Alena looked at him, color moving into her face. She shook her head. “I have no idea.”
“Love, little sister. That’s what makes the difference,” Ice told her.
The others broke out into grins, all of them nodding their heads. Alena gave him the finger. That was his sister, trying to be tough and failing when she was with her family.
“Eat that, Ice,” she said rudely.
He blew her a kiss. “Love you so much, little sister.”
Alena narrowed her eyes and started toward him.
“Quick, babe,” he counseled Soleil. “Get as much food on your plate as possible and then protect it.” He scooped up several healthy servings of the various dishes and heaped them on his plate and then hers. “She’ll yank our plates away and toss them in the garbage. She’s famous for that, and we’re not missing out on her food.”
“I wouldn’t throw Soleil’s plate away,” Alena clarified. “Just yours.”
He refrained from pointing out he was only telling her the truth. He kept moving down the line until both of them had plenty of food and then he found a table for them to sit. Czar, Savage and Reaper joined them. He didn’t think anything of sitting with them until he felt Soleil’s hand stray to his thigh under the table. He’d chosen the corner table because it was mostly in the shadows and set a little distance from the others. He thought she might be more inclined to talk to whoever sat with them.
“How’s the kid, Czar? He must have been scared out of his mind.”
Soleil sat up straighter. “The kid? Someone scared a child?”
Ice wanted to curse. He shouldn’t have brought it up.
Czar, however, was as smooth as ever. “Blythe and I have four adopted children and we’ve just brought a fifth into our home. This boy’s parents were murdered in order for a pedophile ring to acquire him and keep him. No one would be looking for him that way. His life has been very difficult, so it will take time for him to trust his environment.”
Soleil looked as if she might cry. She glanced at Ice and then away, but not before he caught the sheen of tears in her eyes. His heart clenched hard. She really was compassionate. She seemed to feel the pain of others.
Czar leaned close to her. “Soleil, you’re gifted, did you know that? You take others’ emotions into you. Ice, you’re going to have to shield her from things for a little while, until we can get Jimmy to settle and feel safe.”
Ice knew that meant not to bring Soleil to his home for a little while. Everyone went to his home. Blythe was there. The kids were there. All of them were “uncles” to the four children. He wanted to meet Jimmy, the newest addition, the little boy they’d rescued in Vegas. He also had seen Czar work his magic on victims. He’d been doing it since he was a little boy and they’d been thrown down in that dungeon, broken, bleeding, and terrified out of their minds.
Ice nodded to show he understood. He ate, listening to Reaper and Czar talk about an upcoming run they were supposed to go on. He was looking forward to it. His bike. His woman. The open road. They were just getting settled, but he knew Soleil would go with him if he told her he wanted to go. She wouldn’t hesitate.
He leaned in to kiss her. She tasted the way Alena’s cooking did. Like love. Wincing at the word, he went back to eating.
“You’re right about her food, Ice,” Soleil said. “Your sister can cook better than any chef I’ve ever experienced. I’ve been around the world to some of the best restaurants and eaten great food, but this is amazing. When word gets out, she’ll have more people coming than she’ll ever imagine.”
He turned to look over his shoulder. “Alena, Soleil loves it. Says she’s eaten all over the world in some of the best restaurants, and your cooking beats them every time.”
Soleil nodded, looking over her shoulder as well. “It’s wonderful.”
Alena beamed. “Thank you, Soleil, that means a lot.”
“Since I had the good sense to get her drunk and marry her, do I get first dibs on the berry pie?” Ice asked with a quick, superior grin around the room at his brothers, and ignoring Soleil’s sigh of protest.
“Soleil can have the first piece,” Alena conceded. “You, however, after your nasty little crack, can wait.”
“I was giving you a compliment,” Ice protested, when the laughter died down.
Soleil leaned into him. “Is her pie that good?”
“Better than the food you’re consuming.”
“I was going to say I’d give up my piece for you, but after knowing her pie is that good, I’m going to have to keep it for myself.” She said it straight-faced.
Ice stared into her laughing, dark chocolate eyes. He watched her lips curve into a smile that lit up her entire face. Around him, laughter erupted, but all he could see was Soleil. He pulled her hand to his mouth and bit down on the tips of her fingers. Hard. She mock-scowled at him and yanked her fingers away.