Mrs. Noseby hopped onto the bed next to Noelle. “Well, have you made enough breakfast for all of us?”
Ridge walked to the door, staring over his shoulder. “I’ll see you all in the kitchen.”
IF HE’D HAVE STAYED in there much longer there was no way he’d have been able to hide his obvious erection. Damn, the woman was sexy first thing in the morning. Shit, who was he kidding? She was sexy at any time of the day or night.
The sound of the shower running had him smiling. He checked the bacon in the oven to make sure it wasn’t burning then went to the fridge to get some eggs out. If he timed it right, he’d have the eggs and toast done by the time she was done. They could eat and then hit the trails with the rest of his crew.
His phone vibrated on the counter. A quick glance showed him Glock’s name on the caller ID. “Hey, brother, what’s going on?”
“The Crew will be there within a half hour. Just wanted to make sure it was still good for you?” Glock’s deep voice growled over the line.
“We’ll be ready. Thanks for checking.” Ridge whipped the eggs in a bowl, adding salt and pepper to the mixture.
“Whoa, you making brekkie?” Glock asked.
Ridge snorted, disconnecting the call without answering. The last thing he wanted was his Crew showing up to eat the first morning he had Noelle at his home. “Hell nah, I ain’t making brekkie, fucker.”
“Excuse me?”
He spun with a spatula in hand, aware he might appear guilty as hell. “Err, I was talking to Glock.”
“Ah huh, and you call him fucker?”
He hid his grin as he turned back to the gas stove, flipping the eggs. “You like scrambled eggs, Katjie?”
Noelle sidled up to him, taking in the two skillets. “That’s an awful lot of eggs there.”
“I’m a growing boy, need lots of protein.” He shuffled the eggs onto the platter to the side, waiting on her to tell him if she liked them scrambled or not.
“Oh, those look good.” Her hand slid forward, snagging a piping hot piece of cheesy egg.
“Hey, you little thief.”
She danced away, chewing. “Can I help with anything?”
She appeared young and fresh with her hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun, wearing a pair of cut-off jean shorts and a tank top. Ridge wanted to strip her naked and show her what she could help him with but thought it was a little early for that. Instead he pointed at one of the barstools. “Help yourself to coffee and have a seat. Everything is done.”
Noelle grabbed a mug before doing as he’d suggested. She took a sip and made a little hum. “This is delicious.”
He transferred the bacon from the oven onto a potholder on the island, then did the same with the eggs. He plopped a loaf of bread next to the toaster, made several slices, then with a plate he’d already made up for the both of them, he put both down and sat next to her. “Dig in, Katjie. I think we’ll work up an appetite this morning.”
Her cheeks pinkened, and her sweet orange spice kicked up a notch. “Female, you keep thinking about that and we won’t be eating or leaving my cabin,” he warned.
She opened her mouth then shook her head. “No sense in denying what I think since you’ve got a super sniffer.” Picking up a piece of bacon, she popped it into her mouth, smiling around the bit sticking out.
If he hadn’t already been head-over-tail in love with his little soon-to-be mate, he’d have fallen right then and there. They finished off the breakfast he’d made. He’d piled her plate with a huge heaping of bacon and cheesy eggs, an amount most shifter women would’ve demolished and still demanded more. Noelle ate almost half before pushing her plate toward him. He eyed her leftovers. “You done?” he asked before taking her offering.
Noelle patted her flat stomach. “I couldn’t eat another bite.”
He took her at her word, scooping her food onto his. When he’d eaten every last bite, he sat back with a sigh, realizing she was staring at him. “What?”
“Where do you put it all?”
Ridge stood up. “Shifting takes a lot of energy, Katjie.”
Noelle tilted her head in a very feline way. “Makes sense. Whenever I’ve tried to become one, I’ve been extremely exhausted afterward. I imagine you do a lot more than just become one.”
Her words didn’t startle him this time. “I’ve never heard of a non-shifter becoming one unless they’ve been bitten.”
“Oh, you mean you could turn me into one of you?” She stood up, gathering their plates.
He stopped the words that were on the tip of his tongue. His kind didn’t go around turning or talking about doing such. Hell, the entire situation had his leopard raking at him to make Noelle like them. Only she was a witch, she wasn’t a human, or was she? He’d have to talk to Baba Yaga and find out if it was against their rules.
“Come on, let’s go tear up some ground and have fun. We can think about all that later.” They had forever to think about what they’d do and wouldn’t do. Of course, turning her would be ideal since his life expectancy was longer than a normal human as were witches. Shit, he didn’t want to think about tomorrow. He wanted to have a fun-filled day with Noelle and his Crew.
Looking down at her surprisingly long legs in denim shorts that had been cut off at some point, he whistled through his teeth. “Can I just say how sexy I think you are? No scratch that. I think every male within a hundred-mile radius is gonna think the same thing.”
He was a tits-and ass- male and his mate, she had both in spades. Her ass was heart shaped and her tits, fuck, he wanted to lift the tank top she had on and see if her
