When he dug his fingers into my hair and pulled away from my wanting lips, I whimpered defiantly.
“Again,” I demanded.
He had the nerve to smirk and shake his head. “You owe me baked goods.”
I huffed. “That’s archaic.”
“You enjoy letting me cook for you. I want the same treatment—it’s my birthday, after all.”
I laughed and tried to tug him to me again, but he braced. Damn his strength.
“Admit it—you love watching me in this kitchen. You love being with me here,” he said.
I licked my lips, still clinging to him, not willing to back down yet. “Pet, I love watching you all the time and being with you anywhere. It’s a terrible affliction.”
He eased me down onto my feet. I wouldn’t stoop to pouting, but I would resort to petty actions to get what I wanted. I undid a button on my tunic, and his brows rose as he stepped back toward the butcher block.
“You can cook naked if you’d like, wildflower. I’m still not kissing you again until this shortbread is out of the oven. I may be ravenous, but it’s your turn to wait.”
Sources.
This man.
Kneeling, he cleaned up the mess I’d made; I undid another button for good measure. He looked winded as he moved around the space, preparing a new baking tin and collecting what we needed. He didn’t have to open the blue book.
“What happens the next time you kiss me?” I instigated, letting the shoulder of my tunic drop. He watched me, biting his lower lip. “I can play domesticated and bake for you. But I need a compelling incentive.”
His nostrils flared ever so slightly as I rounded the butcher block.
I’d win this game.
His self-control would break.
I stepped into his space and trailed a finger from the soft spot below his ear to the apple of his throat.
Abruptly, he grabbed my wrist and spun me to face the butcher block, stepping up behind me. I huffed in surprise when he leaned against my back and said, “You’ll just have to see. Maybe I’ll have you right here.”
One of his boots kicked my legs apart to place a knee between my thighs. My hands flattened on the flour-coated counter.
I gasped and threw my head back into him as he trailed his lips up my neck.
“But more likely, I’ll carry you up to that soft bed of yours. Because I want to take my time with you.”
I’d never survive hours of baking when he kept talking like that.I couldn’t help but grind down on his knee with an arched back.
I breathed out, “Fine. Domestication suddenly appeals to me.”
The world melted away.
Nothing beyond him, beyond this moment, mattered. I’d gone so long denying myself the hope of his love.
“I’ve kissed you twice now before properly courting you. And I plan to do so much more,” he said. “It’s not very gentlemanly. We’ll need to fix that. Later.”
Three times.I didn’t correct him.
I shook my head and tried to turn toward him to object. He planted his palms atop mine on the counter, pinning them there, and lifted his knee higher. Could I come undone just like this? My hips rolled as I chased release.
Just as the tension in my core grew to a peak, he removed his knee.
