Page 47 of Chase Me

“What would you like my help with, badass? I mean mate.” It tickled her that Jakob liked her for making his grumpy friend help with breakfast.

“Can you find me a loaf of bread please?”

She had French toast frying in a big ole cast-iron skillet with gobs of butter just a few minutes later. She threw the bacon in the oven to warm.

In a few more minutes, she had French toast fried egg and bacon sandwiches ready for everyone. As soon the guys bit into their sandwiches, the tension between them slipped away. Amazing what a little food could do. Plus, she had concentrated on imbuing the food with a sense of calm, just to see if she could.

She grabbed the dishes and put them in the sink. She turned and picked up her sandwich, running water into the pan to wash later.

“Wahine, did you do that? Run the water without touching the faucet?” Ky watched her take a bite of her sandwich.

Had she? She'd only just been thinking the dishes needed to soak. She chewed a few times searching for a connection to the water. Doing dishes sucked and she had wished they would do themselves.

“I guess I did. Cool. That's one more thing I didn't know I could do.”

The men all stopped eating, some of them mid-chew.

Match set down his sandwich. “What else did you not know you could do?”

“A lot of things. But a few of the highlights were digging a hole up from Jakob's lair to his garden, tossing the snake guy into the air with the wind, and wrapping you all up in my plant protectors.” She took another bite of her sandwich, letting those little nuggets sink in. They couldn't be any more surprised than she had been.

“Sweetheart, you didn't tell me you also had command of the water element.” Jakob placed his hand on the back of her neck. He rubbed his thumb into her hair at the nape.

She looked around the table and wondered why the water was such a big deal. “I didn't know until now. I didn't know magic even existed until you brought me here, and Mrs. Bohacek told me I would burn your house down if I tried too hard to control my emotions around you.”

“No.” Match stood and shook his head. “Fire too?”

“And wind.” Cage stood and placed his hands on the table.

“The water bent to her will. I had nothing to do with that.” Ky nodded to her and stood with the other three.

Jakob moved to his feet and behind her, his front pressed to her back, giving her some comfort in this weird scenario.

“It can't be. There hasn't been one since the First Dragon’s mate.” Match looked her up and down with both a sense of awe and disbelief in his voice.

“You can't deny what we've seen.” Ky said.

She looked from man to man. “What? What's going on?”

They didn’t seem mad at her. But she’d obviously done something wrong. Maybe it had been a mistake to stay. Shedidn’t know anything about this magical world she’d been dragged into. There were rules and a whole culture she knew nothing about.

At least with wedding planning and the world of her mother, she knew how to behave, how not to get on anyone’s nerves.

Every move she made here made someone uncomfortable, including her.

Well, she was a woman and it was her prerogative to change her mind if she wanted to. That week off in Prague was sounding better all the time.

But she had told Jakob she’d stay.

Jakob turned her on her stool so that she faced him and had her back to the other men, probably to tell her he’d changed his mind. She wasn’t what he thought she was, and it was time for her to go.

He searched her eyes, probably trying to find the best way to let her down. An empty place inside reopened, waiting to absorb the bad news. She couldn’t let him see her disappointment. Never let them see you sweat. Or cry.

Ciara stared right back at him, doing her best to keep her face expressionless. The gas range behind him lit up like a bonfire. A breeze rattled the pots and pans hanging from the rack above their heads, and a misty fog and snowflakes filled the room, until there was only him and her.

Still Jakob didn’t take his eyes off her. He did blink when a basil plant formed a crown around his head.

He raised a hand and ran his thumb over her lips then stroked his knuckles over her jaw. “I will never get enough of you. You, my curvy lover, are very special. How do you do it?”

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