Chapter Fifteen

Making cookies with the kids was a blast. I always loved to see their faces as the science of baking came to life in front of their eyes—and in their bellies. I did my best to explain how each ingredient had a job and what that job entailed. Some of it was obviously for flavor, and they picked those elements out right away. But others had to do with the crispness or the fluffiness of the cookie, how much it spread out on the sheet, and how moist the final product would be.

We measured, dumped, and mixed ingredients together as I talked about different ways we could change up the recipe to fit our moods. Today, we were going with standard chocolate chip cookies, the kind that were more soft than crisp. They were already making plans to bake some that would snap if you bent them later this week. Apparently, Abel believed it had to have a loud pop as it broke or it wasn't really a cookie. I disagreed. I was under the belief that all cookies were good cookies…except the ones with walnuts. But no child was going to fight me on that one. Not any in this group of them anyway.

What I didn't like about baking with kids was the cleanup. Sure, I could have had the older ones help and do it with me, but they had been asked by one of the omegas to come do a game when they were done. I wasn't going to make them give up fun because the kitchen was dirty. They had their whole lives to be responsible. And, frankly, anything that put a smile on their faces right now, I was for.

"Need some help?" Pop-Tart came in and grabbed a snack out of a bin that was set there just for him.

The guy was always snacking—probably how he got his name. I never asked. I should have, but as much as I felt at home with Tyrus, I still wasn't quite there yet with everyone else.

My life was too unsettled. Where were the kids going to go? Who was going to take care of them? What would I do once my purpose was gone? Our entire lives were up in the air. If I didn't have Tyrus to tether me, I wasn't sure how well I'd be doing.

"Naw, I got it. Want to make some cookies?"

He grabbed one from the plate I indicated and popped it in his mouth, not bothering to finish chewing it before asking, "You want to do the floor as well as the dishes?"

"Oh, I can sweep. No big deal." I didn't look up from the sink I was filling.

Pop-Tart cleared his throat and, when I glanced his way, he was pointing to the floor. An egg had cracked under the table. My guess was that it rolled off and no one noticed. With the amount of flour, someone could probably make pasta right there.

"All right. You can do the floor." If he wanted to deal with that, I wasn't going to argue.

Pop-Tart laughed and got straight to work. He was someone who'd gone out of his way to make sure that I felt welcome and to make sure the kids felt safe. I appreciated it. There was no one here, with the possible exception of the dark healer who only came by once, who had me feeling uneasy about anything. But, with Pop-Tart, it was different. Almost like he was my brother or a cousin.

I finished washing and putting the dishes away about the same time he was ready to mop where I had been standing. I was soaking wet and covered in all sorts of yuck—a side effect of being hugged by Sally. But it had all been worth it because she had looked up at me and said, "Thanks," clear as day.

It was the first word I ever heard from her, and I tried so hard not to make a big deal of it. I wasn't sure I succeeded, but she was beaming on her way out, and that was good enough for me. She still had a long way to go, but it was such a promising sign.

I went back to Tyrus' room to take a shower, only to discover it was already occupied. I knocked on the door and called out, "It's me?"

"Come in."

I did and was surprised by what I found. I'd expected the room to be steamy, but it wasn't. Not in the slightest.

"I was going to take a shower. I can wait out here or maybe join you?"

He turned the hot water on. "Obviously, there is only one right choice. Come in with me."

I wasn't going to turn that down. I barely caught a glimpse of him, the stupid design on the shower curtain in the way, but already I was hard and needy for him. I was guessing there was a reason for the hot water, but I'd ask later. It probably had to do with working out or something. I secretly hoped the something was him thinking of me and this was that kind of cold shower.

I undressed quickly and stepped inside.

"Gods, you're gorgeous." He looked me up and down, not pretending to hide his appreciation.

"I was thinking the same thing about you," I reached up tentatively in an unasked question. Gods, I wanted to run my fingers up and down his body. "So gorgeous."

He slammed his lips to mine, his body pressing me against the back of the shower, our hardness between us. That answer was all I needed.

We explored each other's bodies with our hands, but the cold water cut through, ending things far too early for my liking. According to Tyrus, it meant we had less than two minutes before everything went completely cold. Just enough time to lather up and rinse off.

Stupid small water heater.