"Need help?" he offered.
"No, thank you. If you come in here, I won't get anything done."
His masculine laughter was cut short when she shut the door.
Men!
She replayed the events from the night before. Squeezing her legs together, she shook her head. She turned on the shower and quickly went through the motions of getting ready. She put on her makeup and smiled at her fresh-faced appearance. She loved her job, but didn't feel like doing a complete look every day. Wrapped in her towel, she walked into the room and pulled out her suitcase. Darian watched her get ready.
"What happened to your suitcase?"
"I was in a rush trying to get ready for you last night."
"So your suitcase exploded?"
She nodded. "Pretty much."
She dug her way through her clothes and pulled out her favorite jeans and a cream sweater. She was debating between her green boy-cut panty set and the blue when she heard Darian clear his throat behind her.
"Blue."
She turned. He was staring at the navy blue lace set as if it were the rarest treasure on the planet.
"Blue it is." She stood and let the towel drop, quickly pulled on her bra and panties, and could have sworn she heard her mate whimper. Bending over, she shimmied her breasts into place. She grabbed a pair of socks, put those on, and then slid on her jeans. Finally, she pulled on her sweater.
"Warmth!" She snuggled her face into the neckline.
"Come on, love, I can smell breakfast from here." Darian stood and held out his arm.
She had imagined how life with him would be. He'd never know how happy it made her for him to escort her down to breakfast.
Amelia hummed happily as they walked into the dining room. The men stood, nodded at her, and sat when she did.
"She's alive!" Beth declared with a smile.
Amelia blinked, thinking that Beth was referring to the amazing night she had shared with Darian. Her confusion must have shown because Meryn elaborated.
"You're up before noon." Meryn yawned.
Ryuu was already passing out cups of steaming beverages. He turned to her. "Itoko-sama what would you like before breakfast?"
"Before breakfast?"
Darian chuckled at her side. "We have learned to appease the beast before we start eating." He pointed to a bleary-eyed Meryn who was blowing on her mug.
"The beast, huh?" She turned to Ryuu. "I'll just have a cup of coffee."
Ryuu nodded and picked up a carafe. "Cream? Sugar?" He turned over her cup. As he poured, the rich smell of coffee filled the air. "Yes please, both, and lots of each."
Ryuu poured milk into a tiny creamer on his serving cart. He set the creamer and a sugar bowl on a small silver tray and set them beside her coffee cup.
"Thank you, this smells amazing." She lifted the cup and inhaled deeply.
Ryuu nodded, his expression intent. "We take our coffee very seriously around here."
"Thank the Gods we do! Ryuu, can I get what you normally serve Rheia? The coffee with the espresso?" Keelan collapsed into his chair. Ryuu immediately headed for the kitchen.
"What's the matter buddy? Sandman kick your ass?" Colton laughed.
Keelan looked up with a murderous glare. "Why in the fuck are you so happy?" he growled.
Colton jerked back as if he had been electrocuted. Everyone around the table stared. To Amelia Keelan just seemed more like Kendrick than usual.
Colton stood, his eyes wild, and looked down at his mate. "Fix him! He caught a case of Meryn!"
Rheia rolled her eyes and pulled her mate back down into his chair. Penny giggled at her father's actions.
Meryn growled. "I am not contagious, asshole."
Ryuu swept in from the kitchen, a tall mug in hand. "I made it extra strong." He set it down in front of the witch and stepped back.
Eyes half closed, Keelan took his first sip and grimaced but kept drinking. His eyes opened slowly, and he blinked, looking around the table. "What's for breakfast?"
"We have an assortment of bagels and pastries," Ryuu answered turning to head back into the kitchen.
Keelan nodded and yawned. "Sounds good."
Aiden stared at him. "Everything okay?" he asked in a very neutral voice.
"Yeah, I'm just working through some stuff. Oh! Here, I finished it last night when I couldn't sleep." He stood and walked to the other side of the table, stopping in front of Meryn. He handed her something, and she stared at it for a second, looked up at him and then back down, and squealed. She popped out of her chair and threw herself at Keelan, hugging him tight.
Amelia exchanged looks with Darian who shrugged. Amelia turned back to Meryn. "Meryn, what is it?"
Meryn was hopping up and down, trying to kiss Keelan's face. Aiden scooped her up and set her back down in her chair. She was so excited she was practically shaking. Keelan made his way back to his chair and sat down.
"He made me a sonic screwdriver!" Meryn waved the cylindrical metal object around.
Beth turned to Keelan. "I didn't know you knew that much about science."
Keelan shrugged and took another sip of coffee. "Who needs science when you have magic?"
Meryn turned it over in her hands. "What does it do?"
"I recorded the sound that the sonic screwdriver makes from the show; it plays that when you press the button," he explained.
Meryn looked crestfallen. "Is that all?"