Page 94 of The Devil's Reward
“Then how about we go and see what we can find for you,” he suggests as I flush the toilet and make quick work of washing my hands. When I emerge, he’s just picking her up and settling her on his hip. “Are you hungry too, gorgeous?” he asks me.
I nod. “I’d like to get dressed first,” I add awkwardly. I’m painfully aware that I’m not wearing a bra, and I don’t want to even think about the fact that I walked through the main room in front of everyone like this. “Give me two minutes to change.” He nods and I rifle through my duffel bag to pull out a pair of yoga pants, a sports bra, and a gray t-shirt. I head back into the bathroom and hurriedly get dressed, running my fingers through my hair before putting it up in a ponytail. That’ll have to do for now.
Shadow smiles at me when I walk out. “You’re beautiful in the mornings, you know,” he says as I reach him and Macy.
I give him ayeah-rightlook and say, “If you’re trying to get on my good side, you need to do better than that.” I’m still not happy about being here, but I’m not as mad as I was last night. Or early this morning, depending on how you look at it.
“How about some waffles?” he asks, changing the subject, and Macy gasps in delight.
“I want waffles!” she screeches and I quickly shush her.
“Macy, people are still sleeping,” I scold her gently.
“Whoops,” she says, hunching her shoulders. “Sorry.”
“It’s fine,” Shadow assures us as we walk out of the room and down the hall. “Most are probably up by now anyway, or if they aren’t, then they will be once we start cooking. They’ll be looking to steal yours,” he warns Macy.
Macy’s face instantly turns into a scowl. “I’m not sharing my waffles,” she announces sternly. “They can have their own.”
“Exactly,” Shadow agrees, taking my hand as we reach the stairs. I don’t pull away, mostly because I like the feel of his hand holding mine, but also because I like the way he’s holding Macy close, like he’s worried she might slip. Damn it, this man is far too good at easing my anger. I need to hold on to it a little longer.
When we reach the bottom of the stairs, I’m surprised to see so many people are already up and awake, including a woman I’ve never met before. At her feet are two black German Shepherds, and their heads lift the moment they see us. Macy gasps when she sees them. “You have doggies,” she cries delightedly, clapping her hands. “Are they nice doggies?”
The woman’s face morphs from a scowl to a genuine smile and she says, “They are nice doggies. If your mom says it’s okay, would you like to meet them?”
“Yes,” Macy answers immediately, squirming until Shadow releases my hand and sets her down. She heads towards them, moving at an easy pace, just like we practiced.
“They love kids,” the woman assures me as Macy stops a few feet from them, and both dogs regard her with interest, tails slowly starting to wag. “The big guy on your left,” she tells Macy, “is Loki. And the other one is his sister Ebony. Guys, friend.”
Both dogs immediately stand and sniff at Macy’s hands before licking her and nudging her to pet and scratch them. Macy giggles, delighted as she greets them. I smile. “They’re beautiful dogs,” I tell the woman, feeling shy and a bit awkward. She is gorgeous, with dark red hair, blue eyes, and looks like she woke up perfect right out of bed, despite being in clothes much the same as me and no make-up.
“Thank you,” she says with a friendly smile. “I’m Syn. I live next door, and I’m best friends with Sage.” She holds out her hand for me to shake and I quickly move forward to do so.
“Nice to meet you.”
“I’m going to make some waffles if you want some,” Shadow says to her, standing behind me and lightly caressing my lower back.
Syn arches a brow at him. “No bacon?”
He chuckles. “Fine, I’ll make bacon too, but you know that’s only going to provoke the horde,” he warns her.
“I think we’ll be okay,” she says with a pointed look at the dogs. “They’ll protect us as long as we give them a piece or two.”
Shadow grins. “Yeah, probably. Come on, Macy, let’s go get some breakfast.”
“Can the dogs come too?” Macy asks Syn with a sweet smile.
Syn grins. “I think you’ll have a hard time keeping them out.”
We all head towards a door off to the side of the room, and I’m surprised to find a spacious kitchen with professional-grade appliances and a very long, large, island that takes up half the room. I’m seriously envious and watch in shock as Shadow expertly grabs pans and a waffle iron from the cabinets. How the hell does he know where everything is in here? I’d need labels for sure.
Once he has everything out, he grabs Macy, sits her on the counter beside him, hands her a bowl, and gets her to help him make the batter. Macy laughs with delight when Shadow puts some of the mix on her nose, grinning at her. And Shadow laughs back when Macy sloshes half the mix up the side of the bowl before he rescues it. “Do that and we won’t have any waffles,” he tells her with a teasing smile. “The dogs would get a nice treat though.”
My heart hurts as I watch them. He’s so good with her. Patient, kind, and he listens. It’s clear that when she speaks she has his whole attention. The last of my anger slides away as he helps scoop some of the mix into the waffle iron, careful to keep her from getting burned. Macy beams up at him when he pulls her away and shuts the lid on the iron.
Damn it all to hell. I just went and fell in love with him.
I put on a smile when Shadow looks over at me, and I try not to panic. How can I fall in love with a man I’ve only just started seeing? How is that even possible? No, this can’t happen. It just can’t. Just because he’s really good with Macy and my ovaries want to explode does not mean I’m in love with him. Nope, no way.
