“The water is probably cold already,” I said, pointing towards the bathtub.
“We’ll just shower,” he said, holding me tighter. “Then order dinner and do anything but sleep in bed afterwards.”
I chuckled.
**********
“Sleep well?” Mikhail asked, walking briskly into the kitchen, dropping his briefcase on the dining table.
“Yeah. Good morning,” I answered, closing the fridge and turning around to face him as he approached.
“Morning,” he replied, kissing my forehead before giving me another kiss on the lips. “There’s still time for the day to get better.”
“Hm. Really? What are you talking about?”
“Just saying,” he casually answered, looking me over.
Of course, he hadn’t seen me since midnight. After several rounds of tireless lovemaking, we’d fallen asleep in each other’s arms. But, before we actually gave in to sleep, he’d mentioned having to be at one of his warehouses early in the morning. So, I woke up earlier to make breakfast. Like many other acts in recent times, I was honestly not sure if it was all for the plan or if I just really wanted to.
“You’re not wearing my shirt. Or my T-shirt,” he pointed out.
I laughed in surprise and amazement at how his expression was devoid of humor.
“You realize I do have an entire wardrobe of clothes, right?”
“You always make breakfast in my clothes,” he insisted. “I love seeing you in my clothes. They look good on you.”
His words made me think of how volatile he could be. Mikhail’s mood could switch for the tiniest change in someone’s tone of voice. Understanding that, deep down inside, he battled with feelings of inadequacy made me feel closer to him in a way. It made me want to remind him at every chance I got that he was enough.
I stepped closer to the marble island he leaned his lower back against.
“So, you’re saying I don’t look good in this?”
I wore a simple, fitted cotton dress that stopped just above my knees. It had spaghetti straps and hugged my curves; it wouldn’t have been fit for the kitchen if the high slit at the back didn’t make moving around super easy.
“I mean, they look better on you than they do on me,” he answered. “Of course, you look good in every damn thing.”
“You really think so?” I inquired, my hand cupping the side of his face.
“I’ll rather show you.”
He pulled me into him as his lips landed on mine. His hands grabbed my ass and squeezed as his tongue explored my mouth. I tugged at the hair at the back of his neck, and he pulled me impossibly closer. We were soon out of breath and breaking apart, chests heaving.
“You’d better have breakfast before it’s too late,” I told him, chuckling as I reordered his hair.
“What if I wantyoufor breakfast?” he asked, his voice dangerously low.
But it was the hunger in those pale blue orbs that tempted me.
“Alright,” he uttered, letting go of me with a sigh. “We eat together,” he stated, going over to the coffee maker.
“Yes, boss,” I jokingly conceded.
He turned around swiftly. “You’re my wife. Not my subordinate.”
“Right. And that’s coming from a man who’d rather I hid beneath his body during an attack.”
“Isabella, protecting you is my biggest priority. I can’t stay sane in a gunfight when I know you’re unprotected. I’ll doanything and everything to protect you,” he said, turning back to claim our coffee before he went on in a much lower, detached tone. “Forgive me if that makes me less of the alpha male you fantasized about marrying.”
