“Stop right there,” she said sternly with her arm outstretched and her finger pointed accusingly at Dominic. “Don’t you dare feed him that!”
Caught in the act, both Dominic and the dog froze before Cass whined, and Dominic dropped his hand onto the counter. He made a face of disapproval at Tatiana and shook his head before giving the puppy an apologetic look.
“What?” Dominic asked innocently as his gaze slid to the hem of her T-shirt and down her bare legs. A smile played at his lips. “It’s just a little bacon.”
“It’s not just a little bacon.” She sighed and self-consciously tugged the shirt down to assure it covered her bottom. She moved around to the other side of the island and looked at the puppy in an attempt to avoid Dominic’s heated gaze. “It will start a lifetime of bad habits. If you do that, you’ll make him a beggar, and he’ll annoy anyone who tries to eat a meal. Besides, I think he’ll make a great therapy dog, but he’ll need to be trained. Let’s not start him off on the wrong foot.”
“Whatever you say, Doc.” He shrugged and popped the bacon in his mouth. “I still say it’s just a little bacon.”
“I guess he wore out his welcome at the main house?”
“Nope.” Dominic lifted one shoulder. “I figured you’d want him here with you, so Kerry brought him over.”
Cass whined again and let out a dissatisfied groan as the scent of the bacon undoubtedly taunted him.
“Sorry, little buddy.” He dropped his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “She won’t let me, and as much as I want to give it to you, I don’t want to be in the doghouse.”
Tatiana suppressed a grin and sat at the bar stool on the other side of the island from Dominic. She fiddled with the salt and pepper shakers as he stared at her with a look that told her he hungered for more than food.
“Any word on Courtney?” she asked, needing to get her mind off him and his bedroom eyes.
“Status quo. She’s still unconscious, and Steven is still right by her side.” He ate another piece of bacon. “Salinda said the baby is doing great and eating like a champ.”
“I’m not terribly surprised that Courtney’s unconscious. I swear, Dominic. It’s like she wanted to die or something. I mean, jumping in between that crazy Elvira chick and me? It was a total kamikaze move.”
“True.” Dominic nodded his agreement. “But why? She’s got her mate, and she was carrying his baby.”
“I don’t know.” Tatiana sighed wearily. She leaned on the counter and rested her chin in her hand. “With all the commotion yesterday, I never did get the lowdown on exactly how many Purists invaded. Where do we stand with that mess?”
“There were five.” Dominic snagged four slices of bread and popped them in the toaster. “Two elders—both former Council members—and three lower-ranking members from the Falcon and Bear Clans. Richard reinforced the shield around the property, but he fully expects them to try again. Moravian obviously wants Courtney’s baby and is willing to make a big mess to get him.”
“What a shit show.” Tatiana let out a sound of frustration. “I still want to connect with the horses,” she said as she ran her hands over her face. She leaned both elbows on the granite countertop, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. “I’m going to see if I can link to Obsidian the way I did with Spirit.”
Dominic made a sound of understanding as he finished making the scrambled eggs and scraped them onto two plates.
“Remember what happened in the dream realm the other night?”
“Which part?” He stilled and gave her a sly look.
“Not the part you’re thinking of.” Her face heated with embarrassment, and she looked at the saltshaker, which she immediately started fiddling with again. “That woman’s voice. I’m not entirely sure… but I think it was Spirit. Which is another first for me because I’ve never had an animal communicate with me in the dream realm.” She flicked her eyes to his. “My abilities seem to be taking on a life of their own.”
“Mmm-hmm. I was thinking the same, about the voice, I mean.” He put the dirty pan in the sink and captured her gaze. “Okay, so if Spirit was in the dream realm, what was she trying to tell you?”
“A warning of some kind, but I can’t shake the feeling that whoever killed Spirit had nothing to do with the Purists. Richard confirmed that no Purists had been on the property at that point, so that means it was either a Caedo or…” She trailed off, afraid to say what she was thinking.
“What?” Dominic scoffed and tossed the dish towel onto the counter. “Someone already here on the ranch? No way. Unless, you think that dear old Matt isn’t as innocent as we believe he was. He did take off, after all.”
“Damn.” Tatiana let out a growl and put her face in her hands. “I don’t know what I think.”
“Yeah? Well, it’s the middle of the night, and you need to eat. So the horses and everything else can wait, at least until we get some food into you.”
“That does smell incredible,” she said as she rested her chin in her hand again.
“I figured you’d be hungry.” Dominic made quick work of fixing her a plate with eggs, bacon, and toast. “I don’t think you had much to eat yesterday, and when we got back here you passed right out.”
“Mm-hmmm.” She arched an eyebrow and gave him a doubtful look. “I don’t remember changing my clothes.”
“That’s because I did it,” Dominic said without looking up. He moved to the end of the counter and placed the plate of food in front of her. “It was a tough job, but someone had to do it.”
“I’m sure,” Tatiana said.
Dominic went to the fridge and pulled out a carton of orange juice. She watched as he moved effortlessly around the kitchen and served her juice before getting back to his own food, which he was devouring.
“You do this a lot?” she asked, gesturing with her fork.
“What?” He leaned on the counter with one hand and ate his toast with the other. The muscles in his chest flexed, and it took considerable effort to look him in the face. “Cook breakfast or undress women who are in my bed?”
Tatiana choked on a sip of orange juice. She wiped her mouth with the napkin he held out for her and didn’t miss the mischievous twinkle in his eyes.
“Thank you,” she said through a cough. “I was referring to cooking breakfast at midnight.” She buttered her toast, hoping a mundane task like that would take her mind off the taste of him that lingered in her memory. “But since you brought it up, do you make a habit of undressing women you barely know?”
“Yes and no.”
“Which is which?” She took a bite of her toast and leveled a challenging gaze at him. “Yes to the midnight cooking, or the naked women?”
“You don’t get it, do you?” Dominic let out a chuckle and shook his head. “Shit. I can’t do anything right.”
His smile faded as he cleared his dishes into the sink. He leaned both hands on the edge of the sink, keeping his back to her. The muscles in his shoulders bunched, and his energy waves pulsed around the room insistently.
“I don’t suppose I do,” Tatiana said quietly. She wiped her mouth and pushed her plate away, watching him closely. “How about you explain it?”
“You are the first woman I’ve ever brought into my home,” he said over his shoulder. He looked back out the window, and silence stretched for a beat or two. Quite frankly, she had no response. “I’ve never done this, Tatiana. I mean, I’ve had women before, and I’m sure you’ve had lovers.”
Dominic held up one hand before she could respond.
“I don’t want to hear about it because it will only upset me. The mere idea of you with another man makes me want to eviscerate someone. Besides, I doubt those encounters had much meaning for you. I know mine didn’t.”