Page 62 of Laid Bare

Bane quietly chuckles as he comes around the couch, carefully helping me to my feet.

“He’s been fighting with that damn thing since it showed up this morning,” Bane stage-whispers, nodding in the direction of the kitchen. “He wanted to make you something for when you woke up.”

My heart melts at the thought of the big, bad demon wanting to take care of me.

Turning my gaze, I have to bite my lip to keep from laughing out loud.

There, standing in the middle of my kitchen, is Zane. His long black and red hair is pulled up in a bun at the top of his head, an apron strains at the seams over his usual black attire, and there looks to be a dusting of flour on his face.

But that’s not all. He has a spatula clutched in his massive fist, waving it back and forth like a knight fighting a dragon, but in reality, he’s pointing it menacingly at what I’d guess is the air fryer Thaddeus said he was having delivered.

Or what’s left of it, anyway.

Bane and I share a look before we both lose it, doubling over and clutching our stomachs as tears track down our cheeks from laughing so hard.

“Ha. Ha. Ha. Very fucking funny,” Zane grumbles.

I wipe away the tears, but the chuckles continue.

“Don’t you start, pinky.” Zane brandishes the spatula in my direction, but a single glance at his apron has me losing it a second time.

I’m a real devil in the kitchen,is right.

The horns on top of his head, the red fleshy wings at his back, and the tail twitching agitatedly behind him really sells it.

“This is fucking hell hound shit,” he grumbles, his lips popped out in a pout. “Try to do something nice for my ma—roommate, and all she does is laugh at me.” He trips over his words, but instead of calling him on it, my focus turns to the now-smoking appliance sitting on my counter.

“Hey, Zane…”

“What?” he mutters dejectedly.

“Is it supposed to be smoking?”

“Huh?” He peeks over at the counter, alarm taking over his devilish face. “Fuck!” he screeches, grabbing a dishtowel and waving it through the smoke. “I swear to Lucifer, I’ll string you up by your cord and let the wrath demons have a go at you if you don’t knock it off.”

Instead of intervening, Bane leans his ass against the back of the couch with his arms crossed over his massive chest, while amusement tilts his lips in a smile. There’s a small hint of fang peeking between his lips, reminding me so much of my vampire mate.

Damn. I miss him. Luka, too. It feels like forever since I’ve seen either one of them, even though I just saw Axel yesterday. And I’m almost positive Luka is out trying to douse the fire of whatever bullshit is still fueling the rumor mill.

Because let’s be real. There’s no way the truth is circling the halls. If that were the case, I wouldn’t be stuck on lockdown like I killed the freaking kid.

A loud pop and fizzle jolts me out of the thoughts of my two mates. The smell of burning plastic intensifies, this time accompanied by a flickering of a flame from between the cracks of the basket shoved into the air fryer.

“Zane… I think it’s on fire.”

“Pffft. I’m a damn demon.” He puffs his chest out, proud of that distinction. “I would know if something was on fire.”

“Then what’s that orange glow coming from inside the air fryer?” I point to the basket, slowly backing away.

“The heating coil…” he trails off with a duh, concern flickering his eyes as he looks between my retreating form and the fryer.

A distorted ding echoes through the kitchen, sounding like something from a horror movie. Zane’s face breaks into a breathtaking smile, all smug and proud of himself.

“Breakfast is ready!” he crows, pumping his fist still clutching the spatula. “Get ready for a culinary masterpiece.”

“Or food poisoning,” Bane snickers, not at all worried that there’s possibly an active fire in the middle of our kitchen.

Grabbing an oven mitt, Zane stretches it to fit over his large hand and pulls out the basket. The moment air hits it, the entire air fryer explodes into a fiery inferno. Basket and all.

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