"That's not helpful, Jer. I have no idea if there're any allergies to consider or what are things you would rather die than eat. I'm afraid I need better answers than that, at least in the beginning. Once I learn what your tastes are, you won't have the option to tell me what you want to eat. You're just gonna have to eat what I give you or make something yourself. Savvy?"
Jer laughed at me. "Savvy. For someone that looks so delicate you certainly are a feisty wolf, aren't you?"
"Yep, especially when it comes to my job. I strive to do the best I can which means I WILL bust your balls until I get answers. Just remember boys, happy chef means happy tummies. So come on guys, give me some insight on how you like to eat. Like flavors or spice level or do you love Chinese or BBQ or just some fucking clue on where to start."
Ash laughed and Deke grinned at me.
"Fair enough. Well, Deke likes his food spicy enough to blister your mouth. Jer and I like spice just not as hot. We all love Italian best with BBQ and burgers a close second. We eat pretty much anything except caviar. Fish eggs are nasty." Ash grimaced as he mentioned the caviar.
"Damn Ash, you forgot the most important things that we don't eat."
I looked at Deke curiously.
"What did he miss Deke? I don't want to feed you guys something you hate."
"Pineapple and anchovies on pizza. Total abominations. I don't mind eating either one, just as long as it's not on pizza."
I laughed. "No worries there. I completely agree. I usually love everything on my pizza except pineapple and anchovies. And I can get pretty inventive with sauces and toppings when I scratch make the pizzas."
"Oh shit, you can, like, hand make pizzas?" Jer looked at me in surprise.
"Oh yeah. I love to make most things from scratch when I can. It just tastes better, Bread, cakes, pies, gravies, sauces. Hell, I make the BEST biscuits and sausage gravy. Learned it from a southern grandma when I was down in Alabama for a spell."
"Please please please can we have that for breakfast? I'll kill anyone you want for some good down home southern biscuits and gravy. How about that guy from last night? I get the joy of killing him AND some good food."
I laughed as I saw the pleading in Deke's eyes.
"Of course I'll make it for breakfast but you don't need to kill anyone. But if you think that's good, what until I make my home-made chicken and dumplings. Even the chicken broth is done from scratch."
"Oh my fucking god. We hit the mother fucking jackpot with you!"
Deke laughed and grabbed me and swung me around.
I was giggling as Deacon set me back on my feet. Asher and Jericho had huge smiles on their faces.
"I may not be confident in most things in my life but I'm very confident in my ability to cook."
"Let's get you to bed now, pretty lady. We each left a T-shirt in the room for you to choose from to sleep in as we're all different sizes, and you don't have any clothes here. It's been a long night for you, and we want you well rested for making breakfast in the morning." Jer winked at me as I laughed.
"Fair enough. Thanks for everything guys. You really have no idea what this all means to me. I still think I'm dreaming and if I am, please don't let me ever wake up." I looked down for a moment, overwhelmed by the emotions I was feeling. "No one has ever done anything like this for me before. I feel… useful for the first time in my life. Like I finally belong somewhere. Can I give you guys a hug?"
I felt a little hesitant asking as I was used to having people, especially men, not wanting to touch me.
"You're more than welcome here, and you're so much more than just useful, Zoey. You belong with us. Hell, you'd be hard pressed to have us let you go now, especially after hearing how good you cook. And you can always have hugs anytime you want. You don't need to ever ask for permission. Just grab us when the mood strikes you girl!"
Jer's words made my heart fill to overflowing and I grabbed each one in turn and hugged them so hard that if they weren't shifters I'm sure I would have bruised a rib or two. And it felt so good, like coming home, to feel each one hold me tight in their arms. They really made me feel like they never wanted to let me go. I felt almost loved for the first time in my life and it made me feel a little shy as I pulled away from Ash.
"Um, well I think I'll head to bed now. Thank you again for everything. I'll see you all in the morning. Oh! What time do you guys get up? I need to know the weekend and weekday time schedules please."
Ash took my arm and threaded it through his elbow to escort me up the stairs with Deke and Jer right behind us.
"Well, on Saturday and Sunday we sleep in to around 9:00 AM. The weekdays we're up at 6:00 AM and usually out the door by 7:30 AM to get us to the office by 8:00 AM. We get home around 6:00 PM. Does that help?"
"Definitely. So, I'll see you guys tomorrow at 9:00 AM and I'll have breakfast ready and waiting on you."
"Sounds perfect."
We reached my door, and they all gave me one last hug and wished me goodnight. I was smiling as I went into my bedroom and just looked around. With a small shout I took a running leap and landed on the bed bouncing. My door flew open and all three came running in.
"Are you ok?! What happened? Are you hurt?"
I turned beet red as Deke was looking at me so concerned and Ash and Jer were scanning the room for danger.
"Um… I was just excited about the bed and kinda took a running jump on it. I'm sorry. I thought with the thicker door you wouldn't hear but then again, I forgot about shifter hearing. Duh… my bad."
Ash shook his head at me with a smile.
"As long as you're ok. Bounce all you want. You're too light to break the frame. Good night, sweetheart. Enjoy the room and the bed."
I watched as they all trooped out of my room, shutting the door behind them. I flopped back on the bed and just enjoyed the feeling. It was like I was laying on a cloud. I sat up and looked for the T-shirts they said they'd left me and found them folded and laying on the dresser. I got up, walked over, and picked each one up. One was plain back and huge, so I knew it was Deke's shirt. One was plain white, but the other had Metallica printed on it. I debated on which shirt to wear and finally decided on the Metallica shirt since I liked the band. I hoped they were ok with losing these shirts. I wasn't planning on giving them back and was planning on sleeping in each one often.
I took the shirt and padded my way to the attached bathroom which was huge. It had a sunken jacuzzi tub and a large stand-alone shower with a frosted glass enclosure. There was already some body wash, shampoo, and conditioner stocked. It was a better brand than I was used to. I even saw a bottle of bubble bath and if it hadn't been such a long night, I would have taken a long hot bath, but I was tired and ready to go to sleep.
I got in the shower and sighed as the hot water beat down on me. Muscles started to loosen. The water stung my cuts, but it wasn't terrible. But my arm really started to throb as I lifted it to wash my hair. I gritted my teeth and got it done. That asshole had really fucked my arm up and it was ruining such an amazing shower.
I conditioned my hair and then got out after rinsing the conditioner out. There was a stack of the fluffiest towels I had ever seen. I dried off and put on the T-shirt. Luckily it was long on me and came down to mid-thigh. It covered my ass at least. I washed my panties in the sink and left them over the shower door to dry. I didn't want to sleep in them since I'd been aroused so much tonight that I'd soaked them a few times.
I walked back to the bedroom and slid under the covers of the bed. The bed and the pillow were so soft, and I snuggled down to get some sleep. But after an hour, sleep still wouldn't come. My arm was hurting more and more. I'd pissed it off when I washed and conditioned my hair. Sighing, I threw back the covers and quietly walked out of my room and down the hall to Deacon's door. I knocked softly so that if he was asleep, I wouldn't wake him up.
OMG. When he opened the door, he was in just a pair of sweatpants and no shirt. Holy fuck, he had a very defined six pack, chiseled pecs, and that delicious V at his waist. Heat filled me as my eyes followed his happy trail to the waistband of his sweats that were sitting low on his hips, so low just a small pull would send them to the floor. I swallowed hard at the sight of the bulge in his pants, and my eyes trailed back up his body. I felt my nipples tightening as I finally met his eyes. They were shining and filled with fire as he looked at me with a small smirk.