“I don’t wantyouto leave, either.”
I really couldn’t help myself; the grin that spread across my face was too genuine to hold back. “Oh, I’m not going anywhere,gorgeous,” I explained. “Or rather, assuming you’re about to be a pedant, I only planned to head into the kitchen. I do know how to cook, you know.”
That seemed to legitimately surprise her. “You do?”
I gave her a deadpan stare, cocking my head.
Really?
“I am a grown ass adult, woman. Obviously I know how to cook and feed myself. I mean, it’s mostly breakfast foods these days if I’m being honest, and the occasional scone?—”
“Youmade those scones? Who the Hel taught you how to make scones? Commander Ka?”
“Arken, please. We’re losing the plot here, and you’re wounding my ego.”
“The jam was one thing, butscones?”
Fates help me, she was fixating.
“Food. You need it. Surprising as it may be, I can make it. We’ve got options here—I can make an omelette, pretty sure I have some bacon, and I make a damn good pancake if I do say so myself. If you’re not averse to leftovers, I also have some quiche from a few—” I paused, zeroing in on her dazed expression.
“Overstimulated?” I asked.
Arken’s golden glazed eyes widened for a moment, then she nodded.
“Need me to decide for us?”
She nodded again, the tension in her shoulders starting to loosen.
“And would you care to join me in the kitchen?”
“Yes, please,” she murmured, nodding a third time and offering me a shy but appreciative smile. “Just…give me a moment to get dressed, and I’ll come join you.”
I snorted. “Nonsense. You’re coming with me.”
Before she could open her mouth to question my intentions, I had her scooped up—both the duvet and her body effortlesslysliding into my arms. She squeaked and giggled beneath her breath as I carried her down the hallway in a cloud of linen and fluff, and I kissed her forehead before setting her down on one of the stools behind the breakfast nook in my kitchen.
“Pancakes it is.”
CHAPTER THREE
ARKEN
“Istill can’t believe you can cook,” I observed, mildly amused at the sight of Kieran clearing our dishes.
The cinnamon and vanilla pancakes he’d made for us had been divine—thicker, fluffier, and infinitely more appealing than the occasional sad, flat beige circles from the Studium’s dining hall. He also hadn’t bothered to put on pants, so I got to watch Kieran Vistarii, Scouting and Reconnaissance Captain of Sophrosyne’s Elder Guard, being delightfully domestic…while entirely naked.
“You truly are bruising my ego right now, Little Conduit,” Kieran said with a faux frown. “Do I really strike you as that incompetent?”
“Of course not,” I laughed. Even if most of the wealthy men I knew had never set foot in a kitchen, I wouldn’t dare call a man like Kieranincompetent.“I just figured—I mean, you’re always eating out…”
My eyes narrowed as he wiggled his eyebrows lasciviously.
“Shut up. You’re always eating meals on the go. And clearly you can afford to, so why bother cooking if you can just eat food from taverns and bakeries?”
My words came out a touch more accusatory than I intended. Yes, Kieran was well-off. He’d clearly come from money, if this townhouse and the surrounding neighborhood were anything to go by. But I didn’t begrudge him that—it really did just seem like sound logic. I mean, I considered myself a frugal person when it came to the stipend the Studium provided, but even I overspent on such conveniences.
“Tsk. You say that like I’m frivolous with my Lyra.”