Chapter 18
Evander
I wasn’t sure what I expected to wake up to, but it definitely wasn’t Kasey standing in my kitchen at dawn, barefoot and wearing nothing. Cooking.
It took my sleep fogged brain a few seconds too long to register what I was looking at. His back was to me, small and tense, spatula in hand as he hovered over the stove. Naked.
Whatever he was making smelled incredible, and the scent pulled me closer before I even realized I’d moved.
I rubbed the last of the sleep from my eyes, blinking at the sight of him, quiet and focused like he belonged there and didn’t at the same time.
It took my brain a couple of extra seconds to find words, telling the Omega to go get some sort of clothes on as I gently pried the spatula out of his death grip.
A deep blush coated his face before he booked it from the area and disappeared around the corner of his room.
All I could do was shake my head, knowing there was nothing I could have done differently at that moment, other than bringing him his clothes myself.
Some ground rules needed to be set the moment we finished eating. If I didn’t put a few lines in place, this Omega was going to run me ragged without even trying.
It was already hard enough not to let my eyes linger where they had no business going. Not because of anything he was doing, just because my brain hadn’t caught up to the fact that he wasn’t a kid anymore.
He’s my best friend, I reminded myself. Or he had been, once. Before everything. Before the years and the silence and the loss.
He wasn’t that eight-year-old boy I used to chase through the yard. But he was still Kasey. Still the person I’d spent half my childhood protecting. Still, someone who felt like mine in a way I didn’t have the right to claim anymore, no matter how stubbornly my instincts tried to argue otherwise.
And that was exactly why I needed those rules. Before my own head made this harder than it already was.
I finished the last of the cooking, then plated everything, set the dishes on the table and stepped back for a moment.
It wasn’t fancy, but it was warm, and it was the start of a new beginning.
I grabbed two glasses, filled them with water, and placed them beside the plates.
Small things that I hoped would make the room feel safe for the skittish, unsure Omega as he found a place in my life once again.
Kasey reappeared in the doorway a moment later, moving like he wasn’t sure he was allowed to cross the threshold. He had one of my shirts on, one sleeve showing a bit of skin on his shoulder as it began to slip off.
Looking at him sent a pang of want through my heart. I wanted him to wear my stuff, to claim it as his own even though he’d have his own items.
I could picture him willingly wearing my clothes because he was more comfortable in them than his own. Maybe he wore my clothes because he couldn’t bear to be apart from me.
Shaking those thoughts off, I tore my gaze from him, and I ignored the fact that he didn’t look at me. Because if so, I wasn’t sure I’d have the willpower to not drool right there at that moment over how attractive he truly was.
“Food’s ready.” I cleared my throat.
Kasey was in no way mentally stable enough for my thoughts to take over. My own desires didn’t belong here. If ever, for that matter.
He shuffled to the table, arms crossing over his torso, yet he didn’t make a single noise. He hoovered beside the chair instead of sitting.
With him standing closer, I saw his pinkish cheeks as he fought with himself to either sit in the chair or to kneel.
“Sit, sweetheart.”
Almost instantly, he was in the chair, hands folded in his lap, eyes down and hair falling around his face like a curtain.
“Good….” I stopped from saying boy, even though it had been right there on the tip of my tongue. And maybe he knew that, too, as his blush deepened.
“Do you cook often?” I asked as I sat down, picking up my fork. The question came out casual, but I was watching him closely.
Kasey gave a small, one shoulder shrug before mirroring me, lifting his own fork and cutting off the tiniest bite, as if he wasn’t sure he was allowed more.
I took my first mouth and had to stop myself from groaning. “I’d really like to hear your voice,” I said, then shook my head as the flavor hit. “Good God. This is incredible, Kase.”
Color rushed up his cheeks, dark and quick. I couldn’t tell if it was praise or the fact that I’d asked to hear him speak. Maybe both.
“I was going to say you didn’t have to make breakfast,” I added, still stunned by how good it was, “but this is… it’s almost as good as my mom’s.”
His eyes flicked up, startled, then dropped again. “I… just used… what was in the fridge.” The words were so soft that I almost missed them.
But they were there. His voice. Small, hesitant, but real. And it hit me harder than the food did. But I smiled
I watched him take another tiny bite; shoulders still hunched like he was waiting for someone to tell him he’d done it wrong. The Omega didn’t even see the taste of the food at first, too focused on being quiet.
I took another bite, just to keep from staring too obviously. The food was good, shockingly so, but what held my attention was the way Kasey kept shrinking in on himself, like praise was something dangerous.
I set my fork down gently, not wanting the sound to startle him. “You know, most people brag when they can cook like this.”
Kasey’s fingers tightened around his fork, eyes flickering up for half a second, then dropped them again. “I…didn’t know what you wanted.”
I leaned back in my chair, sifting my posture, making myself look as unthreatening as possible. “Kasey, you don’t have to guess what I want. You’re not going to get in trouble making breakfast. Or for anything like that.”
Kasey swallowed, throat bobbing. “I am to serve you.”
“Let’s finish our breakfast and we’ll go over the rules and expectations. And you are not in trouble.”
Kasey’s ducked his head even more, hand shaking as he lifted another tiny bite to his lips.
Deciding to give him space to calm down, I returned to my own food, trying not to shove it all at once in my mouth. I wanted to savor it, to box it up and have it lasted the entire day.
But soon enough my plate became empty while Kasey’s plate remained a little less than half.
“For the record,” I cleared my throat as I stood, collecting our dishes, “you can cook in my kitchen anytime you want. Clothes optional.”
Kasey’s head snapped up, blue eyes wide and startled, locking onto mine so fast it knocked the breath out of me.
I froze, actually froze, then coughed hard, nearly choking on nothing but air. “I mean—clothes are not optional. Definitely not optional. Please wear clothes. Around the stove. And… in general. Clothes are good.”
Perfect. Absolutely flawless delivery. A master in sounding like an idiot.
Heat crawled up my neck, and I had to look away from the Omega’s too sharp, too curious gaze before I embarrassed myself any further.
But right before I turned, I caught Kasey’s lips tugging upward, the smallest, shyest curve of amusement. Like my stuttering surprised him. Like he found it… funny.
And for a moment, the tightness in his shoulders eased, just a fraction. Enough to make the whole awkward mess worth it.
I cleaned up the kitchen, and I kept an eye on Kasey out of the corner of my eyes. He hoovered at the table, half on the chair, yet seemed to be ready to move if I gave the simple order for him to do so.
“Go have a seat in the living room, sweetheart. Make yourself comfortable.”
Kasey was up and out of the chair before I even finished. Thankfully, as I turned to watch him walk away, he fixed the shirt on his shoulder, hiding his marked skin from me.
I made a mental note to order some proper clothes for the Omega. And Shoes, since he came here with none in my haste to get him out of that hell hole.
It didn’t take long to finish cleaning up the already tided kitchen, so I joined Kasey in the living room.
He sat on the floor, legs folded up against his chest, back towards the chair he had sat in yesterday.
At least he remembered no kneeling; I thought as I took a seat on the couch.
Ignoring Kasey’s placement of choice, figuring it wasn’t worth correcting at this time, I pulled out the notebook and pen I had put on the side table late last night after he’d gone to bed.
“So…we need go over a few things. Nothing is bad. Just...expectations. So, you don’t have to guess.”
Kasey’s shoulders tightened, but he nodded.
I softened my tone even more. “These aren’t rules to control you. They’re just to make sure you feel safe here. And so, I don’t accidentally made things harder for you.”
Kasey blinked, glancing up at me before dropping his gaze again.
I continued, slow, and careful. “I’ve written a few down already, which I’ll give you this notebook when we are done so you can always have them to look back on. You can also use this as a way to add other rules that you want to apply, and I’ll be more than happy to take a look at them.”
Another barely their nod.
“First, which you already know, no kneeling. I don’t like Omegas kneeling for me.
Second, you don’t need permission to eat, sleep, or shower.
You live here…treat it as your home. Third, you don’t have to cook for me.
If you want, it's great. If not, that’s fine, too.
Third,” I paused, running a hand through my hair before writing it down as I spoke the words. “Clothes. Please wear them.”
“Yes, Sir.” It was spoken just loud enough for me to hear.
“Good. Next one,” I couldn’t help but look at the Omega who seemed very fascinated with the floor beneath his toes. “I will never ever expect any form of sex from you. I don’t want that type of service from you. And I don’t see you that way.”