Page 17 of Rescued By Her Guardian

“Me too. I think that’s the point of the marking, it unites in a primal way.”

He helped make sandwiches, although he could admit his helping was more being in the way as she bustled around the small but well stocked kitchen.

“I don’t eat in the cafeteria very often,” she said, “just when my dad and brother want to get together. I’ve always liked cooking, but it’s just for me. There’s a little specialty grocer in New York that I like to visit and get unique items to cook with.”

“Like what?”

“I’ve got vanilla from Madagascar, some beautiful herbs from France, and I’ve even got some Kobe steaks in the freezer. I buy whatever catches my eye.”

“That’s pretty neat,” he said. “I can grill, but that’s about it.”

“Even breakfast?”

“Hell yes, I have one of those big griddles at my home in Wildwood Crossing, and I routinely make breakfast on it when I have morning meetings.”

She sliced both sandwiches in half and set them on plates. As she added chips to his and carrot sticks to hers, she looked at him curiously.

“What kind of morning meetings? I don’t even know what you did before you came here. We…skipped a lot of chatting.”

He pulled out her chair and pushed her gently in, then took the chair opposite. They were in a nook in the kitchen at a small round table with three chairs and a miniature poinsettia plant in the center with white and pink leaves.

“Do you have a nice view from that big window in the great room?” he asked.

She narrowed her gaze. “You’re changing the subject. You didn’t tell me what you do for a living. Are you a spy or something? Oh! Are you a criminal?” She put a hand to her chest like she was a damsel in an old movie.

“You went from spy to criminal in two seconds!” he said with a laugh. “I’m neither. I just wanted to have some easy conversation while we were eating, then we can really talk.”

“You say the wordtalkand it sounds like you mean sex.”

“Are you complaining?”

“I might, if it means you’re keeping things from me. I want us to be honest with each other, don’t you?”

“Yes, absolutely. After we eat, sweetheart?”

“Okay, so long as you don’t go distracting me with your talented fingers.”

He drummed said fingers on the table. “I will try to control myself.”

She giggled and her eyes danced. Damn, he was falling for her fast.

“As far as the view goes,” she said with a dramatic sigh, “when it’s light out, it’s pretty much just a flat and boring landscape. Some of the apartments can see the Northern Lights which is neat, but after a while even that loses its allure. I think it’s one of the downfalls of living in such a magical place.”

“It becomes mundane,” he said with a nod.

“Yep.”

He smiled at her. Damn, she was so beautiful.

They talked about their families, but there wasn’t much for him to share. His parents had passed away before he became alpha, and he didn’t have any siblings or even extended family, as his parents had both been only children. But he did have friends in the leap and people he trusted, like his high ranked males. Ivy’s mom had passed away a few years earlier, but she had her dad and brother.

He remembered meeting Alder, who was on the security team, but he hadn’t met her dad.

They finished the meal and cleaned up the kitchen, then he followed her into the great room, where they crashed on the couch together, snuggled close and watching the electric fireplace’s faux flames dance.

He stared at the fake fire for a moment as he gathered his thoughts.

“Before I tell you everything, I want you to know that I wasn’t intending to keep anything from you, and I haven’t had enough time to really think about what my next steps will be.”

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