“Fine. I’ll eat.” I turned to face him, tipping my head up a fraction to meet his purple-eyed gaze. My stomach chose that moment to rumble so loud it sounded like one of the demons from the dark wood. “I’m alittlehungry, I guess.”
Once I was fed—and Lake appeased—I got back to work.
The busy rush never slowed, but it made time pass quickly. At sunset, once the café was closed and dinner was on the stove,Maddox and Briar returned. I greeted them at the door and was instantly pulled in for a hug by my grumpy captain, followed by Briar’s arms winding around me from behind.
“Welcome home,” I said, crushed between their bodies. “Lake and I made beef-and-veggie stew for dinner.”
Lake stood beneath the archway of the front parlor, his ears adorably perked up. His tail wagged once. Was he happy to see them too? “The carrots are fresh from the garden. Harvested today.”
Before moving in with us, Lake had lived in a cottage deep in the woods where he’d grown his own crops. In the months since then, I’d encouraged him to start another garden here. Gardening made him happy, and I didn’t want him to give it up. And seeing the pride in his eyes as he showed me a vegetable he’d gathered mademehappy.
“I look forward to eating it,” Briar told him.
Lake’s tail wagged once more before he ducked out of sight.
“Dear god, he’s too cute,” I said.
“I know someone even cuter.” Maddox took hold of my chin and tipped my face up. “Mouthier too.”
“You can’t just be sweet, can you? You always gotta pick on me.”
Maddox leaned down, so close I felt his breath on my lips. “You like it when I pick on you.”
Instead of stroking his ego by admitting that, yes, I did like it, I pushed him away and stomped toward the kitchen. His low chuckle rumbled from behind me.
After making our plates, the four of us sat at the table to eat and talked about our day. Briar and Thane, his apprentice at the clinic, had spent a chunk of the day in the storeroom, sorting herbs and making inventory notes.
“So, it’s slow,” I said. “That’s a good sign.”
It meant knights weren’t being mauled by demons. It meant that, even though tension with the kingdom of Haran was heightening and war was—possibly—on the horizon, there was no immediate danger. The calm before the storm? Maybe.
“Monotonous work, but slow, yes.” Briar placed his hand on top of mine and gently squeezed. “I heard business here was anything but. A woman who works in the castle came into the clinic earlier and said when she popped in here for a cranberry scone, she had to take it and go because there were no tables available.”
“Yeah, it was crazy today.”
Lake tore off a piece of bread and dipped it into his bowl of stew, sopping up the yummy juices. “Perhaps we could build a covered terrace for outside seating when the dining room is full.”
Briar nodded to him. “Excellent idea. We could also add a stone fireplace to keep customers warm in the colder months. In the spring, it’ll undoubtedly be the preferred seating area too.”
The two of them began discussing which side of the cottage to build the terrace that would give the customers the nicest view. I loved how much they cared about the café. An idea then rattled around in my brain about introducing to-go cups and containers for people who didn’t want to dine in. It was safe to say that the Brewed Muffin’s success wasn’t a fluke like I’d once feared. People really loved the place.
“You’re smiling.” Maddox pressed his knee to mine beneath the table. Briar and Lake were still engaged in conversation.
“I’m happy.” That happiness bubbled up stronger inside my chest. “Life is an adventure, and I’m excited to see where it takes me next.”
Maddox’s expression softened. “I know little about fate’s plan for tomorrow or any of the days after, but I know where life will take you within the next hour.”
“Oh?”
A touch of mischief shone in those deep blue eyes. “My bed.”
“Ourbed,” Briar corrected him. “It seems you still need to learn how to share, Captain. Although, if the lesson hasn’t sunk in by now, I fear it never will.”
Maddox’s lips skewed up.
Just as Maddox predicted, within the hour, I was flat on my back in bed and being fucked so good my toes curled.
Briar took me first, gentle and sweet, and then Maddox swooped in right after, flipping me to my belly and urging me to my knees. He pushed in and railed me hard, his big hands secured on my hips to hold me in place exactly as he wanted me.
