Page 77 of Reign of the Beast

I wasn’t sure of the root cause.

Was he worrying that he’d gone too far?

Or now that the lustful intensity had worn off and we were all back to thinking clearly, was he concerned that bringing Jaxon in on things could impact what we had together?

He didn’t need to be concerned about either.

I’d reveled in what they’d done to me. If I’d wanted it to stop, I could have easily made that happen with my magic.

And what Lucian and I had was an entity unto its own.

Nothing could shake that.

I’d reassure him about it later. I didn’t want to in front of Jaxon.

Plus, I was starving. Two intense mind-blowing fucking sessions back-to-back was a lot to handle and I needed sustenance quickly. Judging by the two blood bags Lucian had blown through when we’d headed in here to thekitchen ten minutes ago, he was right there with me on that.

Jaxon strode over to the four-seater table a moment later, putting down a large tray full of dishes containing a ton of bacon, sausages, eggs, fried tomatoes, fruit, and syrup for the pancakes.

He started filling the plate in front of him and eyed me, “Dig in.” He glanced at Lucian’s empty plate. “Feel free. I wasn’t sure about your eating habits. Vamps and Ancient vamps differ, don’t they?”

Lucian snatched up a piece of bacon and took a bite, grinning at Jaxon with amusement. “Icaneat, but I don’t require food to sustain me.”

“Got it,” Jaxon said, starting to chow down on his food.

I kicked mine off with pancakes. At the first melt-in-your-mouth bite, I eyed Jaxon, “You’re a hell of a cook.”

He shrugged. “They’re just pancakes.”

“Still. They’re really good pancakes.”

“Yeah, well, cooking was one of the skills you had to pick up as a wolf pup, knowing how to feed your pack and all that.” His eyes flickered with pain.

I reached out and clasped his wrist. “Are you okay?”

“It comes in waves.”

“I can imagine.” I knew he’d been working through his grief with Mia. “If you need to—”

“I’m good.” He smiled over at me, then sucked in a breath. “I mean, I’m getting there. But thanks. I know you’re here.”

A few moments of sad, contemplative silence fell over us for a while as we ate together.

And then he spoke, commenting, “Yeah, this is hitting the spot.”

“You know, I could’ve just conjured all of this? You didn’t need to go to all this trouble.”

“I like it. Cooking is kind of soothing. Keeps me rooted to reality too when the supernatural world is going haywire all around me. Keeps me grounded.”

I couldn’t believe it. An amused chuckle burst from me.

Lucian grinned, enjoying my laugh, a holdover from my more carefree side, something he hadn’t seen a lot of lately. He laid his hand on mine.

“What’s so funny?” Jaxon asked curiously.

“Just how alike you and Mia are in some ways. The pride, the repression, the sense of duty. The whole cooking thing is right up her alley too. She has the same reasoning that you do. It’s uncanny.”

“She can’t cook.”

---