“Omelettes at first but I got it wrong. I’m not usually this untidy.” He frowned as the parmesan slipped in his grasp again.
“How do you know how untidy you are if you always have someone to clean up after you? Maybe you’re secretly a slob but you don’t know it because you’ve always had a maid.”
“Fair point, tactfully made as usual.”
The bacon began to sizzle in the pan and I moved it around so it didn’t stick. As I predicted, the fat spat at me, catching my arm.
“Ouch!” I winced and hopped back from the pan, rubbing my wrist.
“Lo?”
“I’m fine.”
“You should let me do that.”
“Honestly, I’m fine. Don’t fuss.” I brushed his hands away. “Grab me some eggs?”
Twenty minutes later, we were sitting at the small breakfast bar that separated the tiny kitchen from the equally tiny living room. I was feeling thoroughly pleased with myself as I watched my man enjoy the food I’d made him.
“Lola, that’s a hell of a sandwich. I think I might need to keep you around, chain you to the kitchen maybe.”
“Jesus, Alfie. Caveman, much?”
He laughed but didn’t answer. “How did you learn to cook?” he asked, taking another bite of the sandwich.
“My gran taught me. She made me bacon sandwiches almost every morning. Not very good for you but delicious. My mum cooked a lot too and I still have her recipe book, I try one out from time to time.” Warmth bloomed in my chest as I watched him, shirtless and eating breakfast. These moments were soperfect it was hard to remember how I’d been away from him for so long. “Did your mum ever cook?”
His face darkened and I wanted to kick myself. “Don’t ruin it, Lo.”
I put a hand on his thigh, letting him know I was sorry. It felt bizarre that I was engaged to a man whose family I hadn’t even met yet. Not that I was in a hurry to meet his mother and sister but Alfie couldn’t keep us apart forever.
When we finished eating, I took our plates to the sink to start on the dishes. Alfie’s arms crept around my body and I stifled a moan when he pressed into me.
“What’re you doing, woman?”
“Playing football. What does it look like I’m doing? I don’t have a maid, remember?” Even if I was moving out this week, I still needed to keep the place clean.
“You would if you’d moved in with me months ago. You chose to stay in this shitty apartment, remember?”
Yes, I did remember. Alfie had sold his monochrome mansion and bought a brand new one, just because. I’d resisted moving into his place initially. Despite agreeing to marry him, moving in seemed like a rush. I hadn’t been ready to leave behind my single bed and crappy water pressure for his luxury lifestyle. But now my lease was coming to an end and I didn’t have two roommates to split the rent with anymore, it didn’t make sense for me to stay.
Alfie turned me, pressing me against the sink and planted a trail of kisses from my ear to my throat. Any thoughts of dishes and moving were forgotten immediately as his fingers dove between my legs.
He groaned. “Always wet for me.”
I moaned in protest when he took his hand away but he grinned that playful grin that told me he was about to tease the hell out of my body.
“How about we make you wetter?”Wetter?I didn’t think I could get any wetter. He reached past me into the water-filled sink and came back with a drenched sponge and a glint in his eye. He raised it over me and squeezed directly onto my chest. I gasped as the water hit me and the white shirt turned see-through. My nipples showed, begging for attention. When he was done he tossed the sponge over his shoulder and looked me up and down, admiring his handy work.
“Like what you see?”
“O’Connell, you have no idea.” He pulled me to him and swept me up in his kiss. His hands found my breasts and tugged at my nipples, I moaned as the added sensation of the coarse, wet material sent electric shivers directly to my core.
He pulled back long enough to whip the shirt over my head, his strong hands encircled my waist, lifting me onto the counter amongst the remnants of our breakfast. He gazed at me, his steel greys memorising my face. My hair had fallen over my breasts, covering them. Gently, he lifted my locks over my shoulders.
“I love your hair, Lo. It reminds me of sunrise…and sunset.”
“I’m thinking about cutting it again.”
