He got out of bed, and headed out the door, throwing, “I’ll be right back, Babe,” over his shoulder as he did.
I laid there, still frozen, unable to move or think. As his scent began to fade, my mind finally got moving, if not my body. It was going to be a test of my will to be so close to them without advancing our relationships. But I didn’t think I would be that upset when I failed. When I noticed the direction my thoughts were heading, I stomped on them firmly. We were going to be friends, and that was it.
I sat up, and a second later, there was a knock on the door frame.When I looked over, Kait was standing there with a tray that was piled so high with food, I could see it even with my blurry vision. I snorted. “What’s that?”
He smirked. “Your breakfast, of course. Princesses get breakfast in bed.”
“Um, not this princess. I don’t eat in bed. I’m going to go change and I will meet you all in the kitchen.”
He shrugged. “Alright.” He turned on his heel and walked away. Shit, I think I had just insulted him somehow.
I gathered clean clothes for the day and headed to the bathroom. The door was still shut, so I headed to the other bathroom, farther down the hall. I quickly showered, put my contacts in and got ready for the day. Using my powers, I quickly dried my hair. Some parts of being Shadoewynne were pretty cool.
I headed to the kitchen, and when I found Kait, I wrapped my arms around him from behind. He leaned down a bit as I went up on my tiptoes to place a small kiss on his cheek and said, “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”
He patted my arm. “I know. It didn’t hurt my feelings, exactly. It’s hard to explain. I want very much to take care of you in any way you need it.”
His words had my body warming again as my mind drifted to ways he could take care of me. He cleared his throat and said huskily, “Princess, you need to work on your mental blocks.”
Shit. Just shit. It felt like my face was on fire as I turned away and headed for the table. I hastily built that wall in my mind, hoping to gain some privacy back. “So, um, what’s for breakfast?”
Kait didn’t turn around immediately. When he did, he had the tray again. “We made French toast, scrambled eggs and sausage links. There’s orange juice, coffee, milk or water to drink. What would you like?”
His voice was still slightly husky, but it sounded much more normal. I looked at the table as I said, “Orange juice will be fine, thank you.”
The tray slid into my field of vision, and a minute later, a glass was set in front of me as well. Kait put his finger under my chin and gently lifted my face. “Don’t be embarrassed, Princess.”
I wasn’t exactly embarrassed. Maybe ashamed. Here I was pushing them away while at the same time wondering what it would be like if I just gave in. And I was wondering where they could hear me. It made me feel like I was leading them on, or a hypocrite. One arm wrapped around body as the other hand found the end of my braid and began to twirl it. I looked away again.
He sighed. “Look, it’s been less than 24 hours since you found out we are bonded to you. Hell, since you found out that there is such a thing as bonding. It’s natural to be confused.” I snorted at that. Confused didn’t even begin to cover it. He waited for a second to make sure I wasn’t going to say anything. “Why don’t we just see how things go, okay? Nothing needs be decided right now, and we can focus on getting back to normal life. How’s that sound?”
I nodded. I didn’t trust my voice right now. I pushed my food around on my plate for a minute before taking a bite. Once I did, my hunger surged. I was just finishing up when Travis came in the room.
Kait had sat down next to me and was eating as well. He gestured toward the stove with his fork. “Breakfast is over there. Help yourself.”
Travis ran his hand through his still damp hair as he nodded and headed for the food. He piled his plate high and got a giant cup of coffee. David came in right after, and Kait repeated himself. David helped himself too, and soon we were all at the table. I re-enforced my mental wall while I looked around at the guys. This early, Travis and David were moving slowly, and they still looked sleepy, but they were all adorable. I didn’t deserve this, or them. Stupid magic, making them love me. My eyes filled with tears, but I looked at the table to hide them from everyone. I got up slowly and took my dishes to the sink, rinsed them and put them in the dishwasher. They were still talking, so I quietly left the room. I needed to get my stuff together for class.
A few minutes later, Kait came in, and shut the door. “What’s wrong, Princess?”
I spun, putting my back to him. The wall was still in place in my mind. “Nothing. I just need to get stuff ready for class.”
He came up behind me and rubbed my arms through my sweater. “Please look at me, Evalia.”
My breath hitched. I couldn’t wipe my eyes without him realizing I was crying, but I couldn’t turn around either. “No. I need to get my stuff. We need to leave soon.”
“Evalia, I already know you are crying. What’s wrong?”
Fuck it. I spun to face him. “You all only care about me because of the magic. It’s not like you or Travis actually
