Page 193 of Fated or Knot

“Wow, Tormund. This is delicious.” Absolute music to my ears, and not just because of her naturally melodic voice. After I fed her a potato and carrot, plus another sip of wine, I tried my own handiwork and nodded in approval.

“How did you get the apples so concentrated? I never thought to pair fruit and meat quite like this,” she said. I paused my chewing to adjust my spectacles, though I squinted at her anyway. “You know I made the meals for my stepfamily before we met, right?”

Reality swept in for a moment as I remembered what her lifebeforehad been like. My pack had immediately taken away any need for her to prepare food or do the other menial tasks her stepmother assigned her, something I noted with pride.

Still, I told her about how I’d made the reduction and she nodded along without needing much clarification.

“You know what this means, right?” she asked. “I’m going to make dinner tomorrow.”

“You don’t have to,” I said immediately.

The twinkles in the whites of her eyes danced with her amusement. “No, I want to. You already learned the secret. Cooking can be fun, and I bet we have access to much better ingredients than I’m used to.” When I opened my mouth to protest, she added, “We could cook together.”

“Okay, li’l bird,” I relented. That could be a lot of fun, but I still wanted to hand feed her whatever we made.

Call it alpha instincts, or just a me thing, but it was immensely satisfying to feed her everything she wanted. Especially food I’d made for her. I was the one completing her needs; hers to command for the reward of watching her chew and enjoy.

I looked forward to having more dates like this. Without there being a rush to hustle Lark out of the city, I could catch her a protein of choice and make something more elaborate, start to finish, from my labor. Nowthatwould sustain my pride for months. I’d suggest it as soon as she finally had the crown of Pack Sorles nestled between her brows, where it belonged.

She filled up before me, and settled her head on my chest close to my alpha mark. It tingled with awareness. A simple touch there was electric, far more than she probably realized. All marks, regardless of designation, were a manifestation of our souls, and mine resonated just from having her close. She traced idle patterns on my belly as I ate, something innocent enough that still had fire pooling toward my groin.

No. Think chivalrous thoughts.

My member stirred anyway, tapping her hip as it plumped up. “Sorry,” I said, a little embarrassed even though it was involuntary. With my mate in my lap, smelling so much like a treat, it was also inevitable.

“I want to. So badly,” she murmured. “You deserve something for this lovely dinner.”

“Just being with you is plenty reward, li’l bird.”

As was the expression she made, looking up at me with love in her expressive omega eyes. I’d do just about anything to earn that look every night, even if she’d just been looking at Kauz the same way. Starsdamned bat, why did he need to be here too? I was plenty worthy of defending my mate on my own and…

Wow, wheredidall this jealousy come from?It wasn’t like I was uninformed about sharing my perfect female with the rest of my pack.

“I love you, my gentle giant,” she said, effectively waving away my negative feelings.

“Love you too.” I kissed her hair and decided I’d had enough to eat.Gentle giantwas a nickname with its own kind of magic, putting my oddities as an admittedly weak redcap under a different lens. It was my identity now, something Lark loved. Everything about me she approved of and adored, I meant to keep.

She leaned up to get a real kiss. Her concentrated chocolate and honey crackers taste lingered on my tongue and definitelydidn’t help my self-control.Be careful, indeed. The next logical step would be to strip off her clothes and make love on the bed until sunrise. But I did have one distraction left.

I broke our kiss and asked huskily, “Are you ready for dessert?”

“Oh, there’s dessert?” She sounded a little throaty too. I offered her a sip of wine.

“Of course!” I pulled the smaller cloche, revealing a ceramic bowl of custard still chilled from its time in the lodge’s cold storage. She perked up. As an omega, she could eat her weight in sugar daily. I’d tried to observe what sweets she liked best, just to discover she liked every single dessert placed in front of her.

“I love custard. Thank you, Tormund!”

“Ah, it’s not done,” I said playfully. “Close your eyes for a moment.”

I leaned away from her with the bowl in hand, breathing a superheated burst of flame over the custard. The top caramelized, bubbling into a perfect crust of dark brown. Lark startled with a yelp, though by the time she peeked between her fingers, it was done. “There, now it’s a crème brûlée.”

“Whoa,” she murmured.

I placed it down and handed her the spoon. “Here, give it a tap. It’s the best part.”

“Not the taste?” she teased, tentatively tapping it until the caramelized shell cracked. Then she scooped up a modest amount and held it up to my lips.

“It’s for you,” I protested.

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