Chapter 19

Piper

My eyes fluttered open to a high-vaulted ceiling, a warm blanket, and the sound of someone sleeping close to me. My toes stretched toward the end of the bed, and I lifted my arms above my head in a much-needed stretch.

The memories of the night before hit me, and I sat straight up. An immediate blush warmed my body at Zander lying on the floor beside me. He was stark naked, and I shamelessly found myself ogling him.

Every line of his body was defined, with well-developed muscles, and flawless blemish-free skin. I clutched my knees together in an unproductive way at keeping my hormones in check.

The sunlight peeked through the heavy blackout curtains, letting me know I could sneak out since it was morning, and not look like a complete jackass for doing so. I"d faced the beast the night before. His yellowish eyes, define body, and bearish grin. A normal human— which, I was proving to myself that I wasn"t—wouldn"t have walked in there.

But something deep down inside of me said to go. To walk in and face him. His demeanor changed. He softened. He rested—he let Zander rest. I had the best night"s sleep since arriving at the castle.

Carefully, not to wake him, I stood up and folded his blanket back on the end of his bed. He didn"t stir as I walked toward his door and glanced back over my shoulder.

My fingers itched to touch his soft auburn hair and trace the dark stubble on his jaw. I knew he was adamant about me being his fated mate, and most of me believed him after the beast"s reaction to me.

Why would a best so terrifying and unhinged calm at my touch? No, my presence. I shut the door behind me and wandered toward my room. I showered, got dressed, and walked toward the kitchen.

I expected to see Vivian, but she wasn"t there. Perhaps, the beast being quiet helped the entire castle sleep. Opening the fridge, I gathered ingredients to make omelets. It was one of the only things I was decent at cooking.

Halfway into breakfast, the door swung open wildly, and Vivian raced into the room as if someone lit the castle on fire. "Oh no, Ms. Sloane! What are you doing?"

I glanced around at my mess. "Oh, I"ll clean up afterward, Vivian—,"

"No!" she shouted, rushing over. "Let me finish. Please—,"

"Stop it," I hissed, turning my back toward her, while she relentlessly tried to grab the pan. "I"m cooking this morning."

She looked horrified as if there was nothing worse than me cooking breakfast for all of them. "It"s my job, Ms. Sloane. Why are you up so early? You should have woken me—,"

"Hey," I said, turning and putting my fists on my hip, while the other hand held my skillet. "Can I not cook for you once? I like omelets. You sit down and wait."

Vivian looked ghostly white. The kitchen door opened, and Zander walked inside. He looked well rested but wearing those ridiculous gray sweat pants that men wore, no shirt, and a head full of un-brushed hair. Dear Lord, have mercy.

My mouth dried, and by the look he gave me, I figured he wondered where I had gone this morning. "Alpha Zander," Vivian said. "Piper refuses to let me cook. She was up very early and she won"t let me do my job."

I tossed her a look. "Okay, tattletale. I want to cook today. Sue me. Tell Vivian to chill out."

Zander"s hazel gaze looked playful, and he smiled slowly. "Vivian, why don"t you go read a book, or find something else to do? Little One wants to cook today."

Vivian looked between the two of us, and being obedient, she nodded and whisked out of the kitchen. I put the skillet back on the stove. "I mean, I"m not trying to take her job or anything. She can have it back for lunch."

Zander chuckled, and I felt his breath on the back of my neck. The hair on my body stood on end. I inclined my neck to the side, involuntarily, and closed my eyes. When he didn"t diminish the distance, I remembered what he told me in the pool. That he wouldn"t make any moves.

I cursed under my breath. My body yearned for him to touch me, and after that vulnerable move the night before, I wanted it even more.

Zander reached around me and grabbed a coffee mug from the cabinet. There was something so easy about the way he maneuvered the kitchen. I bit my lower lip, and stole a glance at his impressive back muscles, and the way his waist held up his sweats.

I finished the fourth omelet and turned to see him holding a cup of coffee for me. I took it carefully, and blew into the mug, staring at the way he watched my mouth. "Food is ready," I whispered and took a sip.

Zander scratched his chin. "I think I"ll wait to tell the others. Come, have breakfast with me," he said.

He grabbed his plate, and walked around the island, snagging the paper from where Vivian left it. I sat across from him, and started eating with ease. Zander kept his gaze on the paper, and I watched the look of sadness on his face.

"Did someone you know die?" I asked, over a bite.

He slid the folded paper toward me. I stared down at Henry on the front page with my parents and Amanda.

"Oh no, he didn"t," I mumbled.

MISSING GIRL"S EX-FIANCE BLAMES HIMSELF FOR HER DISAPPEARANCE.

I scoffed and tossed the paper onto the island. "What a creep. I can"t believe my parents are even letting him near the press. And Amanda, she knows better."

Zander watched me angrily eat my omelet, stabbing each piece before shoving it into my mouth. "Tell me how you really feel," he said sarcastically.

I chuckled. "He"s such a ... it doesn"t even matter," I said, waving him off.

Zander took a bite and leaned forward. "Tell me about him," he said. "You were engaged and you caught him with another woman?"

I nodded. "Yeah, a blonde."

He looked amused. "You have something against blondes?"

I snorted. "No. My best friend is blonde. It"s just he said he hated when women died their hair blonde, and I stopped getting highlights because of it. Then I catch him with her," I said.

Zander made a low sound under his breath and took another bite.

"What?" I asked.

He shrugged, his daring hazel gaze lifted to mine. "Your ex-fiancé is one stupid man to pass you up, Little One. I, for one, love your chocolate locks. My fingers itch to tangle in them frequently."

I had the same thought about his hair only moments before in his bedroom.

"Thank you," I whispered.

"The omelet is good," he said. "Thank you for cooking it. It turned me on a bit to see you in the kitchen." He cracked a grin. "Maybe we can make something sweet later."

I lifted a brow. "You bake, Zander? I"ll believe it when I see it."

Zander chuckled and took another sip of his coffee. "You"d be surprised at the things I can do, Little One."

My gaze fell on his again, and we were in a lustful staring contest when William walked through the door. He looked surprised but almost giddy at the sight of us. "Good morning," he said.

"Morning," Zander said. "Piper cooked. Yours is over there."

William eyed the plate, and then looked back at me. "Is that why Vivian is angrily cleaning the foyer right now?"

A bubble of laughter spilled from my throat, and I let my head fall back dramatically. When I looked back, Zander had stalled, his fork hanging from his hand, and a look of desire on his face.

Once William and Vivian joined us for breakfast, our conversation drifted away from ourselves, and toward anything else. Vivian insisted on cleaning since I cooked, and I found myself ... lonely.

Feeling lonely in the castle that I wanted to leave was odd. I had plenty of books to read, but my mind drifted to Zander and the look the beast gave me the night before.

Longing. Hopefulness. It had melted right passed the guard around me and warmed my heart. The beast didn"t look as scary as that first night. I walked around the second floor and passed William"s room, my gaze shifting toward Zander"s shut door.

My feet wouldn"t budge from their stubborn place in the hallway. It"d only been an hour since I ate with him, but I couldn't stop myself from wanting to see him.

I wanted him to trust me enough to tell me about the curse. Because I needed to know why I wasn"t scared of the beast, and why fate brought me here. I needed to know if I could trust Zander.

With my head held high, I walked toward his room and knocked on the door. Several seconds passed when I felt someone"s breath on the back of my neck. I twirled around quickly. Zander wore a t-shirt and jeans, which was out of his character, and a lazy smile. "Are you looking for me, Little One?"

"I—uh, yes. I am. I wanted to see if you were interested in making something sweet. Like we talked about."

Zander"s face, so intense, and smug, made me want to roll my eyes. "We just had breakfast," he said, leaning back against the stairwell. "If I didn"t know any better, I would say you want to spend time with me."

Giving him the side eye, I folded my arms over my chest. "I have a sweet tooth that you obviously don"t know about, Zander."

He chuckled and curled his finger. "Come on. I"ll show you how to make some of my favorite cookies. Death by chocolate."

"You like chocolate?"

"Don"t we all?" he asked.

I followed him toward the kitchen, my shoulders relaxing when Vivian wasn"t in there. Zander grabbed several things from his cabinets and put them all out on the island. "First," he said, glancing over at me. "We melt the chocolate chips."

I watched as he poured them into a pot, and began to melt them on the stove. "Where did you learn how to make these?"

"My mother," he said.

"What"s she like?"

"She"s no longer here," he said. "But she was a wonderful woman. A human."

"Your mother was a human?"

He nodded. "Wolves can have human mates, obviously, but they always pass the wolf gene down the line. It"s too prominent."

I watched his gaze travel off for a few moments. "Do you miss her?"

"Yes," he said. "My dad was harsh on William and me. My mother was the soft one. That showed us, love." He looked over at me. "I do know how to love, regardless of what the beast does."

"I don"t think the beast is mean," I blurted out.

Zander turned toward the island, pouring the melted chocolate, into a large bowl with brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla. He began to stir slowly. I watched the coiled veins in his forearms. "Why?"

I walked beside him and gestured toward the whisk. "Can I?"

He handed it over, and in a different bowl started mixing flour and baking powder. "The beast is lonely, not mean. He ... surprised me last night."

Zander stopped whisking and turned toward me. "Why did you come in there with me?"

I shrugged, and slid the bowl toward him once I finished. He mixed the two bowls together. "Grab the dark chocolate chips. Pour them in. The key is to use the entire bag."

I did as he asked. "I came because I thought the castle could use some sleep."

He turned toward me with an intense gaze. "And why did you think you would calm him?"

"I didn"t. I hoped for it."

Zander dipped his finger into the batter and sucked it into his mouth. "That"s good," he said, sliding it toward me. Slowly, I did the same, closing my eyes at the chocolate goodness.

He preheated the oven, grabbed two spoons, and placed a cookie sheet in front of us. "Help me spoon these. They need to chill for 30 minutes."

We continued in silence, but the tension felt like a knife could have sliced us into two pieces. "I thought it would prove if I were your mate or not," I whispered into the silence.

Zander stalled his spoon and slid the rest of the bowl from my reach. "That"s enough. We"ll eat the rest."

He slipped the cookie sheet into the freezer, grabbed a spoon, and took a mouthful. I watched his full lips swallow the batter, and I blushed as he stared at me. When he pulled it out clean, he gestured toward the second spoon. Unable to help the romance lover hidden inside, I grabbed his spoon and mimicked his actions.

Zander"s hazel eyes turned a deep honey color, and his fingers curled around the edge of the cabinet. He wanted to make a move, but he refused to make it.

Slowly, I lifted myself to the cabinet and scooted myself down until he stood between my parted legs. The dress I wore had a small slit up to my thigh, and my exposed skin begged for him to touch. Zander swallowed, slowly bracing a hand on either side of me. "What are you asking for?" he whispered.

I pulled the spoon from my mouth and tossed it to the side. "I"m hungry, but not for that."

Zander snaked his palm up the side of my slit and squeezed my upper thigh. "Prove it," he said.

Leaning down, I rested my mouth an inch from his. "I want you to kiss me," I said. "I know you promised to let me make the moves, but I"m dying for a man"s touch. A dominant one. You said it yourself. I need someone to dominate me, Zander."

He grinned. "All you had to do was ask."