Chapter 30
Rafe
I had always prided myself on the fact that I wasn’t a nervous person. I had always wined and dined dates well. I had cooked for many women. But this felt different, especially since Jade was my mate. It was hard enough cooking while I had to imagine her upstairs, naked in my tub. There was nothing more distracting than that. Mav watched me from the other side of the kitchen.
“I don’t know how you are so calm right now,” He sipped on a beer.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I tried to keep my voice even.
“Your mate is upstairs naked in your bathroom, in a bubble bath, I would presume. She was just attacked last night and you’re down here making dinner.”
The steaks popped and sizzled in the pan as I flipped them. The potatoes were in the oven and would be ready any minute. A salad was already tossed and prepared on the counter. “Thanks for the reminder,” I growled.
Mav shrugged his huge shoulders. “I was just saying. I don’t know what it’s like to have a mate but I feel like you’re not acting fast enough.”
My fangs pierced my bottom lip. “She was just attacked last night, Mav. The last thing she needs is her horny mate going up there and ravishing her. Or better yet, her horny mate that has very little control over his wolf right now.”
Mav coughed into a closed fist and nodded his head. “Okay, you make a fair point.”
“That would push her away for good. She hasn’t been in this community long enough to know what this means. I’m thankful she has accepted me as her mate even though everything I did was wrong by humanity’s standards.” I stabbed my fork into one of the steaks and deposited it onto a plate beside the stove. I waited a few seconds before I did the same to the other. The water kicked off upstairs and my eyes shot to the suitcase sitting at the end of the bar. “Make sure the potatoes don’t burn, okay?”
I grabbed her bag and took the stairs two at a time. She was exiting the bathroom as I was entering the bedroom. I stopped short and looked away. She was wrapped in a towel but it was enough to send my wolf into a frenzy again. Her blonde hair was wrapped in another towel that looked entirely too big for her head.
“I brought you the clothes Tracey packed,” When Jade didn’t reply I tested my luck to look over at her. A blush stained her cheeks. She rearranged the towel around her chest and looked anywhere but me. I placed the bag on the bed carefully.
With regret and reluctance thick in my veins, I left the room without another glance.
“I don’t know what you need from me,” Mav said when I finally descended the stairs.
I rubbed the bridge of my nose. “What do you mean?”
“It is my duty to stay here…” He trailed off as he looked at thetwosteaks on the plate. He had also taken the potatoes out of the oven while I had been upstairs. There wasn’t enough of those for him either. “But, I have a feeling you want things to get pretty intimate.”
I pulled my hand down my jaw and tilted my head. “Yes, I would like to have a date with my mate. That would be ideal before shit hits the fan.”
“Where would you like me to be?” Mav’s cheeks turned pink. “I have to be close per my Guardianship but I don’t want to betooclose.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle. With anyone else, this would have been easy but with Mav, it was awkward because he had no idea what this world was like. He had been forced to change years ago and still hadn’t found his mate, which wasn’t uncommon or unusual. “I’m not going to claim her, you don’t have to worry about that!”
His shoulders slumped in relief. “Thank goodness, I would rather not be on duty when that happens.”
I rolled my eyes. “Mav, it’s probably not going to be something that’s planned. I hate to tell you that.” I shrugged.
Mav pressed his lips into a thin line but didn’t have the time to reply. Jade leaned against the doorway and a blush was evident on her cheeks now too. She lifted her hand for an awkward wave. “I promise I wasn’t here through that entire conversation.”
Mav and I looked at each other with surprised faces. How had she managed to get down here without either of us noticing? She still had the oversized towel leaning sideways on her head. Her pajama shorts were flannel and barely visible under the massive shirt she had on. Her feet were bare and her toenails were painted the cutest shade of pink. She crossed her arms over her chest while she waited for one of us to get our senses back.
Mav bowed his head to the both of us. “I’ll be in the basement. I think I need a good workout.” It had soundproof walls, reinforced so our wolf senses couldn’t break through and he would be close enough if either of us needed him. I nodded my head in approval. Jade’s shoulders relaxed a pinch as she walked all the way into the kitchen. Her vanilla scent was even stronger than before and honestly, I didn’t know how I was going to make it through dinner without trying to claim her.
