Chapter Eight
She followed Hunter up the stairs and down the hall to his rooms. He opened the door, then with unexpected nervousness, lifted his arm to welcome her to step in. “After you.”
She walked in and was pleasantly surprised. She had been expecting metal, chrome, weight sets, and a large television. But, that wasn’t what greeted her at all. Stepping inside, she looked around the room slowly.
The walls were painted a muted mint green.
His furniture was a deep brown color that gave the entire space a cottage feel.
All the fabrics looked to be plush and soft, inviting in a way that made one think of hot cocoa and rainy days.
On one wall, a three-sided bay window was draped in living plants. “Hunter?”
“Yeah?”
“Did you do this?”
“Yeah, is it too plain?”
She shook her head. “It’s perfect.”
His expression brightened. “Really? I got my inspiration from Ma. She always said that fewer quality pieces outshone gaudy expensive ones.” He rubbed the back of his head. “It is kinda simple though.”
She went to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her cheek against his chest. “It feels like home,” she said, her voice catching.
He simply scooped her up and leaned down to nuzzle his nose against hers.
“It was so chaotic earlier, I forgot your bag is back at my parents' house.” He set her down on the edge of the bed and went to his dresser. “I’m pretty sure my undershirts will fit like a nightgown for you.” He held up a cotton tee. “Is that okay?”
She nodded, watching him putter around the room.
He handed her the shirt, then pointed to the door on the right. “That’s the bathroom. I keep extra toiletries under the sink.”
She stood and padded over to the bathroom. Every step felt luxurious as her toes sunk slightly into the rug. She even stopped and curled her toes downward.
Hunter chuckled behind her. “It’s a favorite for me too.”
She grinned and went into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. Taking a deep breath, she looked at herself in the mirror. It was the same face, same hair, but for some reason she felt like an entirely different person.
She turned on the faucet to get the water hot, then wiped down in her version of a bird bath. Opening the cabinet under the sink, she could only stare. “Hunter?”
“Yeah!” he answered.
“Do you get a lot of guests?”
“No. I just like to be prepared.”
She stared at stacks of little boxes of shampoos, body washes, toothbrushes, and toothpaste. “Your ma does this too doesn’t she?” she yelled back.
“Yeah!”
She picked out what she needed and brushed her teeth. Smiling she set her toothbrush next to his and walked out wearing just his shirt and her panties. In her hands were her folded clothes. He had been right, the shirt hit her knees.
While she was getting ready for bed, he changed into his own pajamas. He was now wearing a short-sleeve tee and soft pants.
She set her clothes down on the nightstand by the bed. Looking down, she frowned at where he turned down the covers. “Hunter, you don’t have sheets. Those are blankets.”
“About that.” He picked up a remote and pushed a button causing a loud beep. Moments later, a strong breeze began circulating the room, causing her to rub her arms. With another beep, the light tuned off, leaving only the faint glow from the bay windows.
He lifted the covers. “Try it.”
She slid between two fuzzy blankets. What should have been a flat and fitted sheet were soft, plush blankets. However, after a bit, she wiggled down under the covers as the air cooled by the fan. “I see.” He deliberately kept his room cooler to use those fuzzy blankets. “You’re a genius.”
“I just know what I like.” He got in and soon they were both lying there staring at the ceiling.
“So?” she started.
“I have an idea, but you’ll have to trust me.”
She hesitated. “I trust you.”
“Okay. Get comfortable.”
“What?”
“Pretend we’ve been mated for like a century. Hug my arm, drape your leg over mine, roll on to your side, whatever feels right.”
“How do you sleep?” she asked.
“On my back.”
“You snore, don’t you?”
“Probably.”
“I’m a side sleeper.” She rolled on to her right side, and taking him at his word, snuggled closer to hold his arm. She didn’t drape her leg over his, but she did bring her knee up slightly. She sighed as she got comfortable. Yawning, she rubbed her face against his upper arm. “You’re warm.”
“Another reason I like it cooler in here.”
She yawned again. “You’re like a polar bear.”
“Slander!” Hunter gasped in mock indignation.
She laughed, then felt her day catching up to her. Fighting her drowsiness, she squeezed his arm in a hug. “Goodnight, my mate.”
He was quiet for a second. “Goodnight, my mate,” he replied softly.
With the fan blowing and her mate keeping her warm, she immediately fell asleep.
*****
In the morning she got dressed in yesterday’s clothes and headed downstairs with Hunter. Peeking up at him, she noticed that the man had not stopped smiling all morning.
She poked his side. “Did you have a nice dream?”
He shook his head. “I woke up with my mate in my arms, how could it be a bad morning?”
Blushing, she smiled at his words.
Surprisingly, the dining area wasn’t nearly as full as it had been the previous evening for dinner.
Meryn sat listlessly in her chair, holding a cup of coffee to her chest. Pip was next to her arranging a plate of breakfast food, which is slid over to Meryn.
Kiera sat down across from them. “Where is everyone?”
Pip smiled. “Nigel and Neil went with Genevieve to the orphanage. Caiden, Konstantine, Aedan, Zev and Aiden are doing drills out back.” Pip tapped his cheek.
“Uncle Marshall went with Eoin to the council house to submit your custody paperwork, the other three Armstrong cousins should be arriving for breakfast soon and Kendrick said he wanted to look at a few books before he started your testing so he took Anne with him back to his house.”
Ryuu walked in balancing multiple platters. He set down, bacon, scrambled eggs, fruit, and toast onto the table. “Plates and silverware are on the sideboard. Do either of you require a dose of caffeine?”
“Dose?” Kiera asked.
Ryuu smiled, his eyes going to Meryn. “We treat coffee as medicinal.”
“Knock, knock.”
Kiera and Hunter turned to see Hunter’s parents, cousins, and her brother and sister arrive. “Keran! Nicol! Good morning!” She stood and scooped them both up to kiss their faces repeatedly, causing both of them to giggle.
“Kiera, you just saw us last night,” Keran protested, but was smiling the whole time.
“Does that mean I can’t hug and kiss you this morning?” she asked, setting them down next to the chairs by her.
“No,” Nicol answered immediately.
Myra placed a suitcase by the doorway. “We figured you’d want to change.”
“Thanks, Ma,” Hunter said.
Keran grinned and sat down.
Myra went to the sideboard and began passing out plates, keeping two in her hands.
“Keran, Nicol, what would you like for breakfast?” She walked over to where the platters were laid out on the table.
When Ryuu stepped forward to help, she waved him off.
“I heard you offering coffee.” She lifted her hand and pointed to Hunter’s cousins. “They’ve only had one cup so far.”
“I’m so sorry,” Meryn said, then sipped her coffee.
Ryuu placed a hand on his chest. “Drip, French press, pour over or espresso based?”
Augustus’ face relaxed in relief. “Drip, black for me.”
“Same for me,” Hunter’s father said.
Hunter just raised his hand. “Me too.”
“If it’s not too much of a hassle for clean-up, I’d love the French press,” Connor asked.
“Just a latte for me,” Rory added.
Kiera nodded, smiling at Rory, then turned to Ryuu. “I’d love one, too.”
Ryuu straightened. “No problem at all.” He looked down, then held out his hand.
Meryn raised her arm and he placed his fingers on her wrist. “Double helping of eggs today and you can have more coffee after breakfast.”
“Can you get some ketchup?” she asked, her eyes slowing unglazing.
Ryuu took a deep breath. “Of course.” He turned and walked back into the kitchen.
Kiera smiled. She had seen more than one human put ketchup on their eggs when she lived amongst them. Condiments weren’t used as much by paranormals.
At her side, Keran leaned forward. “Princess Auntie, is that for your eggs?”
“Yup. Most of the time for scrambled I use ketchup. Every once in a while, if I’m craving something sweet, I’ll use syrup.”
“How’d you start doing that?” Hunter asked, sounding curious.
“Waffle House. Ordered hash brows. Added ketchup, cuz, they’re just like deconstructed fries, and it was good. Had pancakes, so there syrup. On one side of my plate by the hash browns, ketchup got on my eggs, on the other side syrup. Decided I liked both,” she explained.
Keran looked over to Kiera. “Can I try ketchup?”
“I don’t see why not.”
Hunter shot her a panicked look. “Are you sure?”
“It’s just ketchup Hunter.”
Meryn smiled. “Live a little.”
“Meryn, were you able to secure us transportation to Boston, to visit the bank?” Augustus asked.
“Yup. Pinged Darian this morning. Works out great for him because Amelia heard about Boston and is suddenly craving chowder, lobster rolls and Boston Cream Pie.”
Myra filled two plates with food and set them down in front of the kids before fixing a plate for herself and Johann. She looked at Kiera and Hunter, smiling. “Should I fix your plates as well?” she teased.
Kiera shook her head. “No, but could you pass me a plate?”
“Me too, Ma.”
Myra passed them plates, and they passed food back and forth until they had what they wanted for breakfast.
Ryuu came in with a tray. He wordlessly set the ketchup down next to Meryn, then passed Augustus, Hunter, and Johann a cup of coffee with small pitchers of cream and a bowl of different sweeteners.
“The French Press and lattes should be ready in a minute,” he explained, then headed back to the kitchen.
Meryn grinned evilly and squirt ketchup all over her eggs. When she was done, she passed the bottle down to Keran. “Try just a little, if you like it, you can add more.”