It was a poor attempt at a joke, but the way he stared at me without cracking even the tiniest smile made me question if I was actually funny or not. Since living with all of them, I’d come to realize that I took a lot of pride in making the people around me laugh.
“Beauty, all of my kinks are a secret from you, but I’d be happy to share them,” he rumbled, the intensity of his stare making my mouth go dry. “Just say the word.”
“I…” I attempted to respond, feeling all kinds of confused. On one hand, there was no doubt that my body was coming to life with the heat pooling in my navel from his words. On the other hand, my mind was still firmly in the dreaded gray area of melancholy regarding the lack of answers I was struggling with. I blinked repeatedly, trying to detangle the mixed emotions I felt, but his large hand quickly came to rest on mine.
“There is absolutely no pressure of when that can happen,” he reassured me with a soft smile. “I know you’ve had a rough day, and I got ahead of myself in the moment. I find it hard to keep a firm grip on logic when I’m around you sometimes.”
His understanding of my feelings without me even having to voice them was something really special, and I blushed at his admission.
“Not satisfied with the kisses?” I teased before taking a few more bites as I held his gaze.
It was clear we both knew nothing was happening tonight, but there was comfort in returning to our banter. Teasing would always be our foundation, and I was thankful for the light-hearted nature of our relationship.
He smirked, making my stomach do a few somersaults at the way it transformed his face. “Beauty, something tells me I willnever reach a point where I’m satisfied when it comes to you.” My mouth popped open after I swallowed, wanting to tell him I was perfectly capable of satisfying him, but he continued, “Every piece of you that I get makes me crave you in unexplainable ways. I willalwayswant more.”
Before I could respond, he pushed off the bed and headed toward the door, leaving me gaping as I stared at his back.
He stopped at the door, placing his hand on the door knob before looking back at me. “Tomorrow is a new day, Beauty. Don’t bring today’s problems into it. No day is guaranteed.”
The door clicked closed behind him and I stared at my plate, digesting his profound words.
I groanedas feet thudded into my room, the sound waking me up. With that entrance, I knew without looking that the intruder was Steele.
“What do you want? I have an alarm set for training and it hasn’t gone off yet,” I grumbled, keeping my eyes shut and my cheek pressed firmly against the cool material of my pillow.
“I’ve never met someone who needs to sleep as much as you,” he muttered, clearly annoyed I wasn’t perky the second he walked in. He was lucky I wasn’t giving him the middle finger for not respecting my personal space. After a moment with no response from me, he tacked on, “It’s a little pathetic.”
I let out a sigh that was mixed with a groan before I responded flippantly, “Yes, I know you think I’m pathetic, Steele. Care to tell me something I don’t know? Preferably whatever brought you to my room this early.”
“Noah wants you to come in for a lesson this morning, so training is postponed.”
I jerked straight up and stared at him with wide eyes. “Really?”
“Yup. He wants you there bright and early, so I’d suggest to start getting ready, unless you don’t?—”
I didn’t have time for this with him right now. I jumped out of my bed and shooed him toward the door. “Get out, Steele.”
He stood there, gawking at me. I glanced down and saw the stains on my light gray shirt from spilling my pasta all over myself in my haste staring back at me. “What?” I rebutted defensively as I picked my head back up, “You’ve seen my fingers in my pussy. I think that would be sure to gross you out far more than a stain on my shirt, considering your disdain for me.”
After a long moment, he shook his head and headed for the door, muttering, “You have no idea, Princess.”
My head cocked back.What the hell was that supposed to mean?
I didn’t have time to mull it over, darting for the bathroom to take the quickest shower of my life. Ten minutes later I was dressed and downstairs, a little surprised to find that no one else was up besides Steele, who sat at the kitchen counter. Whatdidshock me was the fact that there was a second Thermos on the counter next to him.
Upon hearing my approach, he stood from the counter and passed the black, insulated cup to me. “You looked like you could use some coffee this morning.”
My lips thinned as I took it, unsure whether to thank him for the kind gesture or flip him off for insinuating I looked like shit. I settled for a polite thanks and followed him out of the house. There was a bounce to my step and a smile on my face the entire way to Noah’s building, which seemingly annoyed Steele for the majority of our walk, making my mood even better.
“Can you take it down a notch?”
My smile turned into a huge grin as I glanced over at him. “No.”
His lip curled back. “It’s kind of freaking me out.”
I shrugged, turning my attention back to the path. “Sounds like a personal problem, bud.”
A disgusted sound came from him, drawing my focus back instantly. His lips were turned down as if he’d just tasted something sour. “Donotcall me your bud. We are not buds.”
