Zhubin sat up and pulled his shirt off over his head. "Arms up," he ordered and tugged it over her when she did as he asked. Tucking it down he moved and pulled the blankets up and over her as well. "You need more meat on your bones, then you wouldn't be so cold all the time."
She snorted at him and then with a smile said, "You are too funny. I just need you holding me and hugging me. Oh, or loving me. Loving me is a very, very good thing. I love the way that it feels when you boys hold me."
"We can't hold you all the time," he said. Leaning in close he kissed her lips, nipping at her full lower lip and then drew back. "Sit all the way up. We need to eat and then we have things planned. A bit of a tour of this side of the Veil and, if we are lucky, we'll also gain some information on your stalker so when we go back, we can stop this maniac."
"Oh god." She had, for a moment, forgotten about the madness that had become a part of her life. Taking a deep breath, she nodded. "Well then let's do what we can on this side. I don't want to think about going back to my side right now please."
She caught the worried look that the men shared even as both of them rubbed a hand each over her arms. "Let's eat, the rest we will worry about after we're fortified and prepared." Getting off the bed Zhubin collected the tray. Settling it in her lap he eased back next to her and passed her a glass. "This is a lot like your orange juice but not quite as strong and a little sweeter."
She didn't like how that sounded. They were putting her mind to another task and that didn't seem to be very good, at all. Taking a deep breath though she nodded. "Food." Looking at the tray, she accepted the juice from him and took a sip. "Oh, oh this is very good," she admitted to him. Damn him for being so right.
Chuckling, he nodded. "Knew you'd like it. I spoke with my father and he's agreed to ship some through every couple of weeks if you'd like. Course, if you don't like it he won't but he was the one to suggest I bring you some so you'd better like it. He can get scary when someone doesn't play along with his grand schemes."
"Mm, I remember that well," Ansell said. "He still hasn't forgiven me for disliking those sweet things he keeps on his desk. They're like the human version of a jujube, but they have a liquid center. Never did care for them even though he suggested I should."
Lacey laughed and shook her head. Well, hell. She would have enjoyed it even more if it had been one of her guys that had suggested the drink, but as it was it was Zhubin's father. "I won't turn it down, it is really very god," she admitted.
"Good answer," he muttered with a grin. Lifting a lid off one of the plates he inhaled, "Mm, hot cakes." Setting it aside he moved the other lids off the tray as well.
"She gets first choice of what she wants," Zhubin warned from the other side of her. "So mitts off until she's tried everything and decides just what she prefers."
Lacey smiled. "How about you feed me?" she asked quietly. "That way you get to have a bite, I get to have a bite." Which made her all kinds of happy. "That way you can take care of me while taking care of you as well?"
"Works for me," Ansell said happily. He lifted a fork up and cut off a bite of the hot cakes he'd been eyeing up. Lifting it he offered them to her, a grin on his face. He looked like a little kid all excited about a new treat.
Lacey had to smile. Leaning in she took a bite of the cakes and closed her eyes. Sighing she licked her lips and chewed. "Oh those are so very, very good." She hated to admit it, but there it was. It was so very good.
"Best on both our worlds," he said with a laugh. "Don't need butter, syrup, nothing. They are that freaking good. I have no idea how Deanna does it, but she's definitely got a secret up her sleeve on how to make them this fantastic."
"My parents' cook," Zhubin explained as he poured coffee for them all. "Deanna's been around since I was born and has been feeding us well every day of our lives. But she has never once let us know how she makes something. We've tried to replicate it, hundreds of ways, even watched what she does. But all to no avail, there is something she adds to the hot cakes that she doesn't let us see and that we're missing when we make them."
"Well I can see me wanting these, often. We might have to steal her away from your mum and dads so that she can come cook for us if we ever become pregnant. I'm not a great cook and I could never make anything this good, so … " She trailed off. "Yep, might have to have her."
"I'm sure we could talk her into visiting, but it's doubtful we'd be able to steal her away. She's pretty dedicated to my parents and she does have her own family here too. Though her kids are grown up, so really they might appreciate us taking her off their hands for a time," Zhubin chuckled.
"Well hell," she muttered. "But visiting here often and having her visit would be possible, right?" She knew, she just knew that if she did ever become pregnant she would crave these things. They were so, so good.
"Very possible. You are mated to us so you can come and go as you please now that we've brought you here. Though you know as well as we do, you'd never be coming over alone." Ansell lifted another bite to her lips and smiled as she took it. "Mainly because we'd be so freakin' jealous if we found out she was feeding you these and we hadn't come."
Lacey laughed, she couldn't help herself. "Oh god you are too funny." She snickered. "As if you boys would let me go without being right here with me." And she loved that fact, sad but true. She loved that she would never be alone again.
"Well, if you ever want to come across on your own, just say the word. I know mom would like to have some girl time. She kind of got shafted and stuck with a lot of males in her life. Thankfully she kind of has Deanna and the woman's daughter, but it isn't the same thing. You're now family and she will want to have a girl day or two with you on occasion," Zhubin pointed out. Sipping from his cup, he fed her a piece of fruit that had a bit of bite to it and a soft, creamy aftertaste.
"I will keep that in mind." She smiled and took another bite of fruit. "But we both know that I wouldn't be comfortable coming across alone. I can and will come across with you boys and then spend time with your mom while you guys spend time with the dads?"
"Or we drop you off and go back, either works. Whatever you are most comfortable with, Lacey, that is what we will work around." He set his cup aside and picked up an empty plate, putting a couple of the hot cakes and some fruit on it. He then proceeded to sort of squish it all together before eating.
"That just pains me every time I see it," Ansell said from her other side. When she looked at him he had one hell of a face going, pained and anguished as he stared at Zhubin's plate.
"Why do you think I do it?" Zhubin asked out of the side of his mouth, his lips curving in a smirk.
Lacey laughed at that and shook her head. "Oh you guys are too funny," she murmured with a smile. "I would rather have you guys near if that's okay? I don't think that I will be fully comfortable on this side of the Veil without you two near me."
"Then we will be here," Zhubin said. Leaning in, he pressed a kiss to her shoulder and then her neck. "We only want what's best for you, Lacey. If that means being close to your sexy self, who the hell are we to argue?"
"Good," she said with a smirk. "And who knows, we might turn it into overnight stays from time to time. I kinda like waking up with you boys in a quiet setting without worrying about what case we will be called into next."
"We'll come here on our vacations then. Nothing like getting way away for a trip." He grinned. A kiss to her lips and then he drew back to eat, Ansell still feeding her even as he was gobbling up a very healthy portion of the food.
After several minutes she had eaten more than enough food and pushed off the next bite Ansell offered her. Leaning back, she smiled and watched them. "Good. Sounds as if we have a plan of action for our lives. That's a very, very good thing."
"Oh, we always had a plan of action," Ansell said. Moving the tray closer to himself he really dug into the food. "We're just happy that you're now on board with it." He shot her a grin.