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I swallowed. Since when were a guy’s feet so sexy? They were as well formed as the rest of him, and the pretty teal of the center of his chest.
His tail rose into the air, the end vibrating with a loud buzz.
“I hope you’re hungry. We missed breakfast,” he said without turning around.
How had he known I was here? Had he heard me? These slippers might have been too flimsy for my tastes, but they were at least quiet.
“There’s nothing fresh, but the freezer had a fairly decent selection.”
I stepped closer, fascinated to watch him move long strips of meat back and forth on one skillet before stirring a mixture of vegetables on the other. Savory scents filled the air, and a chime rang out.
Wrin leaned over to remove a flat tray from the oven covered in round flat disks of bread. They looked thicker than moo shu pancakes—more like tortillas.
In seconds, he had the contents of each skillet spread across serving plates on the dining table with little pots of sauces lined up beside them.
He ushered me into a chair and took the one beside me. Cans of hot liquid waited, and I took a sip of the minty tea.
“It’s jormint,” he said. “It has mild stimulant qualities.”
“Oh, good.” I took a bigger gulp. I’d really missed caffeine over the past few days.
“Pick a sauce.” He waved a hand over the selection. They ranged from tangy and sweet to salty and savory to chili hot, each flavored with unknown but alluring spices. I picked the hot one.
He shot me a grin. “I should have known you’d choose that one, my little hellcat.”
I glared at him. Insult or compliment?
Then my stomach growled. He could call me any damned thing he wanted as long as he fed me like this.
Wrin spread a pancake across a plate, slathered a line of sauce up the middle, then added several strips of meat and a serving of vegetables. With dexterous ease, his long fingers folded the ends over, then he rolled the whole thing up into a tight sandwich wrap.
He sat the plate in front of me and waited, those dark-purple eyes staring at my lips as I took my first bite.
I moaned as the complex mix of flavors burst across my tongue. The spicy sauce, the salty meat, and the slightly sweet and green taste of the vegetables blended into a heady combination. Everything they’d given me back at the lab had been bland and basic. This, on the other hand, was some of the best food I’d ever eaten. “Oh, god, it’s really good.”
His grin grew wicked, flashing his fangs, and he watched me take another bite before making his own wrap. It disappeared while I still worked on my first, and he started making another one.
“I know humans prefer sweet things for breakfast, but meat and vegetable rolls are a staple of the Zaarn diet.” He chose a different sauce this time. “We tend to have them for breakfast and lunch, and pre-prepared ones are eaten on missions or anytime we need what the other Hyoo-mon females have called ‘fast food.’” Wrin’s deft movements soon had the wrap finished and to his mouth, where he took a hearty bite, chewing with gusto.
I liked seeing this side of him, these hints at appetite.
“Don’t worry about me. My family preferred savory breakfasts,” I said. It had been one of the things passed down, even after over three hundred years. “My father used to make the best congee.”
“Kong-gie?” Puzzlement crossed his face. “My translator doesn’t recognize it.”
“It’s a thick and creamy rice porridge, but savory. My father made it with pork-flavored tofu, but it was historically made with meat.” Like most of the middleclass, we’d only been able to afford meat maybe once a month.
He frowned down at me. “You miss him.”
“Of course.” I gave a quick shrug. “But he was so proud when they named meARK 1’s captain. I beat out every other person on the whole damned planet who’d wanted the position.” There had been three ARKs planned, but ours had launched first, had been the one guaranteed to be funded.
“They couldn’t have found a better person,” he said, his tone serious.
“You can’t know that.” I gaped up at him. “You don’t know me.”
“I know everything that matters. You’re fierce and protective and unwilling to give up, no matter the personal cost. You’re dedicated to your crew.” His deep voice rang with conviction. “Anyone would be lucky to have you as their captain.”
His words punched the air from my lungs as I exhaled in shock. No one had ever said anything so…affirmingto me before. I’d spent my whole life feeling like I had to work twice as hard to be seen as half as good.
