“Dinner is served!” I called as I heard Nix walk through the door. I had been waiting for her cute butt to march into the house after classes. She was later than I had anticipated, but James texted and told us that she needed to hit up the library on the way home to do a little research for one of her classes. I hoped the smell in the kitchen was enticing.
“Uh, Ryder. Please tell me you didn’t cook?” She sniffed the air, and I could tell she was trying to see if I had burned anything or set the kitchen on fire. When surprise crossed her face as I pulled garlic bread out of the oven, I felt triumphant.
“Ha, ha. I promised not to try and cook again, and I didn’t. I am very good, however, at ordering dinner.” I beamed at her as I pulled bowls out of an overhead cabinet. You had to work with was you had, and what I had was a huge list of takeout menus.
“What did you get?” She tried to peer into the pot I had warming on the stove, but I shooed her away. “Is it Italian since we’re having garlic bread? That does seem like your kind of carb-filled heaven.”
“Nope. It’s soup. Now march that beautiful ass over to the table and sit down. I’m serving tonight.”
She grinned and held her hands up, acquiescing to my request and sitting down in her usual seat at our wooden table. “What kind of soup?” I could tell she was curious about my secretiveness.
“It’s healthy.” I kept my answers vague as I carried a stack of dishes to the table.
“Alright.” She hedged, “What’s in it?”
I quirked a grin at her. “It’s got vegetables in it to appease the Gargoyle.” I saw her wince and shift in her chair and I watched avidly, wondering what was wrong with Nix. “What? You don’t like soup?”
“No, no. Soup’s great.” She waved me off, but I kept my attention on her as I continued to set the table. Turning back to me, she caught my eyes as I set the bowls at each place setting. “So vegetable soup?” She pried, but I knew she was trying to keep the topic of conversation off of herself.
“Nope.” I headed back into the kitchen, and she pivoted in her seat to watch me prepare the garlic bread. It was toasted to perfection, a warm yellow with golden edges sprinkled with plenty of garlic and a dash of salt. This part I had done myself. I mean, not like bake the bread, just slather it in deliciousness and toast it. Still, I counted it as an accomplishment. My mouth watered as I sliced it and returned to the dining area to drop the chunks of bread into the basket in the middle of the table.
“Alright, spill it Applejack. What’s for dinner?” I nearly laughed. I had apple pie for dessert—although I’d much rather have her as the delicacy—so her little nickname was almost fitting. She crossed her arms under her breasts, pushing them together and up. Dropping my eyes, I ate up the view. The damn woman was trying to use her wiles on me, and I wouldn’t lie… it was working.
Looking up at her with heat and mischief in my eyes, I challenged her. “How about a taste for a taste?” I was acting playful, but if she said yes I’d be on my knees before her in a second flat, yanking down her sweater. Her face blushed a pretty pink as she dropped her arms. I didn’t think she was embarrassed; instead, I thought the flush was from sudden desire. Her eyes were sparkling when she looked up at me, and I couldn’t help but waggle my eyebrows, trying to elicit a laugh from her. Damn, but it was my new favorite sound.
“You are incorrigible!” She yelled in mock frustration. I loved teasing her.
“It’s potato soup.” I relented to her questioning, knowing she was dying to know what I’d be serving.
“That’s one vegetable, and it’s a starch.” She pointed out as I went back to the kitchen, stirring the pot once more. The stovetop was on low, just enough to heat the soup, but I absolutely did not want to mess it up lest the teasing would never stop. I may not be able to provide dinner for Nix in the traditional way, but I could certainly do it this way. I felt a little like I had something to prove, and I didn’t want to fail at it.
I knew that when I became a doctor many long years from now, I would be able to give Nix a good life. I would be able to support not only her but my brothers too—if they needed it. Until then, I was paying my dues and working hard in class. I liked to volunteer at the local hospital as well as at the clinics back home. Thinking about having Nix in my life long term just felt right, even if I couldn’t explain it. Growing up parentless was difficult. The Council was not made up of what I would call parental figures. Damien’s dad was as close to a father as I’d ever had and Theo’s mom had practically adopted all of us, but it still wasn’t the same as having my own flesh and blood mom and dad. I didn’t even know who they were, let alone what happened to them. Allie had been older than me and often took on the role of mother, but after she was gone, I’d honestly had no one. The guys were like family; we grew closer every year. Now that Nix was in our life, the bond I felt toward everyone had strengthened; intensified.
“Earth to Ryder!” Nix snapped her fingers, bringing me back and I realized I had been absentmindedly stirring the pot. “Where’d you go?”
Giving her a grin, I returned to our conversation. “Just thinking is all.”
“About how Damien is going to throw a fit over dinner?” She seemed to sense that I’d gone a little melancholy, and I loved her for not prying. I wanted to share all of this with her, but when we were alone. I knew everyone would be descending soon, ready to eat.
“Hey, it also has onions.” I shrugged my shoulders and raised my arms up in a “what” gesture—wooden spoon and all. “And cheese. Lots of cheese.” I gave her my best grin.
She chuckled. “Oh, Damien is going to hate this.”
“You’re enough cheese for me Ryder.” Damien walked into the dining room, shirtless, with a pair of soft flannel pants hanging from his hips. I could make out the top elastic of his boxers as he entered the kitchen to check on me. I glanced at Nix and saw her eyes roaming over Damien’s physique. I couldn’t help but take a gander myself. The man was a beautiful specimen. It’s not like I had never noticed how attractive my brothers were, but Hiro had awakened something in me that I hadn’t realized was there. My appreciation bordered on attraction. I already knew I was attracted to Hiro and Nix. I had deep feelings for them both. I took a minute to evaluate whether I was attracted to Killian, Theo, and Damien. I wasn’t opposed to the idea that was for sure, but they had always been my brothers, and I wouldn’t mess that up. I wanted us to be a unit with Nix to be at the center. Her arousal over seeing me with Hiro was part of what drove me during our sexy encounters. The way we heated her blood, it made me ripe with lust. Bloody hell, I needed to change my train of thought, or I was going to be serving dinner with an obvious boner in my dark wash jeans.
“At least serve a salad.” Damien threw his hands into the air—thankfully oblivious for once to my internal musings—and started rummaging through the fridge in search of what he’d need. “Seriously. There is nothing green in this entire meal. Not even a healthy lean protein.” He shook his head in exasperation as he emerged from the stainless steel fridge holding more vegetables than I could even name. What the heck did he plan to do with those sprout looking things?
I just kept the grin on my face, letting him do his thing. I was getting a deep level of enjoyment out of his perturbed state.
“What’s going on?” I heard Killian emerge from upstairs. He’d just barely beaten Nix home, but he’d walked through the door covered in engine grease, and Hiro ordered him to take a shower before he accidentally knocked into a wall and left stains everywhere.