Page 88 of Piece You Saved

My breath catches as I envision him undoing his pants and sliding them down so I can go to his knees in front of him. I wanted to know how he tasted, and I still do.

“I’m not hungry,” I say.

For food. But I am hungry for other things. Things like you.

“You didn’t finish the sandwich I made you. You’ve barely eaten at all. That’s not acceptable. Eat,” Kade orders with a look in his eyes that tells me he hasn’t missed my response to his idea of feeding me something more interesting than eggs.

“You don’t have to feed me.” I sigh.

“Yes, I do.” He doesn’t say it like he has a problem with it, and he’s not looking at me that way like I’m a burden. He’s looking at me like he likes taking care of me. And truth be told, I like him doing it too. I open my mouth and accept the forkful of eggs.

He watches me closely as I chew and then swallow before he forks up more. I’m not sure why the eggs want to go down when they didn’t before. The moment the buttery scrambled eggs hits my empty belly, it rumbles, as if demanding more. I’m suddenly ravenous.

“Next time she wants to pass her breakfast off to you, Aden. Don’t let her,” Kade says mildly, with his eyes on me. Which means he was listening.

Busted.

“I was—”

Kade interrupts Aden. “Hungry. I know. Make more next time. You have a bigger appetite now. And it wasn’t just you. Angel here knew exactly what she was doing.”

I did. Killed two birds with one stone. Aden needed more food, and I didn’t want to eat.

I accept the next forkful of eggs, and after chewing, I swallow. “You ran as wolves?”

He offers up the last bit of bacon next. “As wolves,” he echoes. “We found a public park that was pretty much a ghost town at night. I still go sometimes. Dariel hasn’t in years.”

“What happened?” I ask before taking a bite. Then another in fast succession. The bacon disappears so quickly, I have no memory of eating it.

Kade nods approvingly. When he turns back to my plate for more, there are suddenly two sausages that weren’t there before and only one person who could have put them there.

I glance over at Aden. He smiles. “Sorry.”

I shake my head. “Don’t apologize. I didn’t want to eat, and you did. Is it easier now?”

He cocks his head in confusion. “Is what easier?”

“Controlling your wolf?” I ask.

His brow furrows as he thinks, and I get the sense I’m not the only one waiting for his response. Kade is as well.

Finally, Aden says, “He’s still there… my wolf. It’s like the difference between standing right beside the speakers or in the middle of a concert.”

“You were by the speakers before?” I guess.

He nods. “Now I’m in the middle of the room. Sometimes it’s too much, but sometimes it’s not too bad.”

I sag in relief. “Good.”

“Told you he was, angel,” Kade assures me.

“You don’t seem worried at all,” I say, turning to face him.

His lips quirk in a half smile. “I’m not. Aden has this under control.”

“Well, I don’t,” Aden corrects him mildly.

“You will. Same difference.” Kade offers me another forkful of eggs. “Open.”

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