Chapter 15 - Above Cursed Winds

For the first time in ages, Zia awoke to the savory smell of bacon. Her mouth watered instantly. She groggily blinked the sleep from her eyes before curling tighter into her warm blanket cocoon. Sleep outweighed breakfast, even if it smelled like absolute heaven.

But then she realized that Myko might be using the electric griddle by himself.

It wouldn’t be the first time he’d tried to make her breakfast in bed. Only a year ago, he’d burned a hole in their countertops trying to make her pancakes, and though he had been unharmed and she’d fixed the top, the cabinet below it still sported a lovely blackened spot as tribute to his touching idea.

Vaulting out of bed, Zia teleported into the kitchen, her eyes wide and arms ready to begin batting out flames. What she saw wasn’t her Boo making breakfast.

It was Jeremiah.

The Elemental brandished a spatula and tongs like a lightsaber-wielding Jedi. He was standing before a griddle filled with an impressive variety of bacon and breakfast potatoes, with a stack of buttermilk pancakes already on the side.

His eyes, though, weren’t on his cooking. His attention was riveted to her long legs, barely covered by the long, oversized T-shirt she wore to bed.

Blushing furiously, Zia scrambled for a response. “I—I thought Myko might be trying to burn the house down.”

“Nope, it’s just me trying to burn the house down.”

His cheerful grin remained as he flipped a stray piece of bacon, prompting her to speak into the following silence. “What are you doing?”

“Well,” another flip on the griddle, “bacon typically needs to be cooked before it can be consumed, but if you’re game to try it raw, I’ll humor you.”

“No, I mean why? Why are you making breakfast? Where did you get all this food?”

“I gutted the wild boar this morning and harvested the potatoes last night.” Somehow, Jeremiah managed to keep a straight face. “But the pancakes put up a wild fight. Those flapjacks can certainly land a punch or two when threatened.”

“They got one over on you, huh? Do you require healing?”

“Only my pride was irreparably injured.”

He looked heartbreakingly handsome when he continued, “Seemed like someone should do something nice for you. Myko said you’re always doing something for everyone else, but no one ever returns the favor.”

When had been the last time someone did something for her? Nero, certainly, was always going out of his way to aid her, but he was her sovereign, and he did that for all his subjects. Her clansmen, and the people who looked to her for leadership rarely—if ever—did something for her out of gratitude. In fact, she couldn’t remember the last time any of them even said thank you.

There had been that beautiful surprise the day before—the one Jeremiah had done.

“Plus, I figured Fruit Loops were out given your hysterics yesterday.”

“My hysterics?”

A bemused taunt hid beneath her words as Zia teleported more appropriate clothes onto her frame. The long t-shirt was replaced by a pair of skinny jeans and a short-sleeved Henley.

“Sad.”

Startled, Zia caught his eye. “What?”

He gestured to her clothing swap, a wicked grin parting his lips. “No need to change on my account. Wasn’t bothering me at all.”

Zia frowned.

“Oh please. It’s no secret you’re stunning. I doubt I’m the first to speak up.” When she said nothing, he patted the chair just next to him. “Sit. Let me feed you for a change.”

She did as he bid, gently tucking her legs under the counter to appease the Elemental. His attention returned to the griddle, pulling off long, perfectly sizzled bacon that made her mouth water.

“Should I go get Myko?”

Zia shook her head. “No. I typically let him sleep in on Saturdays.”

Nodding, Jeremiah grabbed a plate and loaded it up with bacon, pancakes, and breakfast potatoes. He got ahold of two forks a moment later, waving a hand in the air as the plate slid across the marble to stop perfectly in front of her.

She tucked into the ‘wild’ flapjacks first, barely concealing her groan at their taste. With the addition of powdered sugar, berries and syrup, they really hit the spot. She’d put off asking him more about his ability until breakfast had been dealt with accordingly.

It’d been too long since anyone had cooked for her, and she was going to cherish every delectable bite. A question popped into her mind, and once she finished that mouthful, she asked, “Who do you cook for back home?”

Jeremiah frowned. “Huh?”

“Do you have anyone you cook for? You don’t get this good by making stuff just for yourself.”

“Rukia and Gideon usually. Rukia’s the worst cook on the planet. She can’t even do pop tarts without burning them.” His smile fell suddenly, turning forlorn in the blink of an eye. “Fortunately, I hear her new mate is quite the chef, and she no longer has to worry about boiling water or setting fire to spaghetti.”

“And Gideon?”

Anger tinged the air around her, the churning of the element that brushed over her skin a testament to Jeremiah’s volatility. Within seconds, that emotion banked across her senses, his potent memories worming into her mind.

Jeremiah didn’t reply, and within moments, the brunt of the emotion subsided.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to talk about it,” Zia muttered quietly. “I can understand the anger that comes with disappointment.”

“Who has disappointed you?”

She put down her fork. “Myko’s dad.”

For a moment, it was as though Jeremiah didn’t know how to react. He placed his knife and fork down carefully and turned investigative eyes on her. “Where is Myko’s dad? I know that Raeths only have children when they are part of a mated couple, and you said he doesn’t live here, but Myko talks about his dad like he’s still alive.”

“He’s … Sehrin isn’t a part of our lives.” Curling her arms around her waist, Zia took a deep breath. “He never has been. He’s a clanless Raeth, and I met him and got pregnant against all odds.”

Surprised etched the handsome panes of Jeremiah’s face. “You’re not mated?”

“No. In fact, I’d never met him until that night. Myko is one of only three children born in the last ten centuries outside matehood. Trust me, no one was as surprised as I was.”

“What did Sehrin say?”

A lance of pain struck through her heart. “When I told him I was pregnant, he told me it was impossible, but changed his tune when he sensed the little life within me. And then he asked what I wanted from him, like I was some kind of gold digger or social climber.”

The curse that sounded from Jeremiah’s lips sounded suspiciously like a synonym for donkey. “But Myko suggested you were in a relationship with his father?”

“What?!” Zia shook her head. “No! What did he say to you?”

“Oh—ah, no … I mean, nothing. No reason.”

“There’s got to be some reason why you thought that,” Zia insisted. “Tell me.”

“Nah—it’s nothing.”

“Jeremiah.”

“Well,” he drawled, suddenly coy, “Myko said you sleep together.”

She choked on air, coughing as though she’d swallowed a bug. “Myko means in the same bed. Sleeping in the same bed … not … he wouldn’t know if—oh my fates.”

Facepalming, Zia hid her embarrassment behind a well-placed hand. She silently wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole next to the Elemental who’d made her breakfast. She remained silent until she felt his shoulder nudge hers.

“Don’t worry about it, Z. Just file this one under ‘crazy embarrassing stuff my kid has said’. Your tweet will go viral.”

Chuckling at her own expense, she finally met his eyes, and her heart skipped a beat. This close, she could see the warm summer-blue of his eyes. What held her was the intensity with which he looked at her, the heat behind his gaze. His attention slowly dipped to her mouth, and his tongue subtly wet his bottom lip.

A plume of desire sparked to life within her, the treacherous emotion welling behind bated breath. Each inhale was punctuated by the delicious scent of sunshine, Jeremiah’s masculine aroma curling around her as though it were an embrace.

A sudden loud alert had his attention snapping toward his phone. The Elemental retreated, shifting to look at the device enough that she glimpsed the caller. Jeremiah scowled.

“Who’s that?”

Breathless, Zia refocused on the food in front of her, trying to will down the heat that’d burst under her skin. She swallowed another bite as she battled against the sudden flush in her cheeks.

“No one of importance.”

Letting the phone fall back against the counter, he speared another bite of breakfast potatoes and chewed angrily.

“I think Gideon might take offense to that. I vaguely recall him being something like the Elemental monarch. What did he do to make you so upset?”

Beside her, the Elemental stiffened, sucking in a breath before dropping his fork. “Gideon didn’t do anything. And neither did I.”