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CHAPTER19
SEVEN YEARS
When Austin found out about the Mage who had threatened me, he crashed on my couch. I received a brief education on some of the Breeds that lived in our world, and the Mage that was after my father had the ability to manipulate energy. Dangerous didn’t even begin to describe their kind. All this was difficult to process and sometimes when you become so overwhelmed, you just learn to accept truth without explanation. What other choice is there?
Austin called Reno to review the video and apparently, he knew a guy who could do a facial-recognition scan.
Whatever that meant.
Needless to say, Austin wasn’t happy when I told him I wanted the cameras out of my apartment because it was invasive. The last thing I needed was for Austin to get a call while he was having a beer, detailing how I was making out with someone. That was the downside, because thinking about a houseful of men sitting around a computer and watching me dry hump someone on the sofa was too much.
Not that I dry humped my dates, but a girl has to put her foot down when it comes to her privacy.
I woke up on the bathroom floor because I’d been afraid to sleep in the same room with Maizy. I was certain my wolf wouldn’t materialize, but Austin had me paranoid about it.
“Why do you got all those marks on your arms?” I heard Maizy ask.
I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and dragged myself into the kitchen, where I poured a short glass of cranberry juice and greeted my guests with a sizeable yawn. Maizy sat on the cabinet wearing her pink unicorn nightgown, watching Austin make pancakes.
“Because I like to doodle,” Austin said in a teasing voice.
Maizy giggled and I leaned over the stove. “What is that?” I glared at the misshapen batter.
“These,” he said, flipping one over carefully, “are my specialty flapjacks.”
“He’s making me a kitty,” Maizy explained excitedly.
I glanced at the batter again and noticed the tail. “Very sweet.”
“Looks better than your dragon.”
I narrowed my eyes and shoved his arm. “Austin Cole, you leave my dragon alone. I was five when I made that cup and you’re how old? I think my artistic abilities excel in comparison.” I leaned over the pan and touched the ear. “It’s all crooked.”
He snatched my wrist. “It’s a work of art. Why don’t you put on some clothes?”
There it was again—that husky morning voice oozing with sex. It made me want to snuggle against him. Sometimes I wondered if there was a power in his voice because he was an alpha.
“It’s my house,” I argued. “If I want to prance around in my underwear, I will.”
Maizy giggled and when she started humming the kissing in a tree song, I lifted her off the counter. “Go watch cartoons, sweetie.”
She jogged into the living room clutching a little stuffed dog I kept around for her. Maizy also had her own drawer of clothes for her visits, although Auntie Naya had a whole wardrobe for that child. Naya treated her like a girly girl and Maizy adored her. The last time they went swimming, Naya bought her a pair of pink sunglasses shaped like two hearts. Maizy wore them for two weeks until they finally broke when she fell asleep with them on.
Austin scooped up the pancake and put it onto a plate. “You want me to make you one?”
I cracked a smile. “You want to cook me breakfast?”
While wearing no shirtanddoing his infamous lean against the wall, holding a spatula in his right hand. He had great arms. Cords of muscle that roped around, but not the kind my meathead ex had with the bulging veins. Austin was built like a man should be, all the way down to the V-cut that peeked out of his jeans, which were slung low on his waist.
Damn, that lean.
I grabbed the pitcher of batter and made an attempt to do something creative in the pan.
Austin came up behind me and peered over my shoulder. He took my hand and guided the drizzle that shaped into a snake. Then I realized he was trying to do his own rendition of my version of a dragon.
“Cut it out,” I said with a soft laugh. He used a knife to shape the legs. His left hand slid around to my stomach as his chin rested on my right shoulder. Then his breath grew heavy and he suddenly stepped back.
Austin tossed the knife into the sink and raked his hands through his hair. “You’re right,” he said. “You can’t stay at my house. Not right now.”
