Chapter 608: The Standard Cabana Family Breakfast
Chapter 608: The Standard Cabana Family Breakfast
The shower shut off. Reyna emerged wrapped in a towel that barely qualified for the job, water still beading on her shoulders and running in little rivers down her collarbone. She caught me staring and didn’t bother pretending she minded.
"Your turn."
"Right."
I didn’t move.
"Satori."
"Hmm?"
"The shower. It’s that way." She pointed at the bathroom door like I was particularly slow. "Unless you need me to wash your back."
"That’s a trap."
"Obviously." She grinned. "But it could be a fun trap."
The pendant pulsed cold.
"I think I’ll manage on my own."
"Coward."
"Survivor."
I dragged myself out of bed and into the bathroom before she could make another offer I’d have trouble refusing. The mirror showed me exactly what I expected. Scratch marks down my shoulders. A bite mark on my neck that was going to be impossible to hide. The pendant hanging against my chest like a frozen accusation.
Nel’s voice drifted through my skull.
Natalia’s biometrics indicate she has been awake for approximately four hours. Heart rate elevated but stable. No destruction of property detected through the Covenant bond.
"That’s surprisingly restrained."
She appears to be journaling.
"Journaling?"
Emi mentioned it in a text forty-three minutes ago. Quote: Nat’s been writing in a notebook all morning and she won’t let anyone see it and she keeps smiling in a way that makes me nervous, end quote.
Natalia. Smiling. While journaling.
That was infinitely worse than furniture destruction.
I turned on the water as hot as it would go and stepped under the spray. The heat helped with the soreness but did nothing for the dread pooling in my stomach. Natalia was making plans. Detailed plans. The kind of plans that involved spreadsheets and itemized consequences and possibly PowerPoint presentations about my failures as a romantic partner.
I was so incredibly fucked.
The bathroom door opened. Steam swirled. Reyna appeared in the mirror’s reflection, still wearing that inadequate towel.
"I forgot my hairbrush."
"No you didn’t."
"You’re right. I didn’t." She grabbed something from the counter without looking at it. Her eyes stayed on me through the glass shower door. "Just wanted to check if you were okay."
"I’m standing naked in your shower thinking about how my girlfriend is going to murder me. Never better."
"Which girlfriend?"
"The scary one."
"That doesn’t narrow it down based on your descriptions."
Fair point.
"The one with the ice powers and the soul bond and the journal full of my sins."
"Ah. Kuzmina." Reyna leaned against the counter. Water dripped from her hair onto the marble floor. "She’s going to freeze your dick off, isn’t she?"
"Probably."
"That would be tragic. I’ve developed a fondness for your dick."
"I appreciate the sentiment."
"I could talk to her. When you get back. Explain that it wasn’t just sex."
I turned to face her through the fogged glass. "You’d do that?"
"I’m not afraid of some telekinetic ice princess." A pause. "Much."
"She’ll eat you alive."
"Then we’ll have something in common." Reyna’s smile was all teeth. "I bite too."
She left before I could respond. The bathroom door clicked shut. I stood under the water for another five minutes, trying to figure out how my life had gotten this complicated.
The answer was obvious. I’d made it complicated. Every choice. Every kiss. Every whispered promise in the dark.
This was my mess. I’d have to clean it up.
Eventually.
I dried off and dressed in the clothes from yesterday. They smelled like Reyna’s perfume now. Another thing Natalia would notice. Another entry in the journal of my transgressions.
Maki’s voice slithered through my mind.
Master smells like sex and regret. Very distinctive combination.
"Thank you for that observation."
The female smells like jasmine and lightning. Interesting choice. Though I still prefer the ice one. She has better taste in fish.
"Your priorities are remarkable."
I have simple needs. Quality tuna. Warm spots for napping. Entertainment from watching you dig yourself deeper into romantic catastrophe.
"Glad I could provide."
I found Reyna in the main room, dressed now in training clothes that clung to every curve I’d mapped the night before. Her hair was pulled back in a high ponytail. No makeup. No mask. Just Reyna.
"Breakfast?" she asked.
"I should probably go back to my room first. Change clothes."
"You should." She didn’t move to let me pass. "But you’re not going to."
"I’m not?"
"No. Because Veronica arranged breakfast in the executive lounge. For both of us." Her smile turned wry. "She wants to debrief."
"Debrief."
"Her word. Not mine."
"Your sister wants to debrief about us sleeping together."
"My sister wants to make sure I’m okay and probably assess whether you’re good enough for me and definitely extract information about your mysterious abilities that she can use for future business negotiations." Reyna shrugged. "Standard Cabana family breakfast."
"Sounds delightful."
"It won’t be. But the food’s excellent."
She took my hand and led me toward the door. Her fingers were warm. Her grip was confident. She walked like someone who knew exactly where she was going and expected the world to get out of her way.
The pendant pulsed cold against my chest.
Three hundred miles away, Natalia Kuzmina was definitely adding "holding hands with Reyna" to the list.
The executive lounge occupied the top floor of the Olympus Rising tower. Floor-to-ceiling windows provided a panoramic view of New Vein City stretching toward the horizon. The morning sun painted everything gold. It would have been beautiful if I wasn’t walking into what felt suspiciously like a job interview.
Veronica Cabana sat at a table set for three. She wore a cream business suit that probably cost more than my entire wardrobe. Her blonde hair caught the light. Her green eyes tracked our approach with the intensity of a predator watching prey wander into range.
"Good morning." Her voice was warm. Her smile was practiced. "I trust you both slept well."
"Eventually," Reyna said.
"Mm." Veronica’s gaze slid to me. "Coffee?"
"Please."
She poured from a silver carafe. The aroma was exceptional. Everything about this woman was exceptional and terrifying in equal measure.
"I’ll skip the pleasantries," Veronica said. "My sister came to my office at five this morning. She was glowing. She was smiling. She used the word ’happy’ without irony for the first time in years." Her eyes held mine. "Whatever you did last night, it worked."