Page 17 of Crossing Between
Elias walked up to Kenji's side with a loud sigh. "Kenji, why must you be such an oddball?" He nodded his head at Ruth. "Ma'am, I'm Elias. Kenji's partner."
Kenji hopped up from the ground and winked at Ruth. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ruth. I'm Kenji."
"Partners? My, my. Don't feel like you can't kiss in front of this old biddy. I like them boys on boys. Especially those dramas from overseas. I am sad for Zoey. You three would have been adorable together!" Ruth clapped her hands together in delight.
"Ruth!" My voice yelled as I tried to stop her from continuing. "Please ignore any more that she says. She's drunk already." I bent, grabbed some of the bags that had fallen and turned toward my house. "Come on in! We'll see you later, Ruth. I'll bring you some lunch later. Get some sleep." I glared over my shoulder at her as she just blew me a kiss with an evil giggle. "Excuse the mess, guys, I wasn't expecting company so I got lazy the last few days."
"We're sorry for just springing this on you." Elias took the bags from me as I let them into the house. "Kenji thought it would be fun to surprise you with a celebration."
Kenji was already throwing his legs up on the coffee table as he sprawled out on the couch. "Breakfast is an underrated meal. It's much better than dinner. Plus, your house is practically sparkling. Not sure what's supposedly messy." He looked around the living room. "This is cozy. Our living room is white and black with a tiny bit of gray thrown in. It's annoying but it's what Elias picked."
"Hey! The interior designer said that style was all the rage." Elias' eye twitched a little as he glared over at Kenji before he moved into the kitchen with all the bags. "Can you show me where things are, Zoey?"
"Sure." I handed Kenji the remote for the TV and went back into the small kitchen. Elias seemed to take up most of the space with his bulk, he made even me feel small, which was hard to do considering my thunder thighs bounced with every step and could be compared to professional wrestlers.
"What are you making?"
Elias pulled out eggs and bacon from one bag. He handed me another one that had several types of fruit in it. "A mix of traditional eggs, bacon, bread, and fruit. Would you like to help me?" His eyes met mine.
I felt that sudden arousal from just being near him that felt primal down to my very bones. I sucked in a breath as his eyes seemed to darken and his pupils looked to have lengthened into a dumbbell shape. My side tingled with a burning sensation where that mark had appeared.
Kenji's shout at the TV broke our staring contest. Elias turned toward the counter.
"Can you tell me where your frying pan is? Do you have butter? If not, that's okay, I got oil just in case." His hands moved deftly as he organized the food.
I opened a cabinet above the stove, stood on my tiptoes, and reached for the frying pan. Usually, Ryan takes it down for me or I have a step stool, but I forgot about it as my mind raced with thoughts of why my body was reacting so strangely to Elias.
Heat enveloped me from behind as the man on my mind stood behind me. His arm reached above me as he grabbed the pan that was just out of reach for me. I had the sudden urge to lean back into his body. I wanted to feel his arms around me with his lips on my skin. My body started to feel hot and my power wanted to come out and wrap around us.
"Pardon me." Elias' voice was right next to my ear which brought goose bumps along my arms. "Thank you."
Nodding, I sidestepped into the corner of the small kitchen. I grabbed plates and utensils while Elias began to cook the eggs in the frying pan after he placed the bacon on a flat sheet in the oven.
"I hope scrambled is good. I know I like them over easy while Kenji prefers over hard, but I figured scrambled might be easiest for a first breakfast." Elias moved with such an ease and familiarity of cooking that I felt a slight twinge of jealousy.
I couldn't cook well. Most of the things I made ended up burned, edible but still burned in some capacity. Ryan usually cooked the more elaborate meals. I always told him he'd make a great cook, but he just brushed me off.
"Scrambled is fine. You didn't have to do this. It's very sweet, though." I crossed my arms under my chest, holding onto my elbows with opposite hands.
"Nah. We're going to be working together for a while it seems like. It's good to get to know each other off the clock." Elias looked over his shoulder with a soft smile. "Plus, you're not too far from our house, so it's not a hardship." He looked back to the eggs. "Oh. Do you have any spices?"
"Just to the right of you, middle cabinet."
My eyes widened as Elias reached for the cabinet but his arm and hand had morphed into a large gray tentacle with bright purple suction cups. He wrapped his tentacle around my meager spices and brought them all down to the counter.
"You're a shifter?" I thought he was a mage based on his healing abilities that had been mentioned.
Elias looked down at his arm, seeming not to have noticed he'd changed it. His gaze was wary as he looked over at me. "Not quite. I'm a Kraken."
My eyes widened at the implication of his words. A Kraken. They were a rare breed of monster. They weren't shifters as their original form is that of the sea creature. As they grew older and learned control of their magic, it was at that time they created a human form.
He turned around to face me. Both his arms were now tentacles. My side warmed again and I wanted to feel them. Would they be soft? Rubbery?
"I'm not human, nor a shifter. I'm a Kraken. A monster. I know it can be a scary thing." His eyes were guarded.
How many had rejected him because of who he was? Is that why he was so standoffish sometimes?
"I've never met a Kraken before. You guys are notoriously known for sticking to the ocean." I stepped closer to him. "Could I touch your tentacle?" I couldn't believe I actually asked that but I had to know what they felt like.
