Bitten (Once Bitten, Twice Shy #1)(46)
Katherine thoroughly washed her dark locks before treating her body to the same treatment via soap. A few minutes later, she reluctantly unplugged the tub and shut off the jets. She used a thick, fluffy towel – she'd found it in the same cabinet as the shampoo and conditioner – to pat her wet hair dry before wrapping it around her torso.
Once completely dry, Katherine reluctantly shrugged back on the sullied pair of sweatpants and oversized t-shirt she'd been stuck wearing the past few days. Then she combed through her hair with her fingers – a task made indefinitely easier after said hair had been eagerly conditioned – before finally leaving the bathroom in favor of finding the kitchen to help Caleb with breakfast.
Katherine found the man standing over one of two metal stoves, a white apron tied neatly around his waist. She wasn't sure what she was more impressed by – the massive kitchen and its state of the art appliances or the heavenly aroma that permeated the air of the room. Katherine followed her nose to the source of the smell that was causing her mouth to salivate. She looked around Caleb's shoulder to see that he was scrambling a dozen or so eggs in a frying pan. There was also a large pot of delicious smelling white gravy coming to a boil on a separate burner.
The brown-eyed man must have sensed her presence behind him because he turned to greet her. "Oh, good, you're here. I was just about to start the bacon. I'm nearly finished with the eggs and the biscuits are in the oven."
"You're making more?" Katherine questioned mouth slightly agape.
There was enough food on the stove to feed a small army.
Caleb laughed at her expression. "Yes, we're making more. You have seen Markus eat, haven't you?"
Katherine felt the heat blossom across her cheeks. Yes, she had seen the man eat. Or rather, she'd seen him stuff himself with enough food to feel a not-so-small army. "You're right," she conceded, "we need to make more."
"Exactly," Caleb agreed before handing her the spatula he'd been using and heading over to the large freezer pushed up against the far corner of the room. He dug around for a moment before pulling out a large zip lock bag filled with thick-cut strips of bacon.
"Here," he said, tossing the bag over to Katherine, who deftly caught it. "Could you start frying these on the griddle? It should be warm enough by now."
She glanced at the griddle set up near the second stove before turning her attention back to the bag of bacon in her hands. "All of it?"
"All of it," Caleb confirmed, digging another spatula out of a cabinet drawer – the cabinets were beautiful, a similar wood to the mahogany of the dresser in Bastian's room – before turning his attention back to the eggs.
"I hope you prefer your bacon crispy,” she muttered, having never really cooked it before.
Caleb offered her a bemused grin. "Crispy is fine. The bad news about cooking for the pack? A ton of food needs to be made. The good news? No one's picky. Sophie can be particular about some things, but trust me, the others will eat anything."
Ten minutes later, Katherine had finished the bacon – it was only a little burnt – and Caleb was pulling the biscuits out of the oven. She helped the man transfer the food they had made onto large serving platters.
As she was setting a tray of bacon on the dining room table, she absentmindedly noticed that the mess Bastian had made by throwing the mug against the wall last night had been cleaned up. The sharp shards of glass had been cleared from the floor and the brown stain on the wall had been wiped clean. Katherine wondered if Caleb had been the one stuck cleaning the mess and berated herself for not having the sense to do it the night before – even if Bastian was the one who had chucked the unoffending mug at the pale-colored wall.
She had just set the plate of biscuits on the table – Caleb was searching in the refrigerator for some butter – when a bright-eyed Sophie bounded into the dining room. "Something smells divine," she greeted Katherine, offering her a cheerful smile. "I can't tell you how happy I was when Bastian told us you were feeling better.”
Before Katherine could respond to the exuberant blonde – she was clearly one of those obnoxiously happy morning people – Zane, too, came striding in the room. "Good morning," he greeted amicably enough before taking a seat at one of the six chairs set around the table.
Any latent fear Katherine may have felt at having to face the rest of the pack after having run away – and failing rather spectacularly at it at that – was slowly dissipating.
And then Markus walked into the room.
As soon as the brawny man spotted her, his eyes hardened and a sort of disgusted grunt escaped him. Good morning to you too, Katherine thought sarcastically, unable to withhold the urge to roll her eyes. Before she could confront Markus about his attitude problem, however, she noticed the discolored purple and yellow skin surrounding one of the man's hazel eyes and another bruise that had flowered along the sharp edge of his jaw. The sight of them made her hold her tongue.
What had happened to him?
She was debating whether or not she wanted to ask the man what he'd done to earn his face such a beating – though she suspected it had something to do Bastian’s promise that Markus too had been punished for Katherine’s little disappearing act – when the man in question entered the room. He strolled right past her – saying nothing and making no gesture to acknowledge her existence – and sat in the seat at the head of the table.