Page 24 of Guarding the Rock Star
“Do you like tacos?” Yuri asked.
Tasha laughed. “Of course, but we’re in the middle of nowhere. We’d have to drive at least forty-five minutes to find tacos.”
“Do not worry, tiny little human, we have brought the ingredients to make a taco bar,” Yuri told her, looking pleased with himself. “We have also brought many honey cupcakes from Suzie’s bakery.”
At Tasha’s blank look Yuri added, “Suzi is our friend. She has a bakery down the street from our restaurant and she is mate with Angie.”
Tasha looked at me. “The same Angie that was at my house yesterday?”
“Yeah.”
“Suzie is a vampire?” Tasha asked.
“No,” I said shortly. Thinking about people who were with their fated mate was making me cranky right now.
“She’s a shifter then?”
I sighed. “No, she’s a human.”
Tasha looked thoughtful but didn’t say anything else, making me wonder what was going on in that beautiful head of hers. I hoped it was something about her realizing that humans could be mates with vamps.
I had some other work to do, so I settled in front of my laptop while Tasha and the bears made dinner. The four of them were talking and laughing in the kitchen like old friends, and I couldn’t help but smile at how well they were getting along. Tasha could be a bit standoffish, but the bears tended to befriend everyone they came in contact with. Other than the ones they killed, that was.
At some point my mate put on some of the rock music she liked, and I could hear her and the bears singing along to some screeching musician. With a sigh, I took my laptop to my bedroom where it was quieter. It was hard enough to focus already.
An hour later Tasha knocked on my door.
“Dinner is ready,” she said, sticking her head in the door without waiting for me to tell her to come in. Then again, it was her house.
“Great, thanks.”
“Also, I warmed up some blood for you to have as an appetizer.”
I looked up in surprise. After being around each other so much the last few weeks we’d become familiar with each other’s routines. Technically I only needed one dose of blood a day to stay healthy, but I felt stronger if I had two. I usually had one in the morning with my coffee, and one with dinner.
I was touched that Tasha had gone to the trouble of preparing my blood, especially because most humans and even most shifters got grossed out by it.
“Thank you,” I said.
She gave me an impish grin as she handed me the cup. “I added a stalk of celery and a lemon wedge, like a proper Bloody Mary.”
I couldn’t help but smile back. “Sounds delicious.”
When I got to the dining room, I discovered that the bears and Tasha had indeed created a taco bar. The island that separated the kitchen from the dining room was loaded down with bowls holding every taco fixing imaginable. Every square inch of the marble surface was covered with hard and soft shell tortillas, ground beef, pork, chicken, salsa, guacamole, black beans, rice, and every kind of vegetable imaginable.
We each made our own combination, then sat at the table to eat, chatting easily as we devoured our food. Everything was delicious and I ate more than I had in a long time.
“What happens next?” Tasha asked after dinner, looking around at the detritus of dinner.
Between the five of us we’d eaten every scrap of the food they’d prepared for dinner. Other than a stray shred of cheese in one bowl, the bears had practically licked everything clean. Not that Tasha and I hadn’t had our share.
“Next we will play cards and relax,” Boris said with surprising firmness. “Is not good to worry all the time, or only to work. Tonight, we will have fun. Tomorrow, we will work.”
Tasha
I always loved coming up to the cabin. I almost always came here by myself, but sometimes I brought Chloe. It was my sanctuary. Nice and quiet and peaceful. I’d had some of my most productive writing times here.
Until now.
