Luckily she was too busy bustling around making things perfect to notice he'd gone through half a dozen napkins. The last time he'd had to hide food in his napkin had been when he was small enough for his mom to make him eat Brussels sprouts.
Bustling around the kitchen he readied eggs and two ham steaks. Peeling a couple of potatoes he made impromptu hash browns and set the coffee to brew last. Elena could smell coffee at fifty paces.
They'd settled into a routine of sorts. House hunting hadn't exactly been in their plans, but having returned to the little apartment she was sharing with Kate just hammered home the need for their own space.
Even with Kate and Jon gone, the place felt small and cramped. And while Elena had bought a larger bed, he missed his California King. He needed space, even if he would still be crowding her in close on the big bed that would go nicely on the place they'd seen the day before.
It was a sweet house, with a sunrise facing bedroom on the second floor. They had two more to see that day as well. Hopefully they'd make it to this appointment. He'd had to do some fancy storytelling to their realtor for missing the appointment last night. Somehow he didn't think naked desert was reason enough to get by.
She turned over in the bed, feeling the chilliness of the room without his warmth at her back or surrounding her. A slight grin teased her waking face as she thought of how even now months later he still had to have at least every part of his body touching her somehow when they slept. God he was adorable, even when he muttered about the bed. She'd have gotten a bigger one but her bedroom barely fit what they had now, but at least they were looking for something that might suit his need for space more.
Her nose wrinkled as the scent of coffee lured her into a seating position. So that's where he'd went to, he was cooking. Bout damn time he took a turn. The smell of breakfast and coffee drew her up as she started to laugh. He'd tried so hard the night before to hide how he had to eat what she'd fixed, but hell she'd warned him months ago she just wasn’t a cook. A brow arched as she considered going into the kitchen. Maybe just maybe if she pretended to sleep she'd get breakfast in bed, he'd kept her up late after all, his need to play giving rise to yet another inventive game of his. They'd even missed the appointment with the realtor. A brow arched as a wicked thought came to mind and she pulled the tee she'd put on to sleep in over her shoulders and laid back on the bed, twisting the covers so that one leg was revealed to the chilly air. Now let him find her. She closed her eyes and started to count, knowing he'd be in before she ever reached one hundred.
Putting the pans on the back burner to keep them warm, and not overcook breakfast, he poured a cup of coffee, snagging a corner of the ham steak as he headed into their room. He stilled as a long, lean line of leg was the first thing he noticed.
Either his wife was getting like him with the hot flashes or she was still dead to the world. Setting the mug on the bedside table he traced his finger along her calf, then the back of her knee and up into the sheets. "Laaaains," he said on a low breath.
She bit her lip and tried to stay still as the pad of his finger traced her leg. God even that simple a touch had her body screaming. Her nose wiggled as the scent of coffee teased right along with the touch. Shifting slightly she let the covers slip slightly, a little murmur on her lips. "Hmmmm?"
His nose bumped along the sensitive flesh of the back of her knee, flicking out to taste her salty skin. "Hungry?"
She slowly rolled over, her eyes opening to the sight of her husband leaning over her. "Always..." Damn and she was, for him and for breakfast. No matter how often they connected, no matter how often they made love it only made her want him more. It was a constant need, one she never wanted to be free of.
Warring hunger pains vied for attention, but in the end, he scooped her up, with the mug of coffee and handed it to her. "You have no idea how hard that was, but I'm starving for real food."
She leaned into his grasp, her lips gliding over his satiny skin as an actual giggle escaped her. "Just wanted to see how much willpower ya had."
"If I didn't have the constant smell of food in my nose, you would've won," he said and nibbled her neck.
She laughed even as she reached for the cup of coffee and took possession of it, taking her first sip as he carried her to the kitchen. "Well being carried into breakfast is almost as good as getting it served in bed." She took in the little feast and started to smile. "Better yet I didn’t have to burn it to eat it."
Saying nothing, he just grinned. "I figured I'd cook for a change, babe."
"Bout time, I wondered how many more of my fractured to hell meals you'd choke down before you got the message." She grinned as he sat, keeping her on his lap as she reached for a slice of toast and offered him a bite. "I’m good at a lot of things, cooking just ain’t one of them."
Laughing, he took a bite. "Sweet Christ woman, I haven't been a married man for long, but I know one thing. Don't tell her she can't cook."
She smiled as he offered her a piece of the ham, her teeth nipping at his finger as she took the meat and started to chew. "But I told you from the first I hating cooking, now you know why." She wiggled back on his lap and sighed at the tenderness of the meat, and the hardness of what she wiggled on. "So you were forewarned."
"Well, I know you were trying....well I thought you were trying. New house, we have a housekeeper/cook. End of story," he said and groaned. "Killing me here."
She took another sip of coffee and grinned. "I can be still."
"Sure you can," he said and forked in a bit of eggs with a stab of potato. "We have a few houses to see today, and some shopping to do for furniture," he said trying to keep his mind off his little wife's wriggling body.
She nodded as she took a bite of food. "I kinda liked the one yesterday, but we'll look at these last few. No need to furniture shop until we decide on a house. Gosh, a house, now that’s something, never thought I’d be buying; a HOUSE for goodness sakes." She tilted her head and grinned, "Well I'm not buying it, but then I never thought of having a hubby that would either."
"Well, it's our money, so it's our house." Richie said in a voice that brooked no argument. "I never thought I'd have a need for a real place, let alone a house that might have a..." he trailed off, stroking her hair. "Maybe a family, one day."
She leaned back against his chest a sweet little smile on her face, her eyes closing as she pictured just that. "One of each as I recall.. or more if they happened along, and a couple of rocking chairs naturally."
"Naturally," he said and cradled her close. "I never thought I'd be the guy that had a family. Not with the life I lead."
She shook her head, "The life you lead isn’t gonna be like it is now forever, even if you hadn’t met me, you'd have found a way. It's inside you that need to be as good a dad as your dad was. You will be too, I just know it. Your job won’t change that."
He pressed a kiss to her temple. "God, I hope so, baby. I want to be a good husband and father so very badly."
She twisted to face him, her eyes gleaming even as the smile on her lips grew. Even now he still felt insecure. Didn’t he get it? He was the perfect man, gorgeous on the outside and just as awesome within. He kept her safe, he loved her to distraction and he made love like a fiend. He was in one tall lean package the answer to her prayers. Leaning forward she pressed an easy kiss to his chin. "You're already a fantastic husband."
His grin widened, reaching in to press a sweet kiss on her lips. "Well, I'm getting better every day."
She returned the kiss her arms wrapping around him. "Get much better and I don’t know what I'll do." Damn if he wasn't already freaking perfect as it was.
1 comment:
Tre OMG! You have to right more I'm left hanging. Love this whole storyline. Can' t wait fir the next chapter.
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