Page 14 of He Will Come for Me

“Of course, but first you eat.” He brings the plate to me. I dance in my seat when I see the bacon.

“Eat slow,” Clara reminds me, but grins at my excitement as she places a cup of coffee next to my plate. I can’t decide what I want to eat first, so I put a piece of bacon on a pancake and roll it up. Clara places a small bowl of syrup next to my plate. I smile at her in thanks, wondering how she knew what I was about to do. I dip the pancake in it and take a small bite.

The buttery goodness of the pancake mixed with the salty crunch of the bacon is perfection. I bring my fingers to my lips and kiss my fingertips. Phillip chuckles and begins to fill another plate with food. Every time I take a bite of food, I wiggle in my seat like Winnie the Pooh does when he’s excited to get his honey.

“Will you be eating in here, sir? Or your office?” Phillip asks. My head whips around to see Phoenix standing in the doorway in pajama pants and no shirt.Holy shit!He steps into the kitchen and I swallow the lump that has formed in my throat.

A tattoo covers his right arm from his wrist to his shoulder and on to his right pec. He has a wolf, bear, eagle, and a snake, all in an intricate design. It’s so beautiful. Like a story inked ontohis skin. On his left pec, there’s a compass that turns into an interesting design that reminds me of dragon scales.

“You’re staring,” Phoenix murmurs as he walks in and sits next to me. I close my mouth and turn, trying my best to ignore him, but it’s impossible.

“The last time I saw you, you didn’t have that many tattoos.” I eat some of my scrambled eggs as Phillip places a plate in front of Phoenix.

He doesn’t respond as he begins to eat. I take a sip from the coffee Clara brought me and hum at the delicious, deep, rich taste of it. It feels like I haven’t had coffee in ages, so I’m going to enjoy every drop.

“What are you doing down here? I thought you normally take your breakfast in your room?” Phoenix asks. It makes me wonder if he would have gotten dressed if he had known I was going to be down here.

“I asked Phillip yesterday if I could bake some cookies today.” I shrug as I take another bite of my eggs. “I was excited,” I say around a mouthful of eggs. Not very ladylike, but I don’t care. He kidnapped me, so he has to deal with the consequences of his decisions.

He hums as he takes a few more bites of his food. “What kind of cookies are you going to bake?”

I stop in the middle of me rolling another piece of bacon in a pancake and glance at him.He’s interested in what I’ll be baking?

“Nothing fancy. Just chocolate chip cookies.” One side of his mouth tips up as he glances at me. I have to force myself not to allow my eyes to drift downward.

“Chocolate chip cookies are my favorite. Especially if they’re soft and gooey.” I make a mental note of that and turn back toward my plate before I lose the fight with keeping my eyes from taking in his tattoos again.

“Maybe I’ll let you have some,” I murmur as I take a bite of my rolled up pancake. He scoffs and continues to eat.

We eat in a comfortable silence and after a few seconds, I find it odd how easy this is. It reminds me of the days when we’d find ourselves at the same table in the library because it was so full. I never felt uncomfortable sharing a table with him unless one of his many admirers would try to join.

After another bite, I have to force myself to listen to my body and push my plate away. I want to eat everything. It’s so good, but I remind myself I’ll be able to have it tomorrow if I want. Phillip is kind hearted and would probably make this exact breakfast for me every day if I wanted him to.

“Had enough?” Phoenix asks.

I nod, looking at my plate longingly. “It’s really hard for me to not finish it, though.” He chuckles as Clara comes over and grabs my plate.

“Phillip will make it for you tomorrow if you want it again.” I give Phoenix a sideways look as he voices my exact thoughts. It shouldn’t make my pulse speed up the way it does.

“What are you doing today?” I ask. Like I have any right to know. He raises his eyebrows at my question.

“I have some business I need to attend to in the city.” He takes a sip from his coffee. “I’ll be gone the majority of the day. Rex will be here, though.” I want to ask him what business he has to attend to. Glancing at the ring on his finger, I wonder if he’s going to visit his wife. “I’ll be back for dinner.”

I nod and stand, walking over to the mixer. Disappointment skates across my skin like a spider.Why do I feel this way?While he’s away, I can check out more of the grounds to see if there’s a way for me to get away. I have no idea where we are, though. Turning back toward him, I bite the inside of my cheek before sucking in a breath of courage.

“What city are you going to?” I ask.

He tilts his head and studies me. “Savannah.”

I don’t know why I’m surprised, but I am. My father’s territory is in Savannah. He controls the ports in Savannah. My mom fell in love with Savannah because of its history and southern charm, my father fell in love with it for a completely different reason.

I don’t respond, trying to think how far we are from Savannah. We could be fifteen minutes or an hour away for all I know. I turn my attention to Phillip, trying to shake off the unease of why Phoenix would be going to Savannah.Is he trying to take control of the ports?

“I’m ready. Can you show me where the ingredients are?”

Phillip smiles brightly at me and leads me to a door at the other end of the kitchen. When he opens it, my eyes widen. It’s a huge pantry and is stocked with everything you could possibly need.

“I have everything organized in here, so you should be able to find everything you need. If you ever find you’re running low on something, add it to this board here.” He points to a white board with a list he’s already started. “By running low, I mean if it’s the last bag or box of something. I cook breakfast, lunch, dinner, and the occasional party. So, I try not to run out of anything ever.”

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