“My turn.” Maddox scooted Briar aside, tossing him a smirk. He then wrapped his arms around me. Something tender shone in his dark blue eyes. “Behave while I’m gone.”
“I always do.” I poked his chest. “Andyoube careful.” I always worried when Maddox left. As captain of the Second Order, he was put in harm’s way much too often. They were the primary combat unit, the ones sent on the more dangerous expeditions.
“I always am.” He took my face in both his hands before kissing me. “If the wolf becomes a nuisance, throw him outside.”
“Be nice,” I hissed.
Maddox rewarded me with a cocky grin that did crazy things to my heart. Damn him. He kissed me again but deeper this time, dipping his tongue into my mouth and gripping my hips, pulling me so close I could feel the hard ridge of his cock through his trousers.
I emitted a moan and clung on tighter.
“We’ll continue this later,” he then said in a low voice that gave me shivers.
My mind was in a fog as he pulled away and left the kitchen. Double damn him. How dare he get me all worked up and then leave me hanging.
“I should leave as well,” Lake said, keeping his distance. The lightheartedness from when we baked together earlier was absent. He was back to being closed off. “I don’t want to chase your customers away once the café opens.”
“Chase them away?”
“Because I’m…” Lake shook his head and dropped his gaze to the floor. “Me.”
A demi-wolf.
“My café is open to everyone,” I said. “You included. If anyone has an issue with that, they can kiss my ass.”
But Lake left as soon as he heard the bell above the entrance that signaled someone walking in. He dashed for the back door and was concealed in the trees seconds later.
“I hope we’re not too early,” Peter said as he and Alice came into the kitchen.
“Not at all.” I forced a smile, trying to ignore the wonky achiness in my chest. “There’s coffee and muffins if you want some.”
Lake and I had made a decent amount of desserts, so by the time the café opened, things flowed easily. The three of us developed a nice system. Peter took orders and I prepared the dishes, gathering the desserts and cups of coffee. Alice served the dishes and cashed out the customers once they were done, and then Peter cleared the tables.
Once the café closed, they helped me wipe the tables and clean the kitchen.
“See you tomorrow,” Alice said, giving me a short bow before grabbing her satchel—that I’d shoved bundles of cookies into for her and her wife to share—and leaving the café.
Peter clapped me on the back, grabbed one of the unsold chocolate cupcakes, and followed her out the door.
I smiled after them before returning to the kitchen to start dinner. I was too tired to make something too extravagant, so I decided on rabbit stew. I chopped the vegetables and added them to a pot on the stove, then prepared the rabbit and tossed it in too.
As it cooked, I washed the few dirty dishes left in the sink. The sun sank lower, and the clouds painted the sky in shades of dark-orange and purple. The forest darkened as dusk fell over the kingdom, but the inky blackness didn’t scare me like it had yesterday.
Was Lake out there, watching me from the trees?
The thought made me happy. Comforted me too.
“Evan!” a loud voice came from behind me.
I nearly shit myself. The cup slipped from my hand and fell back into the sink, splashing water all over the front of my shirt.
Kuya bounced up next to me, his reddish-brown ears twitching as he looked at my wet shirt. “Evan spilled water.”
“Because you scared me! You can’t do that to me. My heart can’t take it. Knock next time, why don’t ya?”
“Apologies,” Sir Noah said as he entered the kitchen. “He was very insistent on seeing you as soon as possible.”
“Kuya has news! But first, Evan needs to be dry or he will get sick.” He grabbed my arm and led me over to the opposite counter. He picked up a rag and slapped it against my shirt a few times, his brow marring with a frown and his sharp canines jutting down from his upper lip. “It refuses to dry. It must be destroyed instead.”
