fed their little guest more cereal. “Yes, you are clever,” she said, leaning down to kiss Naya on the cheek. “And you’re really hungry.”
Vaughn went into the kitchen area and found the box of cereal, as well as the milk. Putting both down on the small table beside Faith, he grabbed a throw to wrap around Naya so she wouldn’t lose body heat. “She’s too little to regulate her temperature like we do ours,” he told Faith when she looked up with a question in her eyes.
“So I should make sure she keeps the throw around her?”
“For the next few minutes at least.” He tugged on Naya’s hair. “Don’t get cold, Miss Naya.”
He got an enthusiastic nod that made the lush black of her tumbled hair gleam under the simulated sunlight of his and Faith’s lair. “She’ll be fine once she’s settled into this form,” he told his mate. “Just touch her skin, make sure she’s not chilled.” Getting a nod of confirmation from Faith, he dropped a kiss on the fiery red of her hair. “I’m going to shower off the sweat.”
She tipped up her head so that he could kiss her on the lips. Stroking his hand over the slender arch of her throat, he nipped at her lips, licked over the sensual hurt. Faith’s hand was just coming up to cradle his jaw when Naya made a grab for the cereal bowl. “Fae!” she said, as if trying to get her tongue around “Faith.”
Faith laughed, managed to steady the bowl. “Yes, I know. Less kissing, more cereal.”
Naya clapped her hands. “Kiss!” That was clear enough, especially when she tipped up her head to Vaughn.
Remembering Skye again, emotion a knot in his throat, Vaughn kissed the tip of her nose. Once. Twice. As Naya laughed, Faith lifted his hand, touched her lips to the back of it with a tenderness that said more than any words. He ran his knuckles over his mate’s cheek before walking over to the shower—which looked like a waterfall cascading from the stone wall, a feat he’d gone to great lengths to achieve.
Vaughn could hear his mate and his friend’s cub talking animatedly as he stripped off and stepped under the water. Naya was so engaged that it sounded like a real—if largely incomprehensible on one side—conversation. The sounds made him chuckle, and this time, his memories of Skye were of when they’d been happy.
She’d been just as chatty, talking his ear off about everything under the sun, including her favorite toys and flowers and how come the sun was yellow and the grass was green? And why did bees buzz? Her little face would screw up as she considered each question while waiting for his response.
He’d often replied with nonsensical answers that made her laugh so hard she’d fall to the ground with her arms wrapped around her stomach.
Grass is green because that’s the color of insect poop.
Bees buzz because they’re really miniature jet-choppers.
Washing off the suds with a smile born of the memory of his sister’s delight, he dried off, then pulled on a clean pair of jeans. He’d just grabbed a leftover slice of pizza for an afternoon snack when Faith got a call. She answered it, Naya busy amusing herself with a cardboard box that had once held a cutting tool Vaughn needed for his sculptures.
Right now, the box was on her head.
His shoulders shook.
Faith’s own smile was deep as she spied Naya’s antics, but when she spoke after hanging up, it was in a quiet tone. “My father says Tanique is in town.”
Vaughn knew it was important to his mate to truly get to know her younger half brother. They’d met, but only in passing. “You want to go?”
Faith nodded. “If we can.” She gathered Naya into her lap when the little girl pushed off the box to yawn and rub at her eyes with her fists. “Tanique’s on a museum contract, so he’s only in town tonight.”
“I’ll put on a shirt, take Naya so you can dress. We’ll head out soon as you’re ready.”
Faith looked down at the sleepy baby girl she was cuddling. She’d replaced the old throw with a soft pink blanket that Naya was rubbing her cheek against as she kneaded at it with a hand that had sprouted tiny claws. “We don’t have to rush that much.” A whisper. “I love holding her.”
Sitting down beside his mate, Vaughn stretched out an arm behind her. “We could try to make a cub of our