ZARIA

Chapter 16

Zaria

"Like this?"

Zaria looked up at the question, her mouth spreading into an amused smile once her eyes fell on the boy standing across the kitchen aisle, an intense look of concentration on his face as he stared at the pancake batter he was mixing inside a big, green plastic bowl.

His cheeks were mussed with flour and pancake batter, chunks of it reaching a few strands of hair that kept falling into his eyes. Sure, it would have been easier and certainly much quicker if she had done it herself, but when he had asked her if he could make breakfast that morning, a hopeful look on his face once she had finally entered the kitchen, she couldn't help but agree on the spot.

After all, that was what kids were supposed to do: make messes, and it was high time for Ren to be just that, a kid.

"Yes. Stir it for another minute, and then it will be ready.

The boy did as he was told, counting to 60 under his breath, as if another second longer than instructed would ruin the pancakes, before presenting the finished batter for her to inspect.

Once they had established that the mix was indeed perfect, Zaria put on some holiday music and then made pancakes while Ren set up the table for breakfast, the two of them so lost in their actions and goofy dancing that it took her a few minutes to notice that they were no longer alone in the kitchen which made her blush furiously.

Kei stood at the entry, leaning sideways against the doorway, an amused glint in his eyes as he watched the two of them.

"Daddy! I made breakfast!" Ren exclaimed, abandoning his table duties and running over to his father when he spotted him.

"I can see that. It smells wonderful, Ren," Kei said, ruffling the beaming boy's hair, the softest of smiles on his face as he did so. Zaria's heart clenched at the sight of them, her eyes going suspiciously misty, so she quickly turned her back to them to not embarrass herself and start crying like a little baby.

No, thank you, she thought as she took the last pancakes out of the pan; she was sure she would never hear the end of it from Ren if she ever did that.

Pancakes done, Zaria realized that she had nothing else to do to escape having to confront the man whose gaze she could already feel on her, so she took a slow breath and then made her way over to the table and took a seat where the father and son were already sitting.

"Bon appetite," she whispered, though judging by the speed at which Ren was already inhaling his food, the statement came a bit too late.

"Thank you." came a reply in a smooth, dark voice, making her eyes snap up despite herself. Kei sat across from her, slowly cutting a small, bite-sized piece of a bacon strip before slowly taking it up to his mouth, his full lips wrapping around the fork, and a moan of pleasure echoing around the room as he did so, his eyes never leaving Zaria's.

She gulped, barely managing not to let out a moan as heat pooled steadily at the bottom of her stomach, her eyes glued to those sinful lips as the images of what that same mouth had done to her the night before flashed through her mind.

Some of her indecent thoughts must have shown on her face because Kei smiled, his lips spreading into a wolfish grin, before the man looked away, starting up a conversation with his son, his face a picture of calm and collected as if nothing at all had transpired, as if he hadn't just almost made her come with merely a look.

Zaria shook her head, looking down at her pancakes as she tried to slow down her heartbeat. She needed to get a grip because this whole thing was getting ridiculous. She was acting like a damn hormonal teenager with a crush, and it was becoming quite sad.