Sold to the Alpha With Silver Eyes - Chapter 19: Chapter 19

“So did you cook often, at any of the other packs you lived in?” Dev asks, sitting at the kitchen island, his eyes on my back as I face the stove, boiling water and browning the ground beef. What I am making is the easiest and quickest thing I could come up with.
“Sometimes,” I shrug, remembering the times I would burn the food in the kitchen, always setting off the fire alarm only to have Travis grumble as he would come in and save the day. He was the real cook of the family. He loved to study food and new flavor profiles to surprise us with. There is nothing I miss more than family holidays where my barely teenage brother would make a delicious spread.
“You really don’t make it easy to get to know you.” He mutters. I sigh, spinning around to look at him.
“I’m not a very good cook. The food I make is edible and not terrible, but it’s not…restaurant quality.” I admit, giving him a small smile as I move over to the cupboard and look for the jar of pre-made spaghetti sauce I know I saw earlier.
“So then I should have probably cooked?” He asks.
“If you want to help, you can make garlic bread.” I offer, pointing to the loaf of French Bread sitting on the counter. “Just cut that in half, lather it well with butter, and sprinkle that jar of seasoning on it.”
I shoot him a look over my shoulder, catching a chuckle as he stands and starts to do exactly what I ask him to do. The two of us move around the kitchen in silence, focusing fully on the meat sauce and the noodles, while Dev finishes the bread. He comes over and gives me a gentle push to the side as he puts it in the oven.
“You could have asked me to step aside.” I say and he shrugs.
“Does my presence make you that uncomfortable?” He asks, arching a brow.
Dev is clearly the flirtatious type, especially with me. It’s hard to differentiate between playful banter because of the breeder’s bond wanting us to get closer or because he enjoys watching me blush. Though I am getting the vibe, it is a bit of both.
“Do you want the honest answer?” I ask him. His face grows more serious, and he takes a step back, scratching the back of his head.
“I think I can surmise the answer to that question.” He sighs. “What do you want to drink? Hastings and Leoni always have a slew of beverages in the fridge.”
“Yeah, they do.” I mutter, smirking. The very first day I opened the fridge on my own, I was astounded by how much of it was dedicated to just drinks.
Lemonade, sodas, water bottles, heck, even various types of milk and alcohol that does nothing to our kind. Clearly the two of them like to have people over…or liked to, not so much anymore I don’t suppose.
“I’ll take a water bottle.” I tell him as he reaches in and grabs himself a soda. Dev walks it over to me, cracking open his can as he hovers around the stove watching the sauce as it bubbles. It splatters up, catching me right above the eye as I gasp and slap my hand over my face.
“Shit!” I hiss, rushing past him as he grunts and curses under his breath. I throw the sink faucet on, splashing cool water over my miniscule burn before I reach for a paper towel and look back up.
“I turned the stove off.” Dev says, his voice right behind me, causing my skin to shiver.
“Thanks,” I mutter as I turn to look at him, my eyes growing wide as I swallow roughly. Soda drips from his perfect chin, the collar of his shirt soaked, dripping down his chest like he was trying to win a white t-shirt contest. My hands fly over my mouth, both stifling a laugh and a gasp.
“Was that my fault?” I ask, pointing at his chest. His jaw twitches when he looks at me, and a chuckle breaks through, watching the brown liquid drink from his chin.
“Might be.” He responds with a twitch of his lip, indicating he might not be as mad as he is trying to come off.
“I am…so sorry.” I offer. The laughter is too much to handle as he looks so handsomely pathetic, wet and sticky.
“Could you excuse me so I can wash up real quick?” He asks, that signature brow rising that seems to make my heart rate tick up. I nod, pressing my lips together as hard as I can as I step to the side and move over to the food.
I turn off the water, grabbing the strainer from the cupboard to the right before I turn and place it next to the sink where he washes his face. Dev moves to the side as I spin around with the noodles, and he places the strainer in the sink for me. I dump the noodles, placing the bowl to the side before I turn for the sauce.
But instead of finding the meat sauce, I slam face first into warm, wet, sticky flesh. I know exactly who I ran into, but what I don’t know is why the hell his shirt is off. My eyes track up the smooth skin. His muscles are impossible to miss when they are inches away.
“Your…chest is sticky.” I manage to struggle out, his shirt in his hand as he blinks at me, and then at the doorway.
“Well, that escalated much quicker than I anticipated,” Leoni says, her eyes filled with speculation and excitement.
“I spilled on him–” I rush out while Dev utters his excuse as well.
“She ran into me while I was drinking…”
“And the only recourse was to strip and let her feel you up, of course.” She nods, pretending to understand as she traipses into the kitchen.
“It wasn’t like that at all, I promise.” Dev rushes out. “You know I am waiting to find a suitable mate.”
“And she isn’t suitable?” Leoni stops, tilting her head, her hands perched on her hips. There is a fire in her eyes, one daring Dev to say otherwise before I move over to Leoni and push her to the table.
“I’m not!” I rush out. “And it’s fine. It doesn’t offend me at all, I promise.”
“Mmhmm,” she frowns, looking between me and Dev. He sighs heavily and walks out of the room. “Your clothes are still in the spare bedroom!”
Leoni shouts after he leaves and then she turns softer eyes to look at me.
“Why do you talk down about yourself?” She asks. “You are beautiful and you are getting stronger and don’t think I don’t notice that fun personality peeking through when you get comfortable.”
“I’m not staying here for long, Leoni.” I exhale. “You know that. We break this bond we were forced into and then I am gone, off living my life. If it weren’t for Dev wanting a mate of his own, I would just take off now. And be done with it all.”
She takes a seat at the table, and I rush about the kitchen, grabbing plates and silverware. By the time I am done, Dev returns, hair wet and a dry shirt on. He struts in, grabbing the bread from the oven, and placing it on a plate before he grabs the strained noodles and places them on the table. Then he takes his seat. Leoni gives him a funny look, leaning in as she sniffs at him, and then she breaks into a gleeful laugh.
“Shut up,” He growls in warning, his eyes narrowing as she shakes her head, refusing to acknowledge his words.
“What?” I ask, looking between them as I place the sauce on the table and take my seat.
“It’s nothing,” Dev rushes out. But Leoni grins, placing her elbows on the table and cradling her chin. “Leoni, I am warning you.”
“Oh, come on, you can’t not tell me now.” I pout, and he gives me the most serious face I have ever received.
“Sure can,” he clips out before he reaches out and uses his fork to lift a lump of stuck together noodles up from the colander. Leoni barks out another laugh and shakes her head and I bite my lip, wincing.
“I may have forgotten to rinse them off with warm water,” I whisper out, looking between the two of them. “Oops.”
Dev cracks a smile, then he stands and rinses them the best he can, trying to separate the noodles. Then he places them back down in the center of the table on a small kitchen towel.
“Maybe next time I will just cook.” He says.
“I was distracted!” I scoff, offended that he would insinuate he might be better at cooking than me.
“Yes, by a big old muscled wall that smells like orange blossoms and vanilla.” Leoni chimes in, taking a bite of her garlic bread and grinning. “What was it you said about his chest again? That it was sticky?”
“Well, it was.” I frown, and she breaks into laughter again.
“The sugar in the drink made it sticky,” Dev says, backing me up as she nods, pretending like she knows.
“Sure, sure. But if I had just heard those words and not been witnessing what was happening, I would have been worried the bond was complete…” she teases.
“Eat your damn soggy noodles.” Dev grumbles as he serves the rest of his food and eats in silence.
I giggle under my breath, just happy to see Leoni light hearted after such a heartbreaking week. By the time everything is cleared and put away, Dev is long gone. Leoni yawns, putting her hands up above her head as she stretches.
“You should probably get some sleep if you are training with me tomorrow. We start early. And maybe take a quick shower. I know you can’t smell things, but you do kind of smell like you need a good rinse.” She says, prompting me to sniff myself to no avail.
“Sorry,” I mutter, looking up and shrugging. “I’m still not used to not being able to smell. Might not ever get used to it.”
“No worries. That’s why I’m letting you know.” She says, walking with me until she hits her room.
She walks in as I walk into the bathroom, turning on the water before I look at myself in the mirror again, liking the person looking back at me more and more every day. My cheeks are less pronounced. Small steps to regain my weight, but it’s working.
As I step into the hot stream of water, I take a deep breath; the water hammering my muscles in the perfect way. Then I reach down and grab my shampoo, the orange label catching my eye as I read it.
“Orange blossom vanilla scented.” I mutter, my brows pulled together, thinking about dinner before I catch myself smiling like a fool. Dev used my shampoo…and it isn’t even the only shampoo option here. I guess he likes how I smell, even if Leoni thinks I stink.