Evan sat in the living room playing some sort of role-playing video game. Marnie stood in the doorway, looking on with adoration—at the game, not Evan.
I wasn’t sure the boy’s red-haired teen-aged appearance could make anyone look on with adoration. Not as long as he sported that bright orange peach fuzz on his face and refused to comb his hair.
“Go on in and say hello to Evan. Maybe he’ll start a new game so you can play,” I said loudly enough for Evan to hear. I urged her forward. “I’m sure he’ll be glad to have someone to play against.” He’d seemed like a nice enough kid, as though he had little brothers or sisters.
“Hey, Evan. This is Marnie. Why don’t you let her play while I go fix something to eat?” I turned to go and then I thought about Tasha’s warning to Michael and spun back around. “Hey.” I waggled my finger at him when he turned to face me again. “No snacking. If you get hungry, come out to the kitchen and get something from the fridge.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said as he pulled another controller from the storage space beneath the armrest of the couch and handed it to Marnie. “I’m almost done with this level. Do you mind waiting until I can save it?”
Marnie shook her head. “No. I’d like to see how to play this game, anyway.”
“Oh, it’s easy.” Evan waved toward the screen. “I’ll help you.”
Convinced I was leaving Marnie in good hands, I made my way to the kitchen to fix something to eat. If I was hungry, my young charge was probably starving.
“What do you plan to fix?” Gideon asked from the doorway as I stood staring into the pantry with dismay. Slowly, he made his way into the room. The kitchen seemed to shrink as he approached.
There was now plenty of food. Apparently, Gideon had some delivered earlier. I just had no idea how to cook any of it. I was strictly a TV dinner kind of gal. Bob had always assumed the task of cooking. He’d been the best house husband a woman could want while I wandered the streets of the city searching for rogues.
“I don’t know.” I turned to him, my eyes cast downward. I felt the worst of failures. What self-respecting woman couldn’t cook? “I have no idea how to prepare any of this stuff.” My eyes burned. I had wanted to prove I could make something. I should know how to do such a domestic thing, but I had no idea how. “I... I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to cook again.”
He’d said he liked to cook, hadn’t he? It was probably a good thing, considering how useless I seemed to be at the moment. I was about as domestic as a fire hydrant. I don’t know when I’d decided I should attempt to be a cook.
“Shh... cara.”
He rested his fingers on my lips for a moment. Wrapping his arm around me, he drew me close, dipping his head for a quick, though passionate, kiss that left me tingling all over.
“Vivo solo per I tuoi baci.”
He seemed reluctant to release me and step closer to the pantry.
“What did you just say,” I asked, my fingers pressed against my lips. I wanted to hold his kiss to me as long as I could. I loved his kisses. I would kiss him forever, if such a thing were possible. It wasn’t. Sooner or later, he would find his mate and I would be alone again. Maybe it was better to stop things before they got too complicated. Maybe it would hurt less.
Gideon studied the cupboard, a frown on his face. “You said you enjoy pasta, yes?” he asked absently as he pulled out a few cans of stewed tomatoes. Before closing the door, he grabbed an onion from a hanging basket and an entire head from a string of garlic before closing the door.
“Yes.” I eyed the garlic with trepidation. “I take it you like garlic?” I shook my head. “Isn’t an entire bulb a bit much, even for pasta?”
“What?” He held it up. “You think this is too much?” He grinned. “There is no such thing as too much garlic.”
“Spoken like every Italian I have ever met.” I grinned and followed him to the center island, watching as he expertly peeled and chopped both the onion and garlic.
Pulling a frying pan from the cupboard, he splashed a bit of olive oil into the pan, allowing it to heat before tossing the chopped mixture into the hot skillet.
After sautéing the two together until the onions turned clear and the aroma of garlic filled the room, he set the pan aside, took a saucepan from the rack over the island and emptied the tomatoes into it. He then scraped the onion-garlic mixture into the pan, added a few spices and covered it.
“Now we wait.”
“Great.” I wiped my hands on my jeans as though I’d actually done something to help with the lovely aroma already filling the kitchen. “You’ll make someone a wonderful husband someday.”
He didn’t say anything. He just gave me that look again—the one that said nothing and everything, all at the same time.
My stomach did little flips as he stepped closer. Did he plan to kiss me again? God, I hoped so. I loved his kisses, but wasn’t sure they were a good idea. The more he kissed me, the more likely it was that I would fall even more in love with him. Then what would happen when his mate showed up? I reached behind me, wiped my sweaty palms on my rear, and backed up a pace.
“That smells really good.” I cleared my throat as he stepped forward, stalking me.
“Grazie, cara.”
“Okay. I know what grazie means. What’s the other word mean?”
My rear bumped against the table and he grinned as he closed the distance between us.
“I have you now.” He pulled me into his arms, palmed the back of my head, and dipped his head to press his lips against mine.
The world tilted as his mouth closed over mine, his tongue sweeping inside. He tasted of mint and smelled of the forest. His lips moved over mine, trailing over my jaw to my ear until he laved the shell and then sucked the lobe into the warmth of his mouth.
I shivered. Bolts of white-hot lightning shot through my blood. My nipples hardened and dragged sensually over his chest and he groaned—or I did. I wasn’t sure which and I didn’t much care.
His hands skimmed over my back, moving downward until he cupped my rear, lifting me slightly and pulling me further into his embrace. My lower stomach pressed against the long, thick length of his erection. His tongue traced my ear before dipping inside. My heart pounded, my breath coming in short pants as he thrust his hips against me.
“Gross! Get a room, you guys. Geez, there’s nothing worse than seeing old people get it on.” Evan shuddered as he stood frozen in the doorway.
Gideon set me from him, holding my shoulders until I reached behind me and grasped the table for support. He released me with a curt nod and took a deep breath.
I stared at him for a minute, filled with feminine pride. I’d gotten to him. He tried not to show it, but the signs were there. His pulse pounded in his neck and I could tell it was an effort for him to keep his breath slow and even.
My lips still tingled from our kiss as I reluctantly moved away from him. He needed someone as much, if not more, than I did. I was lonely and had been for a number of years. I couldn’t imagine spending centuries, eons, alone. How long would I wait before I gave up hope? I watched him for a minute before I decided I needed to give him at least a little solace, no matter how much it might hurt me. I might not be Gideon’s mate, but at least I could take away a bit of his loneliness for a while.
Evan strode to the refrigerator, pulled out a bag of blood, ripped it open and drank it straight from the bag.
I fought the urge to gag and looked away. “Where’s Marnie?” Hand to my throat I started toward the living room.
“She’s safe on the sofa,” Gideon answered for him. “She’s content playing the game by herself.”
“Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence.” Evan tossed the bag into the trash. “I agreed to come in here if I got hungry, didn’t I?”
“Yes, but I just met you. How do I know you’re a man of your word?”
“I guess you don’t.” He stuck his hands in his pockets and hung his head. “Especially after the way we met. I was trying to have you for dinner.”
I took a deep breath, a rush of guilt filling me for making the kid feel less than honorable. “Well, you did control yourself.”
“It’s your turn!” Marnie called from the living room. “Hurry up before you lose your butt.”
“Gotta run,” he said with a grin and sprinted from the room.
It did my heart good to see him being a boy again. He might be an adult, but he hadn’t been one for long. I knew thirty year-old men who didn’t act as mature as Evan did most of the time.
“I think I’m going to go take a shower.” I inched my way toward the doorway. I didn’t trust myself alone with Gideon—not after that kiss.
Had Evan waited another five minutes to come looking for blood, he might have gotten an eyeful when he ran into the kitchen. As it was, I’m sure he got a little bit of an education. We weren’t exactly giving each other a chaste kiss on the cheek.
“Go ahead. Run, little mouse.” The corner of Gideon’s mouth twitched. “Hide from the cat. But know this. The cat will soon pounce, and there will be no one to save you.”
“I sure hope you mean that in a sexual way, because I’d hate to have to kill you.” I really wasn’t sure how to take what he’d said. “Cats eat mice, you know.”
“I know.” He grinned at me and then winked. “Believe me, cara. I know.”
My brows shot up and my eyes widened at his insinuation. “After my shower, I’m going to take a nap. Wake me when dinner is ready,” I said before I bolted from the room. Right after I do an internet search on what he’s saying to me in Italian.
He meant to have me again, and I wanted it too much. If I stayed in the kitchen with him, we’d both end up on the floor or table naked. That just wasn’t a good idea with two kids in the house.
I hurried from the room and up the stairs as though the hounds of Hell were on my heels. I frowned at the analogy. Knowing the company I keep, it was possible.
Closing the bedroom door behind me, I leaned against it, pulled my cell phone from my back pocket and ran my finger over the blank screen to wake it up. I frowned when it did nothing.
Trying again, I sighed. It had been over twenty-four hours since I’d charged it. The battery was dead. “So much for my internet search.” Sighing, I strode over to the bureau where I’d seen a charging station the night before. I really should have paid more attention to it then.
Dropping the phone into the charger, I headed for the bathroom. The shower beckoned. I couldn’t wait to use that huge glass enclosure. The tub could wait, but I swore it was next as I climbed beneath the warm spray.