Hell, he was still barely a breath away. Only the worry that Gray or Amber could walk in at any moment kept him from doing precisely that. Well, that and the fact he wasn’t sure his leg could handle it.
Summoning all his hard-earned control, he kept breathing into her hair, kept his hand moving as her breathing slowed into something resembling normal.
It took a long time.
Seth ran his hands up and down Mara’s torso, hoping to offer some comfort without ramping either of them back up again. “Should I apologize?”
Mara laughed and looked at him over her shoulder. “For giving me the absolute best orgasm of my life? Or for calling me Chaos Machine?”
He grinned, feeling better than he had in years, maybe ever. “Absolute best, huh? And we haven’t even started.”
Her eyes darkened immediately, and he kissed her lightly. “But probably not here and now.”
She blinked at him, and her gaze roved the kitchen. “Probably not.”
But her tone held desire without a trace of embarrassment or regret. A definite win because he wanted to do that again. Often.
The sound of footsteps approaching had him backing up a step. “Company’s coming.”
Confusion lit her eyes for a moment, but then she nodded. She reached up on her toes to press a light kiss to his lips. “Thanks.”
Then she turned back to the dishes.
By the time the door swung open to reveal Gray, Seth had washed his hands and was prepping chickpeas to roast for one of the salads.
Gray grinned. “Good morning. Smells delicious.”
When his wife didn’t appear behind him, Seth frowned. “Is Amber feeling okay?”
Gray nodded. “She didn’t sleep well last night, so I left her to it with Boomer on guard. She’s nervous about today.”
Seth refrained from glancing at Mara and thinking about how he’d distracted her from her nerves. Instead, he focused on his buddy. “Nothing to be nervous about. This place is amazing, and the guests are going to love it.”
Gray nodded. “I know, but the first time doing anything is rough. I’m hoping she can sleep for a couple more hours. No one should arrive until the afternoon.”
Mara took the muffins out of the oven. “Are you hungry? There’s plenty here. I’m going to make the fritters next, but I’ve got Danishes, croissants, and muffins ready to go. Although these caramel apple ones should cool for a few minutes.”
Gray bit into a cheese croissant and immediately moaned. “This is perfection, Mara. As good as my mamma’s. Are you sure you’re not Italian?”
Mara grinned, color still high in her cheeks from her orgasm. “Not that I know of, but thank you.”
Gray’s eyebrows raised, and Seth knew he’d noticed Mara’s glow. His buddy glanced toward where Seth worked behind the island, keeping his lower half shielded from view.
Gray grinned at him. “Anything I can do to help either of you out today?”
He shot him a glare. “We’ve got it under control.”
Mara nodded. “I’m going to make some sandwich buns that freeze well. If anyone wants to make a sandwich for lunch, they can thaw one. I’ll leave instructions on the freezer door.”
Their friends had priced the inn rooms to include both breakfast and supper, but there would also be easy options for lunches if guests wanted to help themselves. Seth had canned and frozen individual jars of soup for that purpose.
Gray nodded. “We sure got lucky that the two of you moved to the farm. Don’t know where we’d be without you.”
Seth snorted. “You’re as good a cook as any chef I’ve ever met.”
Gray shrugged. “But that would leave Amber on her own to run this place. I like it better this way.”
Seth shot Mara a look. “Me too.”
