AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m so sorry for sleeping late,” Isidore immediately apologized, fighting the urge to walk straight over to Kairo and wrap his arms around his waist from behind.
“Nothing to be sorry for,” Will quickly countered from his spot next to Charlie at the dining room table. The wide-open doorway that connected the two rooms allowed him to be able to see and hear everyone despite the separation. “You and Athena have been through a lot. It’s important that you take the time to relax, heal, and catch up on sleep.”
“I’ve only been up for a little bit,” Athena added, though he swore she narrowed her eyes in warning to him. Oh, he got the fucking message. She was dying to have more words with him, but she was kind enough not to air everything on her mind in front of the group.
“And you’ve eaten?” Isidore asked. That at least changed her expression from warning to irritated eye roll. That he could deal with. He did not give a shit that she was twenty-two, fiercely independent, and immensely capable. While she was within his reach, he was going to make sure that she was warm, safe, fed, and comfortable. After all they’d both lost, it was the least he could do.
“Charlie was in the mood to cook this morning,” Will filled in.
“Probably because he got laid,” Ed muttered, only to yelp a second later as if someone had kicked him under the table.
“I don’t know what you usually have for breakfast in Greece, but I made a typical American breakfast. Pancakes, sausage gravy and biscuits, bacon, sausage, toast—”
“Oh, my God! It was so good. I won’t have to eat for two days,” Athena moaned.
A hand landed on Isidore’s waist and he jumped as he twisted to find Kairo standing right next to him with a warm smile. “If you’re hungry, I saved you a plate from these jackals.”
“Be grateful. He was stabbing people to keep them away from the food he picked out for you,” West grumbled. As he passed by, he held up his right hand to reveal a white bandage across the top as if to offer proof to back up his words.
Isidore’s wide eyes followed the white bandage for a second before darting down to Kairo, who was watching him with a little smirk. All his plans of playing it cool and following Kairo’s lead flew out the window of his mind. “You stabbed someone for me!” he gasped and then dipped his head to seize Kairo’s lips in a hard kiss.
A second later, his brain decided to work again, but it was already too late. He was kissing Kairo in front of everyone. He stared dumbly at Kairo, his mind blank on how to salvage this moment.
To his shock, Kairo grabbed the front of his T-shirt and jerked him close as a wicked grin spread across his lips. “If I’m willing to stab a friend to feed you, just think of what I’d be willing to do to a person who dares to hurt you.” Kairo had only to tip his lips toward him, and Isidore was automatically diving for another kiss like a dog trained to sit for a treat.
And this was such a good treat. He was addicted to Kairo’s lips, and each kiss was more divine than the last.
“If you’re going to hog the kitchen like this, I’m going to let you finish cleaning up on your own,” West groused a couple of seconds later.
Isidore broke off the kiss with a smile that matched the one on Kairo’s face. He wanted to lower his head again and lick that shiny piercing under his delectable bottom lip, but they couldn’t spend their morning kissing in the kitchen. Other things needed to be done.
“Go sit in the dining room. I’ll heat up your breakfast and grab you some coffee,” Kairo directed. He released Isidore and turned toward the microwave, punching some buttons to get it whirring. Isidore didn’t want to leave his side, but his stomach chose that moment to growl, reminding him that it was empty.
Trying to appear cool and relaxed, he sauntered into the dining room under the gaze of his new friends and sister. He managed to drop into the empty seat next to Athena, who watched him with questioning eyes. They seemed a little less worried, though, and maybe more cautiously happy.
“Soooooo,” Ed drawled. “Is this new?”
Kairo groaned from the kitchen before Isidore could reply. “Of course it’s new! We’ve known each other for less than a week.”
“It happened after our escape. So, very new,” Isidore said with a grin. “Kairo and I have agreed to try dating to get to know each other better. We still have a lot to discover about each other and to figure out. And then there’s the mess my life is in right now…” he finished, his voice dropping off as the weight of what was still ahead of them settled on his shoulders. Was Kairo going to take one look at the insanity of his life and just walk away? No, would he run? That would be the smarter option.
A mug of coffee appeared in front of him on the table and a strong hand wrapped around the back of his neck, squeezing suddenly tense muscles. “I’ve waded through far bigger messes. I’m not going anywhere,” Kairo murmured in his ear.
“Think of it this way, you already got the awkwardness of what he does for a living out of the way, right?” Will asked.
“Yes. I know he’s a mercenary and he’s told me that he’s former—” Isidore stopped and jerked his head up to gaze at Kairo, who had just started to walk back toward the kitchen. Was he allowed to say that? Did everyone at the table know what Kairo used to do? Athena didn’t know the full story, right?
Kairo smiled warmly at him. “Yes, you’re allowed to say it. Everyone here knows that I’m former Army and former CIA along with being a badass mercenary,” Kairo confirmed.
Will smacked Charlie’s shoulder hard. “Kairo had no problem telling him the truth!”
Charlie rubbed his shoulder while leaning away from his lover, as if afraid the man was going to hit him again. “Former is the key word here.Former. Kairo told him after he’d left both. We were all still CIA when we started dating. I couldn’t tell you.”
The doctor stared at Charlie for a second before turning his glare on Isidore. “If you ever catch Kairo lying to you, smack the shit out of him. He needs to know you won’t put up with it.”
“I’m not too worried about that, but thank you for the advice,” Isidore replied. It was on the tip of his tongue to demand to know the story of Charlie and Will’s dating adventures, but it seemed rude to ask. Maybe if they got to be better friends, he could wheedle the story out of Will later.
“Just to warn you, Kairo can be fucking bossy,” Ed chimed in.
