His eyes open, flooding with concern. “Different in a good way, I hope?”
A laugh breaks free. “Oh my God, yes. So good, I promise.” I kiss his lips, once, twice, three times before continuing. “You make me happy. You care about me, just as I am. And you don’t make me feel bad for anything.”
The concern turns into something darker, and I draw back slightly, impeded by the counter behind me. But Dan’s anger isn’t directed at me. I know this instinctively.
“I’m sorry, Birdie. If I had realized how unhappy you were, I never would have kept quiet. Fuck. I know I’m the one who said we need to look forward, not back, but hearing you say stuff like that makes me so angry at myself for not fighting for you.”
I fling my arms back around his neck and squeeze him tight. It’s still not enough, and obviously he feels the same way because his hands come to my ass, lifting me onto the counter. My legs wrap around him, and we’re as close as possible, and something in me settles with a happy sigh.
We stay like this, me wrapped around him, our breathing synchronized, for several moments. It feels so good, so right, being with him. As much as we both know we can’t dwell on the time we lost, it’s hard not to feel frustrated that we could have felt this happiness so much sooner, if only…
If only I hadn’t been so consumed with doing what I thought I should, trying to be who my family wanted me to be, and settling for so much less than I deserved.
After a while, Dan’s hold on me loosens. “Should we get those cookies baked?” he asks.
I nod, and when he steps back, I hop off the counter. “Okay. The dough is almost ready to be coloured green, then we just have to roll them into a ball and press the kisses on top.”
Dan goes to the bag he brought and pulls out several packages of chocolate. “Which ones should we use?”
I point to the red and white striped ones, and he gets to work opening all the chocolate. For a while, we work together in silence, having forgotten about putting on any music. I already feel less stressed about the job at hand, simply having him with me. Between the two of us, I know we’ll get all the cookies made and packaged in time.
Sure enough, several hours later, the kitchen is even more of a mess than it was this morning, but Dan is pulling the final tray of cookies out of the oven. He sets it down on the counter with a flourish before walking over to me with his hands in the air.
“Go, Team Cookie!”
I slap my hands against his, only for him to lace our fingers together and pull me in for a kiss. I let him because no way am I saying no to a kiss, but I wrinkle my nose when we separate. “I’m covered in flour.”
He lets out a deep chuckle, looking down at his own dirty apron with a smile. “Yeah, same. Guess I should have brought some extra clothes.”
A little devil and angel appear on my shoulders as I consider my options. Do I say what I’m thinking, or not…
The devil wins.
“We could put your clothes in the laundry here.”
Dan gives me a confused look, and his innocence is so adorable I struggle to keep a straight face. “I don’t have anything else…” He trails off, his eyes widening as comprehension dawns.
I step forward, slowly sliding my hands around his waist to untie his apron. “We don’t have to do anything. I’m sure your underwear isn’t covered in flour.” With a wink, I lift the apron over his head and let it slip to the floor. “Washing your clothes feels like the least I could do to thank you for your help.”
I pull his T-shirt up, and he lifts his arms automatically, letting me remove it, baring his upper body.
“Or there are other ways I could thank you.” My hands go to his belt and pause. “If you want.”
His head bobs up and down eagerly as I slip his belt free of the buckle. “Lark,” he groans, dropping his forehead to mine. “I’m scared I’m gonna embarrass myself.”
The quiet statement is full of so much vulnerability, I freeze, moving my hands up to his chest before wrapping them around his body so I can hug him close. His arms squeeze me tightly, and his heart races beneath my ear.
“Please don’t feel like that,” I whisper. “You have no reason to be embarrassed. We go at your pace. I don’t want to pressureyou.”
“You don’t understand.” His voice turns rough. “Me being embarrassed has nothing to do with us moving too quickly and everything to do with how desperately I want you.”
I barely get out my gasp before his lips are crushed to mine, his hands moving to grip my hair tightly as he plunders my mouth. His confidence in kissing me has grown rapidly, and he takes control, infusing our kiss with all of his built-up desire.
Which only makes that devil on my shoulder even louder. As much as I don’t want to end our kiss, I do. Because something better awaits. And then I take his hand and lead him down the hall to my bedroom. He lets me push him to sit on the edge of the bed, and then I take a step back. I untie my own apron and take it off before lifting my sweater over my head.
His hands fist at his sides, his eyes not leaving me as I slowly wriggle my leggings down, kicking them off to the side along with my socks. Watching him devour me with his gaze, I’m incredibly glad I put on a cute set of blue panties and a matching bra this morning.
“You’re so fucking beautiful.”
