A/N: Not a chapter, sorry, but a little Interlude. A promise to my reviewers, to write something, of their choice, to the 1300th, 1400th, and 1500th reviewers. The 1300th declined, but ladygoddess58 was #1400, and she requested further glimpses into Jane's attempts in the kitchen. So here it is; I hope it does not disappoint.

Thank-you, again, and again, to everyone who reviews. The time you take is appreciates, and the words you write are cherished. I may not respond to each review, but I know who you all are. And those of you who have reviewed since Chapter 1 - I can't tell you how much it means to me. I notice you when you review, and I miss you when you don't.

I have mentioned my newly started blog a couple chapters back, and just wanted to let you all know I have started a Writing101 course on it (through Wordpress). My intention is to get into the habit of writing, so that I can finish this story sooner rather than later, and maybe start on the next. I have a couple of ideas that have been floating around for a few months. Each original matings, as far as I know. Check out my writing101 assignments on my blog.

Without further ado:

Interlude V: Let Him Eat Steak!

Lorenzo shook his head, holding in his amusement as he watched the small vampire stalk through the kitchen. She glared at the appliances and scowled at the food.

Her muttering was a muted buzz – a vampire-speed blur of ill-tempered words, growls and hisses. Jane had been haunting his domain for the last week or so, valiantly trying to figure out how to prepare edible dishes for her mate. So far Lorenzo was unimpressed with her results.

Not that Seth complained about her efforts. As long as nothing was charred black, he ate what she served him, and thanked her sweetly each time. But Jane was frustrated. No matter how well he tried, her shifter could not hide his winces and twisted lips with every forkful of food.

The human chef flinched when a cast iron pan hit the glass top of the induction stove with a hard smack. "Now, Miss Jane," he mildly reproached, "while I applaud your efforts here, I would appreciate it if you would not break the appliances."

Jane turned glittering black eyes at him, but Lorenzo was not afraid. He had spent his entire adult life around these creatures, and knew that the guard was entirely too controlled to lose their tempers with the human staff. And, if Jane could not treat his domain with a lighter hand, he had no issue asking the Masters to ban her from the kitchen. Of course, that was something he would do his best to avoid. He understood the nature of the supernatural beings he served; he had seen how mates took care of each other. Jane was being driven by instinct to provide for Seth. And so he would try once more to offer his help to the strongly independent female.

"I would imagine that cooking is far easier for one of us, than one of you," he mused. "It is as much of an art as it is a science. More, I'd say. The way food feels, smells and tastes is important, whether you follow a recipe or not. Unfortunately, your senses are ill-suited to the task."

"I am well aware of that!" Jane snapped. "It is hard not to be, when all I smell is moldering dirt whenever I am in this accursed place! Sue and Esme made this look so easy. . ."

She wondered how long it would be until her mate's parents came to live here in Volterra. They had decided just last week to follow their children, and the Masters were still discussing the timing. There were many vampire guests in the castle, after all, and the upcoming battle was far more serious than anyone had known at first. Charlie Swan's arrival had also been delayed for the moment

"Miss Jane, allow me to help you, please. You cannot compare yourself to others, yet, but I can teach you. In time you will be quite competent in the kitchen."

"If she doesn't manage to actually poison Seth first," Leah quipped, walking into the kitchen with Bella. "Even with our werewolf metabolism it's a wonder it hasn't happened yet."

Jane turned in and threw a wooden spoon at the shifter with a snarl. The utensil was caught by Felix, who had scented his mate back in the castle after a morning outside with the nymph. He growled a warning at the small female, but Leah just laughed at her brother's irate imprint.

"Ignore her, Felix. She's all hiss and no teeth," she laughed again when Jane actually did hiss at her. "See? Come on, I want some food and then I want you. Do you think Demetri can pull himself away from training for a quickie?"

Felix smiled, and put his mouth to Leah's neck as he grabbed the proffered tray of food from Lorenzo and whisked his mate from the room. Bella watched them go with a grin, and a pang of longing for time with her own mates. Unfortunately, the Kings were deep in discussions with the leaders of the visiting covens, and they would not have free time until late in the day. She was always welcome to join them, but elected to work on her talents as much as possible.

Bella turned to Jane and Lorenzo. "You know, Jane, if you don't want Lorenzo to help you, then you'd better find a recipe book. You'll never understand the flavours, so you might as well have exact measurements. Otherwise Seth is going to have over-salted food for the rest of his life."

Jane sighed and her shoulders slumped. "I tried reading some," she admitted. "But it really didn't help much. In most of the recipes there is still too much left up to the chef. What does a 'pinch' mean? Or a 'dash'? Or a 'smidgen'? Don't even get me started on 'to taste'. Humans are just confusing."

Seth caught the last comment as he entered the room. "Lorenzo's the only human in the room," he laughed. "What did he do now?"

"Hey now, leave me out of this; I have done nothing," Lorenzo protested, raising his hands. "Miss Jane, my offer stands, if you ever change your mind. Just remember that I am the only one in this room getting older, so you only have a finite amount of time before I am no longer available to you. My Lady, Master Marcus directed me to inform you that there is food waiting for you in your chambers. He said he will join you there shortly." At that, Bella excused herself, walking swiftly toward her wing of the castle. Lorenzo also withdrew from the room, leaving Seth with alone with his imprint.

The shifter grinned at Jane's surliness, coming closer to ruffle her hair. "Hey, Teensy-Weensy, what's up?"

The petite female batted his hand away, scowling when he chuckled. "I do not know why I even bother with this strange bond we have," she huffed. "It seems you take never-ending delight in vexing me."

"You're just so cute when you act so tough," Seth replied, wrapping his arms around her waist and propping his chin on her shoulder. "What're you making?"

Jane stilled under his embrace. This touching thing was going to take some getting used to. The two of them had spent most of their time together since they arrived in Volterra. At first they had been getting away from Leah and her mating, but now hardly an hour went by when they weren't in each others' company. During that time, Seth had grown a lot more physically affectionate. It was innocent enough – like tugging at her hair or playing with her fingers – but sometimes the contact overwhelmed the female.

Like now. She was quite literally surrounded by the large shifter. She could feel the warmth radiating from his skin and smell his scent with every breath. She felt very, very small, and very, very feminine, and very, very vulnerable. And yet, she had never felt more safe. Even knowing that there was no way she could raise a hand to him, or use her gift against him, she felt safe.

She was defenseless, and completely protected. Her only uncertainty came from not knowing what to do. She was not ready to take Seth to mate. How could she be, when she had never, in all her centuries, ever anticipated that she would share herself with another? She had set herself apart from everyone, including those closest to her (Alec and Aro), and been secure with her place.

Now she knew that her place was with Seth, as his was with her, and that very surety was disconcerting. There seemed to be a contradiction between what she felt and what she thought she should feel. She didn't like it, but didn't know what to do about it.

A poke to her ribs brought her out of her thoughts.

"You still alive, Teensy-Weensy?"

"Not for nearly a hundred of your lifetimes," Jane replied sharply. "And to answer your question, I was considering trying to make steak again. I think I almost had it last time."

Seth laughed at his imprint's quick tongue, and held in his wince at the end. The last time Jane had made steak, it has been over-salted, over-peppered, and steamed instead of seared. He sighed. He himself wasn't a very good cook, but his mom had been teaching him since he was ten, and he could make his favourites if he needed to. Unfortunately, he could not seem to teach his mate, and she was steadfastly ignoring Lorenzo's repeated offers.

There was only one thing to do. He'd hang tight until his mother arrived. For some reason, Sue Clearwater and Esme were the only two Jane would take direction from. At least in the kitchen. Seth pasted a smile on his face, picked up one of Jane's hands, and nipped at her fingers.

"Toss a potato in the oven to bake, would ya? Steak sounds great."

A/N: Poor Seth. Do you think he should just toss Jane out of the kitchen? Why is she so hell-bent on feeding him, anyway? What about Leah? She's funny. At least I think she's funny. And poor Jane. So innocent, and yet so not. A contradiction, exactly like she said. I'd love your feedback.

J