Page 57 of Mated to the Enemy
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Breathing a sigh of relief at finally reaching the door to their quarters, Jessica took a moment to compose herself. The journey to the kitchen had been mostly uneventful, but it hadn’t been easy. Or peaceful.
First, she’d gotten lost, but that was just a minor detail. Upon her arrival, she’d been greeted with stares from most of the other members of House Ursa who were there having breakfast. Some had been neutral, a few had been friendly or on the verge of it, but more members than she was comfortable with had been outright hostile.
Although she tried not to let it show to Klaue, it bothered her that so many of his fellow bear shifters seemed to detest her. It wasn’t like she was loyal to House Canis. Quite the opposite, in fact. She hated them, and if it wouldn’t put her sister in danger, Jessica would have spilled everything from the start.
A fresh wave of guilt swept over her as she remembered her sister, probably kept locked away in Lorran’s quarters, while Jessica was here, spending a carefree night—and morning—making love to Klaue. It bothered her, but as the door closed behind her, she couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps she and her sister were in similar situations?
Jessica might not be locked in Klaue’s rooms, but she wasn’t exactly comfortable leaving them either, not with the level of hostility she faced from so many faces. Klaue assured her it wasn’t anything personal, that the House as a whole was still hurting from the betrayals it had faced, and was leery of anything that could possibly be in league with Canis.
Setting the two bags she was carrying down on the eating table, she fetched some plates and glasses. The little kitchenette was set into a nook directly to the left after entering his quarters, with the guest bathroom and closets forming a solid wall the rest of the length that side. On the right of the entryway through a set of huge sliding pocket doors, was the large entertainment and seating area, and next to that in the back right was Klaue’s study. The bedroom and master bath occupied the space beyond the wall opposite the entry door.
It was a huge space, even with two of them occupying it instead of just Klaue. Moving about, she set the plates and glasses out without disturbing him. When she’d left Klaue had been fast asleep, and Jessica doubted anything had changed in the half an hour since. He had exerted himself for her benefit, and she was more than content to let him sleep.
Truthfully, Jessica found that she was enjoying doing something as simple as getting breakfast for them. It was domesticated as shit—well, almost, she hadn’t made it herself—and that was something that she’d never thought she would see herself as. But with Klaue, it was different. With him, she wasn’t forced into that role. Shewantedto be there. It was weird, to say the least, but for now she wasn’t going to fight it.
“Hey, sleepyhead,” she said lightly, pulling open the doors to the bedroom and gliding over to the bed. “Time to stir.”
Klaue made a pathetic protest and started to roll over, but then his nostrils flared. Jessica couldn’t prevent a giggle from getting out at the way the smell of fresh coffee, eggs and more changed his mood. It was absolutely adorable. Eyes flickering open, Klaue took in a deep breath.
“Did you get food?” he asked tiredly.
“I did. It’s on the table and getting cold, so get your sexy butt out here, Mister. That’s an order.”
“I smell coffee.”
“You do. But you’re not getting it in bed, because then I know you’ll never get up.”
A giant mitt of a hand reached up and dragged her down into the bed. Jess shrieked in protest but there was no way she was fighting him. Klaue growled happily and smothered her in kisses despite her attempts to escape.
“You are the best,” he whispered in her ear, before planting an extra wet kiss on her cheek.
“Ew! Man-slobber, yech!” she yelped, leaning in and wiping it off on his shoulder.
Klaue just chuckled and stood, stretching with hands high above his head. Jess lay back on the bed and admired how the light streaming in from the door framed his body to her. He looked like nothing more than a shadow. A shadow with near-perfect physiology.
Reaching out, she pinched his butt. It was Klaue’s turn to yelp.
“I’m going, I’m going!” he said, grabbing a pair of sweatpants from the closet and pulling them on.
“Good.” Hopping out of the bed, she paused just long enough to drape her arms over him and kiss his back with a happy sigh.
Sitting down together, she doled out the breakfast of goodies. An egg sandwich, a hash brown and a fruit smoothie for her, and the rest for Klaue.
“You trying to fatten me up?” he asked, looking at the spread in front of him.
“Like that’s possible. It’s just a few egg sandwiches, a small stack of pancakes, a few hash browns, an extra order of bacon, and some orange juice. Keep you healthy,” she teased, giving him a big wink.
“Just…she says. It’s “just” all that.” But Klaue dug in with a grin.
Twenty minutes later, she was clearing the empty plates as Klaue sipped at his orange juice, perfectly content at having somehow compacted all that food into his stomach. It boggled her mind, but she was getting used to how much he ate.
“Thank you,” he said suddenly, looking up at her, blue eyes full of warmth and appreciation. “That was really nice of you.”
Jess blushed. She liked when he looked at her like that. It was something that, in the darkest recess of her mind, she admitted she could maybe get used to. For longer than her brief stay at the Manor was likely to be.
Maybe.
