My stomach grumbled as he pulled out a white carton. “I would drop-kick you into a wall if you did that.”

Zayne chuckled as he placed the carton in front of me and then pulled out another. “Want something to drink?” He turned to the fridge. “I think there might be a Coke in here, since you refuse to drink water.”

“Water is for people concerned about their health, and I’m not about that kind of life.”

Shaking his head again, he pulled out a can of carbonated goodness and a bottle of water. He slid the first over the island toward me.

“Did you know drinking eight eight-ounce glasses of water a day is about as helpful as the whole ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away’ for most healthy people?” I asked. “That you really only need to drink water when you’re thirsty, because duh, that’s why you experience thirst, especially because you get water from other beverages, like my beautiful calorie-ridden soda, and from foods? That the studies that came up with the whole eight eight-ounce stuff also stated that you can get most of your water in the foods you eat, but when the reports were made public, they conveniently left that out?”

Zayne arched a brow as he screwed the lid off his water.

“Fact-check me. There’s no scientific evidence whatsoever that supports the whole eight-by-eight rule, and I’m not someone who needs to drown themselves in water.” I popped open my soda. “So, let me live my life.”

He downed half the bottle in one impressive gulp. “Thanks for the health lesson.”

“You’re welcome.” I grinned at him as I opened the carton. My stomach did a happy dance when I got an eyeful of the grilled hamburger smack-dab between a toasted sesame bun and a side order of curly fries. “And thank you for the food. You’re a keeper.”

“Good. I want to be kept.”

My gaze flew to him. He wasn’t looking at me as he got busy opening his food, which was a good thing, because my imagination had taken those five words and gone to town with them.

Sensation burst in the center of my chest, and it reminded me oddly of how pepper smelled. It felt like frustration, and I thought it might be coming from Zayne.

That was weird.

“But you really can’t get rid of me at this point, can you?” He looked up through thick lashes. “You’re stuck with me.”

“Yeah.” I blinked and finished unwrapping my burger. I didn’t think of it that way, though. He was my bonded Protector. I was the Trueborn he guarded. Together, we were a force to be reckoned with because we were built for one another, and the only thing that could separate us was death.