Her mouth curved and she turned her face up to his. He was gentle, his lips brushing hers tenderly, his tongue teasing for just a moment before he pulled back, pleased with her. She gave him what he needed, in public or not. She let others know he was her man and that meant everything to him, although he was convinced he’d almost gotten the eye roll from her.

When he lifted his head, her eyes sparkled with happiness at him. “Can you believe this kitchen, Eli? The stove is like the best, although it’s a commercial one. That convection oven is perfect. And a double oven? Love that.” Her hand swept around the room. “Emma let me do some of the cooking and we sort of compared sauces and breads. Her breads are killer, but she’d never made beignets before. She has a killer fryer.” The words tumbled out, nearly running into one another.

He found it interesting that she spoke in a low tone, as if sharing a secret with him. There was joy in her voice, and he knew Emma and Catarina had connected and bonded almost immediately. Both were lonely. Both took care of their men. Both were chained to dominant shifters. They understood one another. But she was still being careful, not wanting to be too loud about making a new friend.

“Emma cooks too?” he asked, inviting conversation. He wanted her to talk to him about Emma without being afraid.

He allowed his gaze to sweep the kitchen, noting the stove in particular and the pots and pans he’d overheard her saying she’d always wanted. He didn’t really understand or give a damn why one skillet or pot would be better to cook in than another and he really didn’t care, except that Catarina did—and that made it important. He didn’t ever want to pass up anything important to her.

“She’s a really good cook. And she bakes too. A lot of people love to do one or the other, but like me, she enjoys both. She has some great recipes. We cook different things, because I’m from New Orleans and she’s from the west, but the more we talked recipes, the more we realized we liked the same things. We’ve decided to swap recipes.”

He circled the nape of her neck with his palm. “I think that’s great, Kitten.”

Catarina glanced over her shoulder at Jake and Emma, who were laughing together as they walked inside hand in hand. “I’m hoping if she has to go on bed rest that she won’t mind me bringing a few meals over to help out. She’s adamant she doesn’t want anyone else taking care of Jake and the children.” She raised her eyes to his. “I understand. I wouldn’t like someone else taking care of you.”