Chapter 5 #2
Once we landed, he drew in a deep breath from the top of my head, turned, and left.
He really did need to work on his people skills.
With a shrug, I left the room and went in search of food. My stomach was growling, reminding me that with my nap, I had missed lunch.
“Where have you been hiding?” Zeke asked behind me.
I turned and said, “I was taking a nap in the jungle room.”
He scowled. “How did you reach the hammocks?”
“Wayne,” I answered with a wide smile.
His eyes widened. “You slept with him.”
I put my hands on my hips. “First of all, it isn’t any of your business what I do or don’t do with anyone. Second of all, I slept in a separate hammock. He just flew me up to it.”
His brows furrowed. “It is my business who you sleep with.”
I arched a brow. “I’m sorry, what? How is that any of your business?”
He opened his mouth, shut it, and then finally replied, “The four of us are best friends. Brothers. If something is going on, I need to know.”
“So, you all know every woman the other has slept with or fooled around with?” I asked, incredibly skeptical.
He nodded. “Yeah.”
My mouth dropped. “You’re serious? You guys tell each other everything?”
He nodded again. “Complete and total honesty is the only way that we can stay united. We will share a mate, remember?”
Well, that was a new one. I knew males liked to share their exploits, but telling each other everything …
“Where are you headed?” he asked.
“To get food. I missed lunch,” I explained, glad to let the topic drop.
I did not want to have a conversation where I explained that I hadn’t ever had a friendship that was close like that.
It had been something I dreamed of. Something I had watched on television shows with envy and assumed had been fake.
When so many people wanted you dead, it was nearly impossible to make friends.
Plus, it put those friends in harm’s way.
“Mind if I join you?” he asked.
“Not at all, Giant,” I said and looked up at him with a wide smile.
He sighed. “I’m not a giant.”
“What are you going to eat?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Meat of some kind.”
“Meat is good,” I agreed. “I could go for meat pasta.”
“Oh, that does sound good,” he agreed. “Yes, let’s make that.”
“I can’t cook,” I admitted. “Why not just use the replicator?”
He smiled. “Real food tastes better than replicated food. Don’t worry, Starlight, I’ve got you.”
“Starlight?” I asked.
“You’ll still have to help me in the kitchen, though,” he said, ignoring my question. “You don’t get to eat for free.”
“Actually, it was part of my agreement with Preston,” I reminded him.
“Free as in not paying, but not free as in not working or helping,” he countered.
“I’m not going to argue semantics, but I will assist you. Only if you say please, though.”
He stopped at the door to the kitchen and looked down at me. His brows were furrowed again, something I thought was a common expression for this Dragonkin, but he seemed perplexed. “‘Please?’”
He’d said it like a question, but I wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. “Sure thing, Giant.”
I pushed open the door to the kitchen and sauntered in.
Preston and Wayne stood by the pantry, whispering to each other.
“Are we interrupting?” I asked.
They looked over.
“Not at all,” Preston said. “What are you two doing in here?”
“Making some food,” Zeke said.
“We were trying to decide what to eat,” Wayne said and glanced at me.
“We’re going to have meat pasta,” I said.
“It’s been a long time since we last had that,” Preston said. “Good choice.”
“Are you going to help?” I asked him.
He shrugged. “I can.”
I hopped up onto one of the counters with a wide smile and said, “Great, then Zeke won’t need my help since he has you.”
Zeke chuckled. “Devious female.”
“Wayne was asking about adding a hammock in the jungle room for you,” Preston said as he grabbed ingredients from the pantry.
“I would appreciate it. Even with my enhanced abilities, I’m not able to jump as high as the hammocks currently installed are located,” I said. “It was one of the best naps I’ve had in … well … ever.”
“We will figure something out,” Wayne promised.
“Did you find anything else interesting on your adventuring today?” Preston asked.
So, they did have a way to track me on the ship. Good to know.
I shrugged. “Just that there is one locked room, but nothing else too interesting.”
They all looked at each other, bodies tensed.
“Don’t worry, boys, I’m not going to try to invade your private room. Everyone is allowed their privacy and secrets,” I said.
“Do you want beef or chicken?” Zeke asked.
“Beef,” I answered immediately.
“If you show me your necklace or tell me what it is that you’re searching for, I will allow you into the locked room,” Preston offered.
I stared at him with wide eyes. He didn’t know me that well yet, but curiosity was one of my weaknesses. Over the years, I’d gotten myself into a lot of trouble just because of it. “No, thank you,” I whispered in reply, fighting the urge to immediately agree.
He shrugged and resumed preparing the food. “Okay.”
That jerk. Now I was going to be thinking about that until either I gave in and accepted his offer, or I broke into the room.
“Why are you being so secretive about your necklace?” Wayne asked. “It’s not like we’re going to laugh at it or try to steal it.”
“Why are you being so secretive about your room? It’s not like I’m going to light it on fire or steal things from it?” I asked back, anger seeping into my tone.
He blinked in silence.
“Sorry,” I said softly and rubbed a hand down my face. “Ignore that comment.”
“What’s going on in here?” Gage asked.
“We’re making dinner,” Preston answered.
Wayne walked over and hopped up to sit on the counter beside me.
Gage walked over to inspect the ingredients on the counter. “What are you making?”
Wayne leaned over and whispered, “If you’re in need of a little … release, I can help you with that.”
It took me a minute to understand what he was saying. My entire face felt like it was on fire. I hopped down from the counter and glared at him. “Even if that were a problem, which it’s not, I wouldn’t ask any of you to help me!”
The other three turned to look at us.
Wayne shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
Screaming at him wouldn’t fix anything, especially not my pride which was really hurting because he was completely right.
“Egotistical assholes,” I growled and stalked out of the kitchen.
“What did you say to her?” Gage demanded.
I hid in my room the rest of the night, not even answering when Zeke knocked to tell me food was ready.
My inexperience made me embarrassed, but I didn’t want to admit to them that I had only slept with two people, one time each. I didn’t need them either vying to be the first to sleep with me or treating me like a loser. In my life, I had experienced both reactions and they sucked.
Someone knocked on my door again.
I stayed silent.
“I’m sorry,” Wayne said through the door. “I warned you that I’m not very good with talking to people and I was only trying to be helpful.”
Helpful? He considered offering to sleep with someone helpful?
“The others explained why what I said was inappropriate and how it could have made you feel. If I’d known you would take it that way, I wouldn’t have said it,” he continued.
How was he so bad at understanding others when the other three weren’t? Had he only recently joined their group? Was he raised differently than the others? I knew so little about Dragonkin.
“I’m really sorry and hope you’ll forgive me,” he said. His voice sounded completely sincere and like he genuinely felt bad for upsetting me. These Dragonkin were so weird.
Instead of continuing to hide, I opened the door and said, “I’ll forgive you if you make me a hammock in the jungle room.”
He reached out and pulled me into a hug.
I tensed at first, unused to hugs since being separated from my parents, but his clean but fire-like scent and warmth surrounding me made me relax into his hold. It was the first time that I felt safe since I lost my family and tears started to well in my eyes, but I quickly blinked them away.
“Deal,” he whispered against the top of my head. He finally released me and walked away without looking back.
These Dragonkin were so wonderfully strange.