Page 14 of Healing His Mate

I raise my hands to the ceiling. “Cloh-ee! This is something that connects us. If we can laugh about his flaws, we should be able to share the techniques that add to his sexual prowess. I remember my favorite vein on the side of his coc–”

“No fucking way, Nalba! I don’t want him to know we’re talking about his dick. And I don’t wanna talk about his dick anyway. It’s mine . . .” she adds, straightening her spine. “My dick.”

I nod in agreement. “I suppose that is fair.”

“Besides,” she starts, “shouldn’t Waldric’s dick be the one we dish about?”

“Why would we do that?”

“Come on,” she says, suspiciously tilting her head to the side. “You mean to tell me nothing’s going on there?”

“No, thereissomething going on. Something important. He is going to cook all my meals here,” I explain. “There is something in the food he makes. Taste is tied to my memories. It is the key to unlocking them. Perhaps both taste and smell,” I clarify, focusing on my upcoming experiments and ignoring the thoughts of Waldric’s cock that Cloh-ee encouraged. “Whatever it is, I asked him to be here to prepare my meals, and he agreed. He should return soon with his supplies, so we should tidy this area here.” I gesture to the clutter along the top of the table, as well as the boxes with unfamiliar gadgets and accessories beneath.

“That’s it?” she says, jerking her head back and placing a hand on her hip.

“What else would there be?”

She shrugs. “I don’t know. Waldric’s a great guy, though. I think he could make you happy.”

Happy.

That word again.

“Cloh-ee, you have known me well since you arrived, yes?” I ask as she places each item into the box carefully.

“Yeah, I feel like we’ve gotten pretty close. Why?”

“Was I . . . happy? Before my injury?” I ask.

She huffs a breath through her nostrils, her lips squishing together on one side as she stares at the table. “I mean, I think so. You’re a private person. You don’t tell me much, but I think your work makes you happy.”

“It does?” I ask. It is not necessarily a question I need answered, because, of course, my work makes me happy. This is no surprise. But her reluctance to answer reminds me of Aye-vah and Kaiva, how they were not certain of my happiness either.

“Yeah,” she nods, then pauses. “Well, there’s always like, five minutes of happiness when you complete a project before you pivot to ‘what do I need to work on next?’ and then you become consumed with that next thing, but you always take a little break to be happy.”

A little break to be happy.

“I can never really tell what’s going on inside your head, though,” Cloh-ee adds when I say nothing in response. “So maybe you’re happy all the time and no one knows but you.”

Can a person be happy all the time and no one know? Not even those considered to be close friends? Does that actually occur?

Before I can dwell too much on this, Waldric bursts through the door with his arms full of bags and boxes. There must be at least five bags of varying sizes and three big boxes. He places the boxes down gently just inside the door, and the bags fall off his arms in a heap. “I am back,” he says with a bright smile. “Hungry?”

There is no question whether Waldric is happy right now. He emanates unbridled joy. And he has a smile that makes you wonder if he was born with extra teeth. It is lovely.

Returning his grin, I reply, “Always.”

CHAPTER 7

WALDRIC

“You’re going to cook for her? Full-time? As in, all her meals?” Elle-noor continues, asking her question in slightly different ways and following me around the food hall as I collect the ingredients and tools I need to prepare Nalba’s final meal this eve.

“Yes, she wants me there preparing the food, and staying until she has finished eating it,” I tell her, unable to hide my excitement. “I will be at her side for most of the day, every day, until her memories return.”

“Well, that’s great, bud, but who’s going to cook for the clan?” she asks, crossing her arms.

“Krahn will do it,” I reply easily.

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