Page 83 of Shift of Morals
I wanted her. Roots and all. “Her?”
“The earth holds feminine energy. Masculine too, but most of it is divinely feminine. Being one with her restores me.” Evie blinked and looked down at her feet. “Sorry.”
“Never apologize for the things you love.” I glanced back at the kitchen. “Mind if I make a pot of coffee?”
“Not at all, but I don’t mind making it. Give me a moment.” She started toward the back.
“Evie.”
She stilled. “I’ll make the coffee. Go take a shower. I’ll be here when you get back.”
Evie swallowed hard, her cheeks delightfully pink. This was not like the feisty, violent woman I usually encountered. I liked this softer, rumpled side of her.
“I have some clothing if you want it. There’s another shower in the second bathroom if you want to clean up.”
The space between my ears sounded like a wind tunnel. “Clothing?” Why did she have male clothing? Who was he?
“Yes. They may be a little short and the shirt might be a little tight, but they’ll get you home just fine. My ex-husband wasn’t as large as you are.”
The rage in my veins fizzled and died. Ex-husband I could work with. My nostrils flared as I scented the place, inhaling Evie’s fresh, floral scent, and the smell of loam and greenery. I picked up another feminine scent, deep and herbal. That must be the witch who’s staying with her.
“I’d appreciate anything you can spare.”
Evie nodded and hurried to the back, returning in less than a minute with a pair of joggers and a black t-shirt. She also held out a pair of white socks and winced apologetically. “I don’t havean extra toothbrush. I’m sorry.” But she held out a small tube. “But I do have a sample tube of toothpaste if you want it.”
I took everything she offered and waited until she’d gone to the back before I held the clothes up to my nose and smelled them. I wouldn’t wear another male’s clothes if they had any scent left on the fabric. But all my nose picked up was the scent of detergent and Evie’s faint smell.
She’d washed these clothes several times. I wondered if she’d gone to sleep while wearing them after the divorce. The thought made my hands squeeze the clothing until I’d conquered the urge to tear them to shreds.
When my breath got under control, I turned and headed toward the second bathroom.
I needed to get it together. Otherwise, I was going to scare the shit out of Evie.
Chapter
Twenty-Three
By the time I’d clipped all the leaves from my skin and washed all the gunk from my body, Caelan was already in the kitchen, a fresh pot of coffee brewing. A skillet sat on the stove, the scent of sizzling butter and garlic a heady note in the air.
Caelan stood there, forearms flexing as he whisked together something in one of my vintage blue enamel bowls. My ex-husband’s shirt stretched across the deep planes of Caelan’s chest, and the joggers were a little too tight across his powerful thighs. A tug pulled low in my core, and I had to do everything in my power to hide my visceral reaction to seeing the Shifter Lord making breakfast in my kitchen.
“Hope you don’t mind. You had everything to make French toast, so I thought I’d whip up something to eat. Do you eat pork?”
I nodded stupidly.
“Good. As soon as I mix this up, I’ll put the bacon on.”
“I can do it.”
He shook his head. “Allow me this, Evie. You saved my life last night. Let me make you breakfast.” His deep voice rumbled across my skin.
I stood there like an idiot. “Um. Okay.”
A smile flashed across his face. “Good.”
Padding over to the coffeepot, I poured us both a cup, passing one over to him. He gave me a grateful nod and kept working.
Bewildered, I took a seat at the table and watched the Shifter Lord, one of the most powerful people in the entire country, make a no-name Floromancer breakfast.
