Page 4 of Dragon's Golden Mate
“I’m not brooding,” Kendrick protested. He liftedhis mug as evidence. “I’m doing the same thing I’ve done every morning for as long as I can remember.”
“No one can remember that many breakfasts,” Beck mumbled.
“What’s that?”
“Nothing.” Beck took a frying pan from the rack and set it on the stove. “If you’re not brooding because of your age, then what is it?”
“I’m not brooding at all,” Kendrick reminded him.
“Is he in a mood this morning?” Lilith asked as she entered the kitchen. She wore a long, kimono-style robe in champagne silk that complemented her bright blonde hair.
“No, I’m not,” Kendrick answered before Beck could.
“Sure you are, and I know why.” Lilith winked before she turned to Beck and paused. “Whatare you doing?”
“Making breakfast, obviously. Chelsea and Corbin are still sleeping, and I wanted to surprise them.”
Lilith let out a long, impatient sigh. “You haven’t prewarmed the pan, and where are your seasonings? You can’t just give them eggs with nothing on them. They won’t taste like anything!”
“I’m sure I can grab some salt and pepper,” Beck replied.
“Oh, please. Let me.” Lilith bumped him aside. She turned on the burner and began expertly cracking eggs into a bowl with one hand. “Kendrick, would you like some?”
“Certainly.” Lilith was an excellent cook, so he’d never turn down her food. More than that, though, he was glad not to be the subject of conversation any longer.
“No problem. I’ll make you a nice big plate—as long as you tell me all about you and Maeve.” Lilith tossed the eggshells into the compost bin with a sly smile.
“Maeve?” Kendrick echoed innocently.
“That’s why you’re brooding, right?” Lilith didn’t look up as she laid strips of bacon on a rack, stacked that on top of a baking pan, and put the whole arrangement into the oven.
“I’m not brooding,” he grumbled, “although the two of you certainly know how to put a man in a mood.”
“What are you in a mood about?” Now Griffin made his way into the kitchen, his dark hair rumpled.
“I’mnotin a mood!” Kendrick slammed his fistinto the table, making his mug jump and the coffee slosh over the edge.
“Okay, okay. No need to gnash your teeth at me. I just got here.” Griffin poured himself a mug of coffee and topped it with a hefty amount of cream.
“I’m just tired of everyone else deciding what I think and feel this morning, when I haven’t even had a chance to consider it myself,” Kendrick groaned.
Lilith gave him a pointed look. “Kendrick, we love you. We don’t mean any disrespect. It’s just that if the energy between you and Maeve last night was put into a lightbulb, it’d be a beacon to outer space. It was cute.” The eggs hissed as she poured them into the pan.
“Corbin is cute, not me.”
Having been kicked off cooking duty, Beck made his own coffee and took a seat at the table. “You can’t really blame us. I don’t think we’ve ever seen you get gooey over a woman before.”
“I wasn’t gooey!” Kendrick smirked, but his nephew made him wonder. “Was I?”
“Oh, you definitely were,” Griffin said with a nod. “Gooey as a butter cake.”
“I don’t even know what that means,” Kendrick replied, starting to get exasperated again.
“It’s all right. You weren’t the only one who wasgooey,” Beck told him. “Maeve is a kind and open woman. She’s nice to pretty much anyone until they give her a reason not to be. But she definitely got gooey over you the moment we came in the door.”
“Do you think so?” The truth was, if he’d been given a moment to think at all, Kendrick would’ve been thinking about Maeve. She was a stunning woman, with that soft, silvery hair and those warm brown eyes. She wasn’t a young woman, but that was part of what he liked about her. There was a wisdom emanating from her that spoke of experience.
The human side of him found her attractive, but his dragon had gone wild. It’d pulsed and thrashed inside his body, showing much more energy than such an old beast should have. Kendrick had to fight to keep it in check as he spoke politely with her and played with Corbin. Using his flame to light Corbin’s birthday candles had been a nice outlet, but his inner beast had been restless ever since.
