Dire(35)
Hunter returned to my side and put a hand on my hip. “I’ll let you get back to cooking. I know Mary Anne is hungry.”
“There’s no rush.” I didn’t need him putting any pressure on Jocelyn. I felt weird enough already having to rely on someone I didn’t know for a meal.
“It will be done in a moment.”
Hunter turned me around to face him and ran his lips over my jaw. “I don’t want to leave you hungry.”
“I know.”
“Let’s have some dinner and then we can catch up tonight.”
“Sounds great.” Except we had nothing to catch up on. The person I needed to catch up with was across the room.
“Hunter, I couldn’t help but overhear. Why don’t you two eat in the private dining room? I’m sure you could use a break from the pack.”
“Thanks, Jocelyn. That would be wonderful.”
Was he serious? Was he going to make me eat separately from Gage too?
“Of course.” She beamed. Whether she felt confident putting Hunter in his place or not, she was glad to have his approval. “Anything I can do to help. We’re thrilled you stopped in.”
I took a seat at the island as she finished cooking the omelets. Hunter pulled down a stack of plates. He knew his way around the Saber’s kitchen.
I chanced a glance over at Gage and regretted it instantly. He was sitting nearly on top of Marni on a couch grinning. Evidently he’d accepted his new state and had moved on. I needed to do the same thing. I only wished it didn’t feel like such a betrayal to do it.
“Here you go.” Jocelyn pulled my eyes from Gage. She was holding out a plate.
“Thanks.” I accepted the plate. “This looks delicious.”
“Looks great, hun. I’ve got my food.” Hunter took the plate from me. His use of the term ‘hun’ felt funny. It was too informal for him.
“Enjoy you two.” Jocelyn smiled as Hunter led me down the hall.
“You didn’t have to do this.” I waited as Hunter pushed open a swinging door to a formal dining room. Even holding two plates, he wouldn’t let me do it myself.
I flipped on the light and looked around. The long table in front of us could have fit everyone. We didn’t need it for ourselves.
“It was completely necessary.” He pulled out my chair. I sat down, surprised when he sat down right next to me. With a table that large of course he’d choose to sit nearly on top of me.
“Why? We talked in the truck.”
“That’s different than having a meal together. As a pack we generally eat communally, but I’d like it if we took a few nights a week to eat alone. We’ll be keeping our own place again.”
“In New Orleans? Isn’t housing expensive?” I didn’t know much about the city, but it was a city.
“We’re staying outside the city. It’s going to be a similar set up to what we had before.”
“Oh.” I wasn’t sure what I’d been expecting, but returning to the middle nowhere didn’t sound particularly appealing.
“Were you hoping for a more urban lifestyle?”
“No. I just wasn’t sure.”
“We have to keep Gage away from too many people, and we also need land and forests to roam. It’s part of our nature.”
“That makes sense. At least it won’t be as cold.”
He took my chin in his hand. “Do you doubt that I’ll keep you warm?”
“No. But I still want to be able to go outside without freezing. That is if you are going to start letting me outside.”
“Of course you’ll be allowed outside. My rules are only there so I can protect you. I know you’re not going to run.”
“You trust me?”
“I do. And you trust me. I see that now, and I couldn’t be happier.”
“Are you only worried about Gage? Or is it witches? Or The Society?”
“Everyone. A human isn’t safe in the paranormal world unless they are with their mate.”
“So I need to stay close.”
“Very close.” He released my chin. “Now enjoy your dinner before it gets cold.”
“Jocelyn seems nice.”
“She is. But she also upset you for a little while. When you’re ready, I’d like to know why.”
“How would you know that?”
“I could tell by your body language.” He took a bite of his steak.
I leaned over. I didn’t want to get on Jocelyn’s bad side by tattling on her, but I didn’t want Hunter to read into things either. “She was talking about mixing things up.”
“In what way?” He set down his fork.
“In the bedroom.”