Chapter Twelve

Jasmine

It took me all of three seconds to remember where I was. Smells were a shifter thing, but I knew their scents already. I drifted to sleep engulfed in them. Naga was a minty chocolate, while Drake was all brown sugar and cinnamon.

Everything in this house smelled like them. The sheets. The towels. It clung to the walls and was now inside my nose.

Not that I was complaining.

Gods. I hadn't expected this kind of home. I thought their home would be contemporary with all metal furniture and nowhere comfy to sit or relax. I imagined lots of glass and stainless steel. All cold things. I might've judged them a bit harshly based on their serpents.

I was in their den now. Now to make sure I didn't fall for either one of them, or both.

The million-thread-count sheets along with the plush comforter wasn't helping my case. If I won this bet and my debts were paid off, these exact sheets and comforter would be first on my list to purchase.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, I looked out, seeing the view of the land. There were mountains in the distance. They would probably cap with snow once the winter set in.

I wouldn't be here to see it.

Somehow that saddened me.

Seeing the sun rise on the horizon, I decided to get up and make some breakfast. I was starving, and it was the least I could do to repay them for the train tickets and letting me sleep in the most luxurious bed in the world.

More time than I'd wanted was spent on dressing. They didn't tell me of any plans for the day, so I decided on some stretchy jeans and a loose T-shirt without any clever sayings on it at all. I wasn't trying to impress them. The bet was about me not falling in love, but Drake and Naga already seemed like good people. I might be doing all of this for money, but they didn't deserve to have their hearts broken in the process.

Their kitchen was clean and tidy. The dishwasher had a magnet that indicated whether the dishes inside were clean or dirty. The counters weren't sparse, but it was clear that everything had its place.

The fridge was fully stocked. I wondered if they did that because of the company, aka me, coming in, or if they cooked a lot.

There was so much I wanted to know about them. They intrigued me. Especially the idea of them sharing a mate. Sure, there were some humans who shared partners, but they were few and far between.

Besides, shifters in romance were jealous as fuck. Always growling and making possessive moves.

I took out the eggs, staring at them for a good minute. Wait a second. Did serpent shifters lay eggs? That was how snakes were born, right?

"What did those eggs ever do to you?" Naga's voice broke me from my staring. I shook my head and looked up only to find myself entranced by two someones far more delicious than any breakfast I could ever cook.

"I, um, I all of a sudden don't want eggs." I put them back in the refrigerator.

"Why do I have the feeling this has something to do with us?" Drake clapped Naga on the back.

The eggs and breakfast and all coherent thought vanished from my head.

They were both dripping with sweat. Head to toe. No shirts. Their tattoos covered every inch of skin but stopped in a perfect circle around their necks and just shy of their wrists.

So they could wear a suit or their uniforms without them being seen?

"I wasn't thinking about snakes having eggs. Oh my gods." I bent over at the waist and not so gently laid my forehead on the counter in front of me. "Can we pretend I didn't say that?"

"We absolutely cannot. And will not," Drake said. They approached the island, but I didn't have the courage to look up. Five damned seconds in front of these males, and I was a blubbering, embarrassing mess. A hand landed on my back. "Come on, sweetheart," he said, his breath warm on my neck. "Look up."

I straightened, my face on fire.

"Much better, Jasmine." Naga took the eggs back out. "I like them. And let's answer your question since it seems like you're curious. Serpent shifter babies are born in a transparent egg-like casing. No hard exterior or cracking open—nothing like that. My father said that when I was born, his serpent pushed his fangs from his human gums and ripped the egg open, immediately retracting them once I was released. Sounds kind of gross, but my mother called it beautiful."

"Like an embryonic sack?" I said, finally able to breathe again.

"That's pretty close," Drake said. He pulled out bagels and cream cheese while Naga got started on omelets.

Instead of making them breakfast, I stood there like an oaf enjoying the show.

"Can you tell me about your tattoos?" I asked. Their backs were valleys and peaks of muscle.

How they did that with a desk job was beyond me.

Naga nodded, and Drake spoke. "We were in the same unit. Were deployed twice. Almost a third time, but our contract was up. We've seen a lot of things together. We have some that are the same." He pointed out the ones that indicated their unit with numbers and names. The places they'd been deployed to. Slogans of the marines. But the most impressive ones were a huge snake that wrapped around Naga's left bicep and when Drake sidled up to his best friend, the snakes lined up with each other. Naga's left arm to Drake's right.

Seeing that made me somehow feel outcast, like I was intruding on what was a lifetime friendship.

"That's amazing," I murmured. "You two have been through a lot together."

"We have but we have a lot of life left. Now," Naga said, sliding a plate toward me. "Let's eat while we learn more about you, Jasmine."