Caleb’s soft voice in my ear woke me gently from sleep while he curled around me and I snuggled back into his embrace.
“How did your mission go?” he murmured. “Did you have fun?”
My lips curved in a sleepy smile, but I didn’t bother opening my eyes. “So much fun. The Fox misses her missions.”
“I just bet she does,” he chuckled, nuzzling the bend of my neck and gently biting the skin. “It’s a shame you made that deal with the director to join Omega. I could have been the Robin to your Batman.”
A laugh bubbled through me, and I turned over in his arms, snuggling into his chest and breathing in his vanilla-cinnamon smell. He was like a giant cookie or something; I constantly just wanted to run my tongue all over him.
“Why do you always smell so delicious, Cal?” I mumbled through a yawn, shuffling till I was comfortable and sighing with contentment as his strong arms closed around me.
“It’s just my built-in Kit-attractant.” His chest vibrated with a silent laugh.
“Where were you earlier? I was worried,” I asked sleepily, and his muscles tensed under me.
“I wanted to pick something up for you in town,” he replied, but there was something off about his tone. But that might have just been the sleep fuzzing my brain.
“For me? Can I have it now?” I yawned, pushing up a bit to blink at him in the dark room.
“No, Kitty Kat, now is for sleeping; you can have it in the morning.” He flashed a smile at me that I could only make out thanks to how close we were. “Back to sleep, please.”
He tugged me back down to lie on him once more, and I cuddled in until I was comfortable once more.
“Hey, Cal?” I murmured, on the edge of sleep once more. “Are you okay? After I healed you?”
“You’re worried you changed me?” he asked after a moment’s pause, his voice quiet and serious. “Don’t worry, Kitty Kat. I’m fine.”
“Good.” I planted a kiss on his bare chest and let my mind drift back to sleep. Dimly, somewhere in the back of my brain, I realized his answer of “I’m fine” didn’t answer my question about whether he’d been changed.
Getting dressed for my first day of spy school was a challenge all of its own. What the hell did one wear for espionage class? It was still cold out, so after standing in front of my mess of a suitcase for at least ten minutes while wrapped in the blanket from the bed, I decided on dark blue jeans and a black ribbed sweater with a low V-neck. The jeans would give me an opportunity to finally wear the new boots I’d been dying to try out.
They weren’t anything too flashy, but they were a gorgeous, soft black leather with a chunky heel and lacing up the front to mid-calf height. I’d first seen them in a store in Seattle when Cole had taken me out for a dinner date that turned into a cage fight, and he had gone back and bought them for me.
Much to my disappointment, they’d been left at the New York townhouse after Jonathan’s Thanksgiving party, and I hadn’t had a chance to retrieve them or wear them since.
Those boots alone made me aware of the fact that Jonathan, or one of his men, had packed up my things from the townhouse for me. Made me glad I really didn’t keep anything private in my bedroom there.
“Hey hot stuff!” Caleb called out as I joined the guys in the kitchen for what smelled like pancakes. Wesley was cooking once again while Cole set the table.
“Hey, guys,” I murmured, considerably less upbeat than Caleb was in the morning. He’d woken up a good hour or so earlier while I’d chosen to stay in bed and hug the blankets as long as possible. Mornings were not my friend.
“Here.” Caleb came around the kitchen island and handed me a mug of coffee. A giant mug of coffee in a cup that had the words “Oh for fox sake” printed on it, except instead of the word fox, there was a cute baby fox picture.
“I love it.” I grinned. “Is this what you went to get from town?”
He smiled back at me. “Yeah, well I knew how crazy-small the cups all are in these apartments, and I wanted your first day of Omega training to be something special.”
“Caleb.” I gaped. “That is so sweet of you.” I placed my huge mug of coffee down on the counter and stretched up on my toes to plant a kiss on his lips. “Thank you.”
“It’s nothing, Kitty Kat. Keeping you well caffeinated is a public service to your classmates.” He threw me a cheeky wink, then returned to the kitchen to help Wesley plate up the last of the pancakes and bring them out to the table.
“How did you sleep, Vixen?” Cole asked, holding out a chair for me to take.
“Surprisingly well, given all the crap that’s gone on lately,” I replied, taking the seat and trying not to drool over the glorious-smelling food. Wesley’s cooking skills were seriously impressing the pants off me. “Wes, I am in awe of your chef skills right now. You are all aware that I burn boiling water?”
“No worries, sweetheart.” Wes chuckled. “I enjoy cooking. Maybe I’ll show you sometime.”
No answer was needed as I moaned around a mouthful of pancake and maple syrup, and the guys all cracked grins. Dirty bastards.
“Eat up, love,” River ordered. “You’re due to class in less than thirty minutes. You too, Drake.” He nodded at Cole, who smiled wickedly.
“I get to be your keeper today,” he told me a little gleefully, and I squinted at him in suspicion.
“Why do we look so happy about this, Cutie? What am I missing here?”
Cole held my gaze steady, but I heard Caleb stifle a snort at my new nickname for the tattooed bad boy of their team.
“Cole didn’t get along very well with the Omega trainers,” River filled me in. “I have no doubt he plans on being a pest for them today.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Cole practically purred in a distinctly dragon-like tone.
“Uh-huh. Sure.” I raised a brow at him. “Just don’t drag me into whatever you have planned, please. I don’t need any more attention than I’ll already have for starting late and bringing a damn babysitter with me.”
“Don’t you worry, Vix. This will be fun.” Cole pushed back from the table and carried his empty plate to the kitchen to stack in the dishwasher. “Ready to go?”
“I wish I could come too.” Caleb snickered. “Cole’s torture of the trainers was still being talked about when Aus and I completed training. He’s a legend.”
Chewing my lip nervously, I handed my empty plate to Cole and went to grab my bag out of my room. Not that there was much in it, just a notebook and some pens, but I wasn’t sure if there would be notes or textbooks to collect so figured better safe than sorry.
“Nice boots,” Cole commented as the two of us made our way out of the apartment block and across the property to the training wing.
“Thanks.” I grinned. “My boyfriend got them for me.” Cole’s hand tightened around mine, and I froze midstep.
Oh fuck. What the fuck did I just say?