“Not just any dessert,” I declared, flipping the lid open with a flourish. “Behold—a warm, gooey, melty, magnificent cookie pie. You’re welcome.”
He looked at it like it was radioactive. “You expect me to eat that?”
“Yes,” I said, scooping out a perfect piece and sliding it toward him like it was part of an ancient ceremony. “Consider it an emotional exercise.”
He stared. “What if it’s terrible?”
“Then you’ll suffer in silence. Like a gentleman.”
He sighed, picked up the fork like it was a weapon he didn’t quite trust, and slowly—very slowly—took a bite.
I watched him like I was conducting a scientific experiment. First bite: cautious. Chew: slow. Expression: neutral.
Then his brows twitched. Just a little.
“Well?” I demanded, practically vibrating. “Admit it. That was magical.”
He set the fork down like he wasn’t already planning another bite. “It’s… fine.”
I gasped. “You hate that you don’t hate it!”
“I do not,” he said, straight-faced. But his lips twitched. Twirched.
I grinned like I’d just cracked the code to the enigma that was Nikolai Volkov.
“You’re welcome,” I said sweetly. “Growth. Look at you. Feeling things. Eating sugar. Becoming human.”
“You are chaos,” he muttered.
“Beautiful chaos,” I corrected.
He didn’t argue.
We were still eating—well; I was devouring cookie pie like it was sacred. He, naturally, was picking at it with all the enthusiasm of a man tasting joy for the first time and deeply resenting the experience.
He glanced up. “You’ve got…”
I blinked. “Wait—do I have food on my face?”
My hand immediately flew to my cheek. “Where? Is it bad? Is it?—”
“It’s the other…” he said, voice lower now. He didn’t finish the sentence.
Instead, he reached across the table—slow, deliberate—and brushed his thumb along the corner of my mouth.
My breath caught.
His eyes didn’t move. Not from mine. Not for a second.
He wiped the smudge of chocolate away, then brought his thumb to his mouth.
And ate it.
Still watching me.
Still holding me there with nothing but a look.
“You’re right,” he said quietly. “Sweets are… distracting.”
