Chapter 249 Cooking Disaster
ROWAN
:
I woke to the warmth of her body pressed against mine.
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The morning light filtered through the windows<b>, </b>casting streaks across her skin. My eyes trailed down to the mark at the curve of her neck, my mark, and my chest bloomed with pride.
It was the mark of my mistake—an unspoken history of choices that had led me down the wrong road, of failing her when she needed me most. I wished I had ced it on her in a better circumstance, but it was already there, unable to be erased from her skin.
However, that also meant that it served as my reminder of what I had broken, and of what I could never afford to fuck up again.
Her hair spilled across the pillow, messy and wild, but it made her look even prettier. Her lips, swollen from my kisses, parted slightly as she breathed evenly in her sleep. Her body shed through my mind, how soft, how hot, how sweet she had been beneath me. I could still feel how she trembled and clenched around me, melting as though she’d been waiting for that moment as long as I had.
And when her release had taken her, I’d heard one single word.
Love.
I hadn’t even been sure at first, the word so whiny and breathy that I thought I imagined it. However, then she’d gone limp in my arms, drifting into sleep before I could ask her.
I couldn’t wait for her to wake up so I could.
However, for now, I settled for leaning in and pressing a kiss to her cheek. She stirred slightly, but didn’t wake. My hand lingered in her hair as I whispered, “I love you.”
I had said it multiple times, and even now that she couldn’t hear me, I would still keep saying them.
Carefully, I slid out of bed, pulling the sheets over her bare shoulder. My stomach growled, and I figured the least I could do was make breakfast for once. She deserved to wake to something warm and good.
Padding through the hallway, I stepped into the kitchen and froze.
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Chapter 249 Cooking Disaster
Cade stood there, arms crossed, staring at me like he’d been waiting.
We narrowed our eyes at each other instantly.
“You bastard,” we said at the same time.
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We stood there for a while before Cade arched a brow.
“You couldn’t control your dirty mouth?” I muttered, walking toward the pantry.
He smirked, leaningzily against the counter. “I could say the same thing about you. You ate her wellst night, huh?”
“Fuck off,” I snapped, though the corner of my mouth twitched despite my annoyance. “Don’t even think about Tessa.”
Cade raised his hands, palms out. “Rx. I don’t even have to think about anyone else because I have Arden. Do you know how hot she is with her baby bump?”
“I don’t want to hear it,” I cut him off immediately, shoving open the pantry door.
“Mmhm,” he hummed, still smirking.
I red at him. “You started it.”
“Yeah,” he said with a shrug. “But you ended it. Shameless bastard.”
His jab made me smirk.
“Pot, meet kettle,” I muttered under my breath.
Cade only shook his head, turning back to the stove like I wasn’t worth the argument. Which, in truth, was probably the smarter move. But then the silence stretched. Both of us stared at the shelves inside the pantry, brows furrowed.
We pursed our lips in unison.
As much as I hated to admit it, there was something painfully obvious staring us both in the face. Neither of us knew what the hell we were doing.
We stood there for a long moment, like idiots, side by side but pretending we weren’t, both silently hoping the other would figure it out first.
It wasical, actually–two supposed leaders, two men who had fought, bled, andmanded in battle, reduced to nk stares at a pantry full of ingredients.
…
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Chapter 249 Cooking Disaster
The truth was undeniable.
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We didn’t know how to cook without the guidance of others.
However, I saw my saving grace through my peripheral vision.
“I can make eggs,” I announced confidently.
Cade nced at me with a scoff. “Everybody can make eggs, Rowan.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You sure about that?”
“I’m sure,” he snorted, puffing his chest out. “I’m going to make pancakes.”
“From the box?” I asked, leaning against the counter, smirking. “That’s even easier than eggs.”
He raised a brow. “It takes finesse, you know?”
“Yeah,” I said. “The finesse of pouring powder into a bowl and adding water.”
He ignored me, grabbing the box without any shame. I turned back to the carton of eggs, pulled a pan out, and lit the stove. The sound of the me whooshing to life gave me an odd sense of pride.
This was easy. I could do this. I’d fought witches, for god’s sake. Eggs were nothing.
I cracked the first one–and the yolk went sliding onto the floor.
“Impressive,” Cade deadpanned, whisking flour and milk into a bowl with way too much enthusiasm. “Truly the work of a master.”
“Shut up,” I muttered, cracking the second egg. This one hit the pan, but a whole chunk of shell went with it. I tried to fish it out, burning my finger in the process.
Cadeughed so hard I thought he was going to choke on his own pride. “You’re going to feed that to Tessa? Crunchy eggs? That’s romantic.”
“At least mine will be cooked,” I shot back. I nced over at him. “What the hell is that supposed to be?”
His “batter” looked like cement. Thick, lumpy, and refusing to budge, no matter how much he
stirred.
“It’s pancakes,” he said stubbornly.
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Chapter 249 Cooking Disaster
:
“It’s paste,” I corrected. “You could use that to build a wall.”
His jaw tightened as he dumped it onto the pan, where it sat in one big blob, refusing to spread.
We both stared at it.
“It looks like a brain,” I muttered.
He red at me but didn’t
argue any further.
Ten minutester, my eggs were ck around the edges and suspiciously raw in the middle, and his “pancake” had fused to the pan sopletely I wasn’t sure even magic could separate them.
“This is pathetic,” I said, running a hand down my face.
Cade sighed, grabbing a pot. “Fine. Let’s make soup. We can’t possibly mess that up.”
We threw in vegetables we couldn’t name, added salt that looked like it came from a rock, and dumped way too much water. It simmered and smelled tolerable.
When we finally tasted it, though-
“It tastes like poison,” I coughed, gagging as the salty, bitter sludge hit my tongue.
“You’re going to feed that to your pregnant wife?” I asked, ring at him.
“You’re right,” he said grimly, spitting into the sink. “Let’s throw it out.”
We lugged the pot toward the sink, muttering curses under our breath. Unfortunately, the mes from the stove had licked up the side of the pot before we moved it, and when itnded on the dishcloth on the sink, a fire emerged.
Our eyes widened, and he grabbed another rag to swat the mes, which only spread them further. I joined in, pping at it with another rag, until we both ended up coughing, our hands singed, and the smell of smoke thick in the air.
Just then, the sound of footsteps filled the house, making Cade and me curse once more.
We both turned just as the fire had been put out.
Arden stood in the doorway, one hand on her swollen belly, eyes narrowed. Tessa leaned against the frame beside her, hair messy from sleep.
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Chapter 249 Cooking Disaster
“What,” Arden asked slowly, “are you doing?”