She pulled the boiling pot of potatoes and water off the stove and turned the burner off. Mashed potatoes seemed easy enough, as did the green beans and pork chops. At least all of that looked easy enough on all the cooking shows she had watched in her room. Once she had the potatoes mashed, the green beans buttered, and the pork chops cooking in garlic and a little white wine, she went about the task of setting the table. As domestic as all of this was, she couldn’t help the small thrill that she was cooking for her mate. This whole situation had started off as frightening, still was, too, but that didn’t mean she didn’t allow herself a few moments to bask in the fact fate had stepped in and literally thrust her and Maverick together. Where would she be right now if not for him? Found by her father and dead most likely.
Once everything was prepared and the plates were decorated with the food, she glanced at the clock on the stove. He should be up any moment, and just as that thought came to her she heard him ascending the stairs, unlocking the thick door, and pushing it open. He was standing in the foyer staring at her, and then looking at the table. For a pregnant moment he did nothing but stare at the dinner she prepared, and she started feeling a little weird over it.
“I’m sorry if this is strange. I just figured since you went out and bought all this food I would cook it for you.” He swallowed roughly, but didn’t say anything.
“You made dinner for me?” His voice was monotone, and that weirdness inside of her intensified.
“Yeah, I mean I can’t guarantee it’s edible, but I did cook it.” She should shut up, but when he smiled she let out a relieved breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding and smiled in return. Maverick moved slowly toward the table, stopped when he was right beside it, and stared down at it. “Are you hungry?”
“I am. Just give me a minute to clean up.” He looked down at the table again, shook his head, and left, but not before she saw that he was still smiling.
****
Maverick watched Kettah across from his two person dining room table. It was a cramped fit, and in all honesty this was the first time he had ever used it. He didn’t even know why in the fuck he had bought the damn thing, except maybe just so his place actually looked like someone lived in it, and not some evil piece of shit. When he had closed up shop and come upstairs the last thing he had expected to find was a cooked meal waiting for him, one made by his mate. Kettah had only been with him for a few days, and although she kept to herself, so did he. It was hard as fuck to stay away from her, and even if it had only been two days since he’d first met her, there was no denying that his strength was waning. His lion was taking more and more control, and the big fucking beast paced inside of him, pissed as hell that he wasn’t able to claim his mate. Maverick could relate, because he wanted to be with Kettah more than he had ever wanted to be with a female. His balls were constantly aching, and his dick in a perpetual state of about to burst. Maverick wasn’t one to jerk off, and if he needed to get off he’d just go find some willing pussy. But now that he had found his mate, only Kettah could tame the wild animal inside of him, one that threatened to have him shifting and destroying shit that got in his way. So instead of tackling her to the ground, tearing her clothes off, and sinking his cock deep inside of her cunt, Maverick had immersed himself in making sure things were safe for her here. He had been scouting out his property and Sweet Water, too. He hadn’t sensed anything that was a threat, but that didn’t mean he could let his guard down. So far there hadn’t been anything out of the ordinary, but that didn’t mean anything. Viktor wasn’t the type of male that came out in the open and took what he wanted. He was a sneaky bastard, had others do his dirty work, but made sure nothing was ever traced back to him.
“Are you not hungry?” He was snapped out of his inner musings at the sound of Kettah’s soft voice. The plate of food sat untouched in front of him. It smelled delicious, and well, his mate made it for him so even if it tasted bad, Maverick would have eaten it all with a smile on his face.
“I am. I’m sorry, my thoughts are elsewhere.” He pushed away everything that had to do with Viktor and focused on Kettah, which was easier said than done since she was the male’s daughter. None of that mattered though, because he had his mate in his home, and they were here alone. He picked up his fork and speared a few green beans. Taking a bite of the vegetable, and then looking up at her again, a wave of emotion passed through him. It was delicious, of course, but what had his chest all tight was the fact she had made this for him. No one ever made Maverick shit, had ever thought about him like this, and because of that he didn’t know how to process the feelings inside of him. He wanted her, that wasn’t a fucking question, but it was this one act of kindness that had him thinking of different things, ones that had to do with a future, of affections, and of a lot of other deep fucking shit that he had never envisioned for himself.