Aaron arrived at the Protectors’ central command and went inside. The sooner he found out his next task, the sooner he could complete it and plan Teagan’s dinner for the evening. Because even though he had no intention of ever bedding Teagan, let alone trying to woo her, he prided himself on his cooking abilities. It might make more sense to do a horrible job so she would order him to never cook again, but if he could aid Teagan in some small way to help her keep control of her clan, he would. There was no bloody way he wanted to start over negotiations or even lose an alliance if one of the other bastards won. He wasn’t going to return to Stonefire as a failure. Keeping the Glenlough leader fed was the first step to success.
~~~
The sky was nearly dark when Teagan finally entered her cottage. Even though she wasn’t finished for the day, she would complete her remaining work in her pajamas, complete with a nice cup of tea with biscuits for dinner.
However, as she laid down her stack of papers on the table in the entrance, she instantly froze at the faint clanging sound of dishes coming from the kitchen. The place should be empty, especially since she’d texted Aaron to postpone their first supper.
Her beast spoke up. He is stubborn and might have let himself in any way.
If so, then I might have to kick his arse. This is my private space.
True, the piles of crap she needed to put away covered most raised, hard surfaces. And her decorations consisted mainly of donated pictures of flowers and birds from her grandmother, so it was far from glamorous. But it was the one place she could shrug off most of her responsibilities and merely relax.
Anyone who trespassed would think twice before doing it again.
Teagan inched toward the kitchen, careful to avoid the two squeaky floorboards along the way. Just as she popped her head into the doorway, Aaron’s voice rang out. “You might have been stealthy down the hall, but a child could’ve heard you opening the front door.”
She entered the kitchen and frowned. “What the bloody hell are you doing here?”
He didn’t turn away from the cooker. “Do you always ask questions you could answer by merely opening your eyes?”
Teagan tossed her bag on one of the counters and stormed up to Aaron. “You’re on dangerous ground, Caruso.”
He glanced over his shoulder. “Is that so? And here I thought I was merely fulfilling my end of the bargain.”
“I told you I would be late and to not worry about it.”
He met her gaze. “Have you eaten?”
“No, but that’s beside the point.”
“Even considering you’re a dragon-shifter leader who nee
ds to be in good shape, you’re too thin. Sit your arse down and I’ll feed you.”
She clenched the fingers of one hand. “I’m this close to punching you in the jaw, stripping you, and leaving you in the middle of the clan’s high street tied to a pole for all to see.”
He shrugged. “I’m sure more than a few are curious to see an English dragon-shifter and what he’s made of.”
She opened her mouth and shut it. Aaron was bringing out the worst in her. She needed to calm the fuck down and take a different approached.
Her beast chuckled. Why? This is fun.
She ignored her dragon and crossed her arms over her chest. “Look, I’m tired, cranky, and hungry. Just leave and promise not to enter without my permission again and I’ll let you off with a warning.”
“And if I don’t leave?”
“You’re under my command whilst here. You’ll suffer the same punishment for disobeying an outright order as anyone else.”
“As much as I’d rather not spend a few nights in a jail cell, you need to try this first.”
In the blink of an eye, Aaron stuffed a piece of chicken between her lips. She had no choice but to chew, but as the meat melted in her mouth, she nearly moaned.
The bastard could cook.
Smugness filled Aaron’s eyes as he said, “So you can either punish me and go hungry or sit down and eat dinner. It’d be a shame to toss all this into the rubbish bin.”
Teagan was about to tell him to fuck off when her stomach rumbled. Her dragon sighed. Just have dinner.