Page 27 of Chasing Secrets
Jalen sat with his legs folded under him in the window seat, the same spot where he’d braced for Chase’s lecture. That felt like yesterday but was actually weeks ago. The days since then were a total blur.
Unfortunately, not all of them. Chase had seen him at his absolute low. Jalen puking his guts out. Chase having to basically bathe him when he couldn’t even stand up straight. Full-frontal nudity and everything.
If a guy was willing to stick around after that, he was someone with too much heart or too little sanity. Either way, Chase had seen the absolute rock-bottom version of Jalen.
The door creaked open, pulling him from his thoughts. Chase backed into the room, balancing an enormous tray loaded with food. The scent of cinnamon and butter wafted in with him.
“Room service, Mr. Kirk,” Chase said in a bad French accent, nudging the door closed with his heel. He wore nothing but low-hanging sweatpants, his chest bare and ridiculous in the morning light.
If the food didn’t make Jalen drool, the sight of Chase sure would. His gaze slid up the man’s body before he quickly looked away, afraid of getting caught ogling all those beautiful muscles and that lean waist.
“Ooh. We’ve gone fancy.” Jalen’s stomach growled embarrassingly loud as he forced himself to ignore the half-naked body. “And what are you serving for breakfast, Mr. Manson?”
“Only the best for you, monsieur. And that’s about as much French as I know,” he said, his voice rumbling through the quiet room.
He set the tray down on the bed, revealing a feast of French toast, bacon, fresh fruit, and what looked like freshly squeezed orange juice. The rich aroma made Jalen’s mouth water. I’ve gone from one addiction to another.
“You didn’t have to do this for me,” he said, though he was already sliding off the window seat, anxious to sit next to the stud.
“Wanted to.” Chase patted the bed beside him as he sat down. “Come sit by me. You’ve been working hard.”
Working hard was an understatement. Getting clean had been the most brutal experience of Jalen’s life. Even now, his body occasionally betrayed him with random sweats or tremors that appeared out of nowhere. But the fog had lifted. He could think clearly again, which was both a blessing and a curse.
“Did you make all this?” Jalen joined him on the bed, not only inhaling the smell of food, but Chase’s woodsy, earthy scent that made saliva pool beneath his tongue.
“Don’t sound so surprised.” Chase cut into the French toast, the knife slicing through with a satisfying crunch of caramelized sugar. “I’ve had a couple centuries to learn my way around a kitchen.”
“Right. Sometimes I forget you’re practically a fossil.”
Chase laughed, the sound warm and genuine. “Watch it, brat.” Spearing a piece of French toast, Chase held it out to him. “Try this.”
For a second, Jalen just stared at the offered fork. The gesture felt strangely intimate, more so than when Chase had literally seen him naked and delirious with withdrawal. Slowly, he leaned forward and took the bite, closing his eyes as the sweet cinnamon-maple flavor exploded on his tongue.
“Holy shit,” he mumbled around the mouthful. “A fossil who makes really good French toast.”
They ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes with Jalen stealing glances at Chase—the way his jaw worked as he chewed, the slight stubble darkening his cheeks, the fullness of his lower lip. Those lips had been the subject of more than a few of Jalen’s daydreams lately.
“What?” Chase asked, catching him staring.
Heat rushed to Jalen’s face. “Nothing. Just… thinking.”
“About?”
“How weird this is.” He gestured between them with his fork. “Two months ago, my life was…not that great. Now I’m living with werewolves—”
“Wolf shifters,” Chase corrected automatically.
“Wolf shifters,” Jalen amended with an eye roll. “And I’m fated to one who makes me breakfast in bed.”
Chase glanced at him. “Is that a bad thing?”
“I don’t know yet.” Jalen dropped his gaze to his plate. “The jury’s still out.”
As much as he wanted to say that he’d grown on the idea of being Chase’s mate, taking that huge step scared Jalen. Over the past few weeks, he’d fallen for the guy, but Jalen had never told anyone he loved them and was being a big chicken when it came to confessing his feelings.
Chase speared a strawberry with his fork and held it out. “Try this. From the farmer’s market Preston goes crazy over.”
Leaning forward, Jalen took the strawberry from Chase’s fork. The fruit burst with sweetness in his mouth, ripe and perfect. Chase watched him chew, his eyes darkening slightly.
