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Lewis seemed to relax. That was what I was hoping for. I needed him to stop worrying about trying to please me. Just him being here made me the happiest alpha. “I understand we’ve just met, and although you’ve gifted me with your willingness to let me claim you already, I know it will take time for you to get used to me.” I sighed. “I’m already the happiest alpha on Treasure Ridge simply because you allowed me to claim you already. I fully expected to have to wait several weeks.”

The slice of pizza Lewis was raising stopped halfway to his mouth. “Why would you have to wait?” Lewis took a bite and started chewing.

“Because some couples have started dating first. You don’t know me at all, and I just figured that would be the way things worked with us.” I took a bite of my pizza and closed my eyes. It was delicious. As far as I could tell, it wasn’t from anywhere local, which told me that it was a Lewis special. I moaned as I took another bite. After swallowing it, I grinned over at my mate. “It’s very good,” I told him.

“I’m glad you think so. It’s my favorite. But I’ll eat other toppings too.”

“Do you want to watch TV?” I didn’t find too many memories of him watching things, so I didn’t know what to put on.

“We can. Or we could just talk?”

I grinned and took another bite. “All right,” I said around a mouthful of food. Probably not the most appropriate thing, but it was what it was. “What would you like to talk about?” I asked after swallowing. “Tell me your favorite thing to do besides bake.”

Lewis sighed before he took another bite and looked adorable and thoughtful while he chewed. “I don’t really do much. I like to go for a walk when I can. I go to Dragon Falls and sit. Sometimes the dragons are there, sometimes not. I don’t go to watch them though, just for the peace of it.” Lewis looked at me with wide eyes. “Work can be hectic at times. More often than not, it’s go-go-go from the time we open until we close. Unfortunately, everyone knows the bakery is run by two fae and we technically can’t run out of things.”

“That doesn’t seem fair. Or right.”

Lewis shrugged. “It’s not wrong. We’ve put a strict rotation in on certain things though, and we have started making sure that once we do run out, that item is sold out for the day. There was some pushback at first, but everyone seems to be fairly understanding.”

In all the time I’d been with the council, I’d never been to the bakery. I wanted to kick myself for that now. I was trying to tell myself that there was a reason I hadn’t met Lewis before today, but I was still struggling with the fact that my mate was so close for the past year and a half. That all would be changing though. I would certainly be visiting the bakery from now on. And often.

“Do you feel the council should or could do something more to help the two of you? Are customers overly rude about things?” I would certainly be talking to other enforcers if that were the case.

“The council has been great. They’ve already helped a lot, and they always send someone extra to fill in if we need them.” Lewis shook his head. “Customers have favorites. It happens. When they can’t get to their favorites every day, or even every week, they get upset. It’s nothing that didn’t happen in our village too.”

That made me feel a little better. I still didn’t exactly like it, but at least the council was on top of things for them. Sadly, until today, I hadn’t really ever given the bakery or those who ran it much thought. Now I was rethinking some things, such as the fact that I needed to be more aware of not just the council building and my position there, but everywhere here on the mountain and the various businesses. Treasure Ridge wasn’t just the council. Sure, it had grown and expanded because of the council, but now there was a small town up here on the mountain and several different businesses.

“You’ve gone quiet,” Lewis said.

I smiled over at him. “I have, and I apologize. I was thinking about all of the businesses that are now here on Treasure Ridge.” I shook my head. “I’ve never visited any of them except the store. All this time, I’ve come incredibly close to you, but I’ve never actually gone into the bakery, and I could kick myself for that.”

Lewis grinned. “It’s all right. We’re together now, and that’s not going to change.”

That was absolutely true. We went back to eating, and before long, the pizza was gone, and Lewis used magic to provide us with reheated food from earlier, and then I finally got to try his lemon bars. They were good. Sweet, but tart, and that was something I very much liked about them.

“I like these,” I said, complimenting my mate. “They’re still very much a sweet dessert, but I am enjoying the tartness of them. It helps balance it out.” I leaned over and kissed Lewis on the side of the head. “I don’t dislike desserts, but they aren’t an everyday need for me. These—” I paused and held up my third lemon bar. “—I could eat every day. I’m not just saying that because you made them. They are incredible.”

Lewis’s cheeks turned pink. I leaned over and kissed his temple again before I sat back upright and ate the yellow square in two bites. Once we finished our meal, I stood to clean the mess and sighed when I turned back around to see it was just gone.

“What’s wrong?”

I shook my head. “Not a thing. I was going to clean the mess. I’m not used to things just magically happening. It’s going to take some time to get used to it.”

The mess suddenly returned, and I threw my head back and laughed hard. Life was certainly going to be amazing and wonderful with Lewis.

“I can leave messes if you really want to do dishes and things.”

“Not what I meant, but I don’t mind doing the cleanup.” Everything disappeared again, and I took the opportunity to bend down and pick Lewis up off the couch. He squeaked, which caused me to smile again. “If you’re going to do all of the work, the least I can do is carry you upstairs.”

Lewis’s expression wasn’t exactly what I’d hoped for, and his inner thoughts told me exactly why. I moved him close enough to kiss his nose before I settled him back against my chest. “I will not push you for anything sexual and never would. I only wished to spend some time holding you in the oversized bathtub. Then I thought we might be able to cuddle some more before falling asleep. I have a feeling that you are going to have a heat that is going to hit soon enough, and resting now would be beneficial when that time comes.”

“Oh.” Lewis’s eyes widened. “Oh. Yeah, you’re probably right.” He snuggled into my chest as I carried him into the kitchen, where I turned off the lights and then headed for the stairs. Lewis weighed nothing, and I could too easily get used to carrying him around. I, of course, knew he didn’t need me to carry him, but the need for him to be close was still there, and my beast was more than pleased with the fact that our mate wasn’t pulling away or complaining.

I was surprised when we entered the bedroom to scent a fragrance that hadn’t been there before, but with the man in my arms, nothing should surprise me any longer. When we entered the bathroom, I immediately knew what it was that I’d scented. He’d already filled the tub, and the fragrance was coming from the steaming water. “I would ask if you were responsible for the water in the tub, but that is truly a dumb question because of course you are. What did you put in it though?”

“It’s a calming oil. It will help relax muscles, but it will also help…” Lewis cleared his throat. “Other areas.”

“Little mate, are you sore still?”