a stool at the island when he began to cut up several Yukon Gold potatoes. A practiced hand, he made quick work of the vegetables and threw them into another skillet with onions, spices, and herbs for good measure. He had never been one for simple, one dish meals, and he still felt the urge to provide for her.
Neither of them spoke a word until he finished cooking ten minutes later. Isaiah plated the food and handed Rukia the finished product silently. Narrowing her eyes at him when he dared make eye contact, she grabbed the plate irritably and set it on the counter in front of her.
“Thank you.”
The sharpness of her words could’ve cut diamonds.
Pursing his lips, he offered her utensils. Much to his surprise, she didn’t immediately stab him with the cutlery when he claimed the stool next to her.
Instead, the Elemental dove into her food, not casting him as much as a sidelong glance.
He tried not to notice when she sighed softly at the taste, nor when she closed her eyes while savoring the breakfast potatoes. It was mere minutes before she’d finished everything on her plate and tried to keep from looking at his—untouched—plate of food with longing.
Wordlessly, he slid the plate toward her.
A pregnant pause, and then Rukia’s empty plate skated to the side and his was under her fork. He wasn’t hungry, truth be told. Raeths rarely needed food, and he’d just eaten yesterday. But even if he had been ravenous, he wouldn’t have deprived Rukia of her obvious delight.
Isaiah had rarely cooked for anyone but himself since he became proficient in the task, and to see Rukia enjoy it? That was the sweetest surprise of all.
“It’s a good thing you decided we were over before we started, Raeth.” Venom poured from her seductive red lips as she finished the food and angrily shoved the plate away.
“Why is that?”
“Because I’d gain fifty pounds if I were to stay.”
And he’d love every curve. Agony at causing her pain splintered through him while he wordlessly picked up both plates and diligently set them in the sink for later.
Tension and awkwardness rode the undercurrents of the air between them, the hollowness of his soul desperately trying to fill his own gaps with her purity.
Rukia was nothing if not direct. “Why did you say you’re no good for me?”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Isaiah’seyesdarkenedatthe question as Rukia held her unblinking gaze. Her blazing fury had abated, but only just, enough to let her see the man clearly for what he was trying to do.
Jaw tightening, Isaiah took a breath. “People get hurt around me, Rukia. You wouldn’t be safe.”
“Who are you to decide what’s best for me?” Scrunching her nose at him, Rukia balked. “You’re not my father, and you’re damn well not my sovereign.”
The Raeth scrubbed a hand through his hair, the deep brown of his eyes searching the floor. Tension radiated from him as he shifted uneasily on his feet. “I never said I was, Rukia. But this is what’s best—for both of us.”
“For both of us, or just a convenient excuse for you to not get involved?”
Ebony eyebrows pinched together on his forehead, the Raeth unsure how to respond. As his lips parted to form a response, Rukia shook her head and smirked.
“Derikles told me that you don’t‘have long-term relationships’,Isaiah.” She jerked up her chin. “I’m not a fool; don’t mistake me for one.”
An unpredictable anger flared in his eyes. “That’s not it at all, Rukia. I’m doing this for your own good.”
