Page 34 of Within the Veil

"Thank you, Gray," I chirp as I sit in front of the stack and start filling my plate, ignoring Hunter who is glowering on the other side of the island, nursing his coffee.

Grayson comes around with a glass of orange juice, and presses his lips on my forehead, "of course, Angel. Eat, but don't rush, the food isn't going anywhere."

I roll my eyes at the warning as I shove pancakes in my mouth, moaning in pleasure.

Grayson leans against the kitchen island and chuckles, "Safe to say the pancakes and sausages are good?"

I flick my eyes up from my plate, "fucking amazing. Feel free to make several hundred more." I take another bite and dance in my chair.

He shakes his head with a smile and Hunter's grumble becomes louder--big ass baby.

I roll my eyes at him, swallow my mouthful and pause before taking the next bite, "You can stop pouting over there. It would be you making me moan if you would wake me up with pancakes instead of talks about marriage unions."

Grayson leans over and kisses my sticky syrup lips, "Mmm, delicious. Don't make promises your sweet ass can't keep."

"Who says I can't keep them?" I tease.

His eyes darken, "we'll see. Eat your food, you'll need the energy." He winks before pulling away and going back to whip up more food.

See? The formula is simple, feed the pregnant mate-squared plus feed the pregnant mate-squared is equal to sex. Hunter just failed math. Shame.

"Whatever," Hunter grumbles out, taking a sip of his coffee before standing up, his muscles bulging with the simple move. Yum.

Food forgotten, I lick my lips as he reaches his arms up to stretch, the sight of his abs and arms straining against his shirt making my mouth water for something else entirely--a man meat sandwich. Ryder had already left with Remi to walk around the perimeter with the soldiers. Zane and Oberon were off running. But considering Grayson is dead serious about food before sex, I have to settle for eye candy. And I am going to soak in all the muscles and lust as much as I can.

His face melts into a devastating grin, his eyes barely containing the flames that threaten to set my panties on fire, "I bet you wish you would have woken me up with a bit more love. I'm going to meet Zane for some early training, I'll be back soon."

I laugh, "Maybe. Or maybe I'm just wishing that your sausage was half as good as the one Grayson just made me. But we can all wish for things, right? Djinn?"

He growls, leaning down to grab my face, "You canwishfor whatever you want, Sweetheart, but you'll bebeggingfor every inch of me when fuck that sweet, sassy mouth of yours."

I gasp as he bites my bottom lip and his tongue tangles with mine. I moan as his mouth moves over mine, devouring me, a dark promise more than a goodbye. He pulls away with a wink before he strides out of the door.

I sigh, my lips tingling with the power of his lingering kiss, and my panties incinerated.Genie fucker.His laugh echoes in my head, and I scowl.

Grayson chuckles and puts more food on my plate. Well, at least I still have food, I think to myself as I turn back to my plate. After a few minutes of watching Grayson prepare more food, I'm suddenly struck with the memory of Kalen behind a similar counter, piling plates high with his own pancakes. My heart twinges as I replay those days in my head, and I look down at my plate sadly.

I can't explain grief. I have no idea why such a simple thing always triggers the brief, sharp stab of pain. And while part of me feels like I should be able to, at the very least, enjoy the memories, another part of me rebels at having only memories to sift through. It just hurts.

I wish you were here, old man.

I blink back tears and shove the feelings away, focusing on taking another small bite instead of wallowing in my grief. Okay. I shove an entire pancake and half-sausage into my mouth at once.

"Angel," Grayson growls and pulls the plate from in front of me.

I blink...He stole my food. My gluttonous source of joy.

I scowl, and my belly starts to glow as the babies wonder why I'm not filling their tummies up with pancakes. Grayson rolls his eyes at the glow, no longer as amused or surprised as he once was when they first witnessed the glowing phenomenon.

* * *

"Hey guys,who is in the mood to make me a pizza?" I yawned, sitting up in the bed, as my stomach grumbled.

"Pizza?" Zane murmurs sleepily from his spot next to me. Tonight was his night and I was cuddled between him and Ryder. Their large bodies kept me warm and toasty. Even though I had to climb over their bodies to go to the bathroom, they insisted on keeping me between a pair of them. I wasn't going to argue with a man meat sandwich, especially when they looked like extras in a faerie porn movie.

"Ugh stop thinking about Fae porn, I'm already hard as a fucking rock..." Hunter mutters from the other side of the bed.

"Can we not talk about cocks in front of the lesbian? I don't want to think about Hudson as a Boston creme donut," Remi mutters sleepily.