Page 14 of Coming Up Aces

“Not creepy. Beautiful. Do all Hounds have white wings?”

“No. We can call on one of the elements, and the wind is mine, thus the white in my feathers. Fire Gryphons have red wings, water Gryphons blue, and earth Gryphons have yellow or gold, depending on how old they are. We can also change the size of our bird to suit our needs.”

“How big is your Gryphon?” Rayna couldn’t wait to see the magical beast.

“Around eight feet. I should have shown you while we were both shifted. Next time I will, if you’d like to see him.”

“Definitely. Now, don’t you need to go check on Haven?” When Asher looked like he was going to protest, she raised her hand. “Asher, please. You’re already going out of your way by letting me hide out here. I promise I’ll be fine, hanging out, binge-watching television. I have several shows I need to catch up on.” That would also allow her time to snoop.

Asher leaned his butt against the cabinet and crossed his arms over his chest. Rayna was drawn to the many tattoos on his arms, hands, and even his neck. Maybe one day, she would get to study the one on his chest hidden by his shirt. When he didn’t say anything, she realized he was watching her checking him out. Instead of apologizing, she asked, “What do you say?” She arched a brow, waiting.

“I say you’re stubborn. And I’ll go, but not until tomorrow. Sutton already said to wait. That gives us time for you to tell me what you like to eat.”

“You don’t have to make anything special. I already said I’m not picky, and I meant it.”

“I have to cook for myself, so it might as well be things you like. If you had to choose one food to eat the rest of your life, what would it be?”

“Cereal. The fruity kind, not the bran flakes with raisins. Blech.” Rayna stuck her tongue out, and Asher chuckled.

“With or without milk?”

“Both. If I eat it for breakfast, with. If I have it as a snack, straight from the box. When I was a teenager, I’d grab a box of fruity loops and a two-liter grape soda, and that was my snack of choice while watching movies in my room. Drove my Gran crazy, but she kept the pantry stocked, indulging my addiction. Do you not have a guilty pleasure?”

Asher pushed off the cabinet and beckoned her to follow. When he opened the pantry door, he stepped back. Inside were all varieties of cheese snacks. “The fish are my favorite,” he admitted. He then pointed to the top shelf where several boxes of fruity cereal were lined up.

“Yes!” Rayna pumped a fist. “We’re going to get along just fine.”

Ace frowned. “I’m still cooking for you.”

“And I’ll eat whatever you make.” They returned to the island and picked up their beers. “At Haven, we didn’t have meat often, but when we did, it was usually venison.”

Asher retook his spot against the counter. “Yeah, Glory told us how she was the one who had to skin the deer once the hunters brought them in. What was your job at Haven?”

“Helping in the kitchen. Not cooking, mind you, but washing and cutting vegetables, then cleaning the dining room after everyone ate. At night, I knitted blankets to be sold at the market.”

“Is that something you enjoy? Knitting?”

“It is. My grandmother taught me when I was young, and we would sit together and knit while watching TV.”

“Do you still see her?”

Rayna downed the rest of her beer and looked around for the bin. “Do you recycle?”

“Yes. The bin is in the pantry next to the garbage can. You were too busy ogling the cereal to notice,” Asher joked.

Rayna grinned at him. How could she not? She took her bottle to the pantry. When she returned, a fresh beer was on the island. “I don’t see Gran as much as I would like since she lives in Arizona now, but I talk to her on the phone at least once a week. Or I did until I went undercover. I had to tell her about the assignment and how I wouldn’t be able to call for a while.”

“Too bad you can’t do one of those DNA kits to find your father.”

Rayna climbed on one of the stools and twirled the bottle between her hands. “I wouldn’t even if it were possible. I don’t want to disrupt his life, whatever that looks like. He’s probably married with other kids.”

“And you wouldn’t want to meet your siblings?”

“I don’t want to disrupt their lives either. It’s not like I have free time on my hands to get to know them, if they’d even want that. Then there’s the whole thing with my mother and who she is. Vanessa and Seth, and now you, are the only people aside from Gran and me who know that Colette Bellamy is Francesca Ormond. As far as the world knows, she’s single with no children. She loves the limelight, but she’s always managed to keep up that falsehood.”

Asher tipped his head to the side, studying her. “Does it bother you that she doesn’t claim you publicly?”

“It did when I was younger, but I’m used to it now. As far as I’m concerned, Fern Bellamy is my mother.”

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