Page 40 of Scars Run Deep

I’d find out either way, once Asher was ready to tell us.

While I trusted him and the actions he took, the decisions he made, it had sometimes been hard not to ask, and to stay in the dark about things, because of the level of secrecy his paranoid sweet ass employed with so many things. But on the eve of us heading out to the house in Strenwell and obtaining that intel, he’d made us all a promise. He’d keep us clued in. No more secrets.

Kill and Aurora had been working on some projects together and studying, being that they had the same major. She’d actually somehow managed to get him to sit down and focus on it all. Not only focus, but take a real interest without Asher pushing him, and sometimes doing it for him entirely. Now there was no more façade, I’d figured Kill would want to drop out, even if it impacted football. He’d been at his wit’s end, me and Asher had been worried he’d just forsake it to be free and clear of it all. But he hadn’t, and Aurora had become instrumental in him deciding to stick with it. He liked being with her and he was so smitten with her, he didn’t care if that including studying and hitting the books. He’d even come to like that aspect of it. During study breaks, they went out and tore up the backroads on their Harleys.

On my end, I’d been working on a couple of projects for my Engineering Program, something I, unlike Kill, had always loved. Working with my hands and figuring out mechanical problems and challenges gave me a fucking hard-on. I’d been holed up in my workshop for the last couple of days building a generator as part of my coursework. I was kicking ass with it, as usual.

For the most part, we’d been off doing our own things.

It had resulted in Aurora coming to me earlier today after I’d made lunch that Asher and Killian had just snatched up and taken to separate corners of the mansion, and asking me to help her with making a special dinner tonight where all four of us could come together.

And that was what we were working toward right now.

That sweet strawberry scent of hers wafted toward me and I spun from the deli counter to see her coming at me with her basket already half full in one hand, the other holding up a box of Graham Crackers. “These are the ones, right?” she asked, as she reached me.

“That’s them,” I confirmed.

She smiled brightly. Brighter than I’d seen from her before.

Her whole face was lit up with it. Those electric blue eyes shone at me.

She’d styled her hair all relaxed in those sexy loose curls.

She’d even mixed up her black-on-black look today, a purple off-the-shoulder top that dipped to reveal one of those sexy black bralettes she was fond of. She had a pair of black jeans on with her block heels, but she’d left what I’d come to realize was kind of like her armor—or a security blanket—one of her leather jackets, back at the house.

I smiled to myself. It seemed like a small thing, but it was another sign of just how comfortable she’d become with us, how relaxed she was in our company now. It was even more staggering considering how things had started out with her and the three of us.

She put the box in her basket, then eyed the wrapped filet mignon in my hand.

“You got the cut that you wanted?”

“Sure did,” I told her. “Now to get the white wine for the béarnaise sauce.”

“Cool. I already picked up the eggs and tarragon.” She stared at the Graham Crackers. “You’re sure this will make the cheesecake part of the ice-cream?”

“I’m sure.”

She pulled the list we’d made earlier out of the back pocket of her sexy jeans, then frowned as she pointed to one of the items. “What’s this corn syrup for?”

“The ice-cream, baby.”

“Really? That’s strange.”

“It prevents it from becoming too hard. When it comes to making ice-cream containing fruit, all that water in it can cause hardening if you don’t add the corn syrup.”

“Huh.”

I grinned. “Yeah.”

She grinned back at me. “Just a font of knowledge today, aren’t you?”

“Hell, yeah.”

She’d known about Killian’s favorite food being ice-cream, and I’d told her his absolute favorite flavor was strawberry cheesecake, and now she was intent on making it for him from scratch. She’d been surprised when I’d answered the same question about Asher and revealed that his comfort foods were burgers and cheesy fries. She’d figured, given his personality, and what he put out there that he would’ve been into a whole lot of fine dining. But, no, his true tastes when it came to food were way more down to earth and simple. As for me, it was steak all the way. Risotto on the side. For the actual entrée part, Kill didn’t care what he ate, so we were gonna go the steak route and the homemade burger and fries route and see where he landed. He was all about the dessert. Where everything else was concerned, he’d pretty much eat anything. He was, hands down, the easiest person to cook for.

When Aurora had told me about her plan for tonight, I’d recognized how ambitious it had been, especially for somebody who didn’t do a whole lot of cooking. The extent of her culinary skills involved making omelets. So, I’d stepped in.

I liked cooking and I was damned good at it too. It put me in a peaceful state and helped me to clear my head and all that, which was exactly what we were supposed to be doing right now.

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