LUPINE

Chapter 32

Maya comes down an hour later, fresh face, clean clothes and completely energized after the long shower she took earlier. She stayed under the cold water for more than 20 minutes, forcing herself to stay awake and motivating herself to go through another day. When she came down, expecting the house to be empty, she was surprised to see Taehyung waiting for her at the dining table.

"Breakfast. Come here", he happily waves at her, smiling ever so widely and handsomely as he taps at her spot on the table. "I fried some sausages. You need to eat before the meeting"

Maya's mouth flung open, completely taken by surprise to see the table filled with what she assumed to be freshly toasted bread, fried sausages piled up on a round plate, cut fruits in another and there is a pot of freshly brewed coffee. The rich aromatic smell of the coffee seems to penetrate deep into her soul, luring her to walk straight to the table, eyes beaming at the abundant amount of breakfast food served on the table. She realized there is also a plate of scrambled eggs, and a bowl of something that looks like mixed nuts.

"You cooked?"

"I cooked", Taehyung nods proudly, his wolfish smile making an appearance. "And no you are not going to say you do not want to eat. I cooked. You must eat."

"But then-"

"Maya", he gets up on his feet, goes around the table and gently pulls her to her seat, forcing her to sit down with a soft push on her shoulders. "Eat. You can not say no. That is final"

Maya could not say anything when Taehyung poured her a cup of warm coffee, pushed the mug to her as he took a seat not across the table, but beside her. He sits close to her, filling her plate with a slice of toasted bread on which he helped spread the butter for her. He scooped some scrambled eggs onto her plate, added some salt and pepper without even asking her and then he took her hand and pushed a small fork into her hand.

"Eat"

Maya could only stare at her very full plate and the fork in her right hand, taken aback and slightly baffled at the entire thing. When she finally registers everything, she turns to look at her right hand again only to realize Taehyung still has his hand around her wrist, holding it firmly.

"What's wrong?", he asked softly.

"I cannot eat with you holding my hand", she raised her eyebrows at him as she tried to suppress her amused smile.

Taehyung looks confused for a second before he finally looks at his own hand that is holding her wrist. "Eh"

He pulls his hand almost too quickly, inching away from her, panicked.

"I am sorry, I did not realize", Taehyung sighs, shaking his head. "Please, eat"

Maya smiles as she turns to her plate again, gently using her fork to separate the clumped eggs. "You are very adorable, still"

But she cannot say more than that. Taehyung has met his mate.

"I will always be adorable. It is in the blood"

Maya stays silent as she eats, quietly munching on her bread, sipping her coffee carefully from time to time while Taehyung sits at her side, obviously watching her. He realizes Maya's hair is still a little damp and he unconsciously sneaks his hand behind her chair, just to touch the end of her hair, smiling when the lavender scent hits his nose.

Dajeong's lavender oil.

"Maya, is this how it is usually done back in the SMB?", he leans forward on the table, body shifting to the side so that he would face her directly. "No rest, no breaks, no sleep and skipping meals?"