“Sorry for taking your shirt without asking,” she said, making her way to stand beside me. “I wanted to wear something loose and comfy. My dress was too tight.”
“I don’t mind.”
I liked seeing her in my shirt. My wolf liked the sight, too. He knew her scent would be on it now and he wanted her scent on everything we owned.
“Are you hungry?” I asked.
“Starved.” She nodded. “Pancakes are my favorite, by the way. How did you know?”
“I didn’t.” I poured the last bit of pancake batter into the pan. “The old woman who walks around town with that weird tortoise shell purse gave me a box of pancake mix and syrup the other day. She said I’d need it, and she was right. I didn’t have shit to make for breakfast.”
“Ms. Lynette?”
“I guess that’s her name.” I nodded, moving the pancake from the pan to the top of the stack I’d made.
“She’s a legend, I swear. There have been so many stories and theories about that woman floating around Crescent Creek for years.”
“Well, I thought it was nuts, but I’m glad I took them both from her. Otherwise, we’d have nothing to eat for breakfast besides peanut butter toast.”
“I like peanut butter toast, but I like pancakes more.” She grinned. “But first coffee.”
A woman after my own heart.
“The mugs are in there.” I smirked. “There’s sugar in the canister. Milk and creamer are in the fridge. Make yourself at home.”
“Oh, I plan on it.” She stepped to the cabinet and lifted her arm to open it, causing the edge of my t-shirt to rise again.
Need powered through me.
Gripping the edge of the counter, I fought the craving to bend her over and take her from behind. As though she could feel my desire for her, she glanced over her shoulder to look at me with matching heat building in her eyes. I cleared my throat and tore my gaze away from her, focusing on turning the stove off.
Could she feel how attracted to her I was? Could her raven?
Touching her last night—tasting her—had not only stirred something to life inside of me that had been dormant before, but it had also awoken a beast.
One who wanted nothing more than to worship her body every second of the day.
There was one thing standing in the way—her brother. We needed to figure out the Xander situation. He was a threat, and I couldn’t have that looming over us.
He needed to be dealt with.
“Did you sleep well last night?” I asked, grabbing us each a plate from a nearby cabinet.
“Surprisingly, better than I thought I would.” She stirred her coffee and then licked the spoon before placing it in the sink. The woman was trying to kill me. “What about you? You must have gotten up way before me to make that giant stack. There’s enough pancakes to feed an army.”
She wasn’t wrong.
“I have a hard time cutting recipes back in my head.” I shrugged, rubbing a hand along the back of my neck. “I’m so used to cooking at the diner.”
“Right, I almost forgot. Do you have to work today? If so, I should probably get out of your hair.”
My wolf nipped at me, not wanting her to leave anytime soon—if ever.
“Actually, I’m off today,” I said.
What a stroke of luck that was.
“Great, that means we can talk about Xander and figure out how to help him,” she said, her eyes locked on mine.