Page 49 of Tides of Fate

“Not the first time, won’t be the last, and do not make me point out where my mouth has been already.” Gideon moves around the kitchen, dropping ingredients on the counter as he digs them out.

“Why must you be right all the time? Why? It’s not fair.”

Nix smiles softly, sorting the ingredients in an order Gideon hasn’t figured out yet.

Then he hops down and opens the fridge for the eggs and butter.

“Why are you like that?” he sighs dramatically. “So smart and hot, and grrrrr. Makes it hard to concentrate on anything.”

It’s surprising.

Gideon knows it shouldn’t be.

He’s got confidence to spare, and some would say he’s arrogant about it. He knows he’s skilled. Despite the lack of formal education, he’s always the first pick for trivia games after Finn.

So…maybe he is smart.

But hearing it from Nix—his new mate—hits differently.

His body betrays him with an epic blush.

Spotting it immediately, he pulls Gideon into a hug, but his eyes won’t leave his pink cheeks.

“Aw, do you like it when your kitten thinks you’regood?” He grins, voice all sugar and tease. “Smart? Yeah? What aboutgrrrr?”

“No, I don’t, and whatever do you mean by, ‘grrrr?’” He nips Nix’s nose. “Quit that sass, or I will spank your butt and remind you who’s boss.”

There’s a burst of vanilla, and it’s not from the bottle on the counter. “Hmmm. I think I might like to try that. Can there be a list of things I want to try anda list of ones I don’t?”

Gideon just closes his eyes and lets himself imagine his kitten’s tiny butt, red from a spanking, while he cries tears of pleasure and pain.

“Fucking hell, kitten. Yes, we can have as many lists as you like. Maybe not right now? Didn’t you want to bake Jay a cake for his birthday?” Gideon hopes this might distract his mate from his anxiety about the delivery and himself about the spankings.

“I did! Yes, oh, ha. That’s what all this is for? You’re a mind reader.” Gideon kisses his cheek and doesn’t remind him this is just what goes into a cake and thathechose two of the ingredients.

“Come on, troublemaker. Let’s bake a cake, and you can tell me about when you dated-but-didn’t-date skater-boy Jamie Rhodes.”

They spend the next hour mixing batter and baking a chocolate cake for Jay, while the others stay scarce.

Nix is a natural, eyeballing measurements like he’s done this a thousand times, all while keeping up a running commentary on Jay’s uniquely goofy teenage attempts at wooing—which, by all accounts, aren’t that different from his adult techniques.

Only Grayson stays in sight, methodically unboxing some of Nix’s things, shrinking the mountain of packages to something more manageable. Once the boxes are flattened, he catches Gideon’s eye and gestures toward the laundry area—where he’s stacked fresh pale yellow linens and an enormous pile of blankets.

He even takes the fluffy white duvet outside, shaking it out to air away the sharp chemical scent from the manufacturer.

By the time the cakes are cooling on the counter, Grayson pokes his head around the corner.

“Are we still decorating? The balloons and shit are here, and we still need to make that banner. I can’t believe we forgot. Did anyone tell Luca?”

No.

No one has told his super-sensitive soulmate that they forgot their pack leader’s birthday for the second time.

Is there ever a good time for that?

“No, dammit. You two handle decorations. I’ll find Luca and see if we can still keep it a surprise for Jay.”

Licking leftover icing off his finger, Nix whispers, “Good luck. Yikes.”

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