Page 59 of Siren's Heart

"What the hell, those are delicious!" she exclaims and takes another one out, turning it in her fingers as I shift, my cock straining against my jeans. I swear, all it takes is one of those breathy moans to make me hard. Just what is that woman doing to me? "Pistachio?"

"Correct," I confirm with a chuckle. Her eyes shift, an emotion I can't quite place in them. "They came recommended by my Mom."

"Tell your mom she has excellent taste." She sets the mug on the counter, and before I can reply, her hands lock behind my neck, and she steps on her tiptoes, pressing her lips against mine.

Our tongues dance lazily, and I grin against her lips when I realize that she tastes like chocolate and pistachio.

With a small sigh, she breaks the kiss and pops another praline into her mouth. "They're really addicting," she justifies herself with a sheepish grin when she catches me trying to stifle a laugh.

"I know." I step closer and lift her chin with my thumb, pressing my lips against hers once more. "As are you. I also got you flowers. Where can I put them?"

Wordlessly and face flushed, she points to the other side of the counter where an empty vase resides with dirty water still inside. I give it a quick rinse before I cut open the bouquet and remove the pale blue paper framing the flowers to put it in there.

"Thank you, Luca," Millie says with a soft smile tugging at her lips when I hand the vase to her. I follow her to the living room, where she puts it on a dresser where she can see it from almost the whole flat.

She's unusually quiet and distanced as she fluffs the bouquet up, her fingers softly tracing over the petals as she rearranges them, trailing after her thoughts. I stay by her side, quietly watching her work.

I hate that she's unhappy. And I feel powerless to change it. I want to make it better; I want the masses to realize just how fucking awesome she is. But I can't ring every person's doorbell and hold a presentation on what makes her so wonderful. I mean, I could, I can’t imagine ever getting tired of singing her praises, but I'm not so sure she'd appreciate it if I did that.

"There," she announces softly, taking a step back. "Now it's perfect."

I agree, but I'm not even looking at it. My eyes are on her, and the way she looks at the flowers with pride etched into her face.

"You're perfect." I grin and hold up my arm. Immediately, she steps into me, sliding her arms around my middle as I rest mine on her shoulder, holding her close to me. "What are we doing this evening, Sunshine?"

"Can we just order food and watch something fun?" she asks with big eyes that promptly dart away from mine. "Sorry, I'm not really great company today."

"You're always great company," I assure her, walking us over to the couch. Once we're sitting, I take my phone out. "What are you in the mood for?"

"Hi, Summer," I greet my sister. Millie and I had a long shower together, resulting in at least one orgasm each and some bruises for me from when I bumped into a shelf that she had installed in her shower. Now she is doing her skincare and hair routine in the bathroom, singing along to her playlist on the phone.

I love having her voice as background music. It's clear and bright and goes right into my heart, tucking it in warmth as it flutters just for her.

And I adore that she’s less shy. She always had her direct moments, but now they’re the standard when we’re together.

We're slipping into more normalcy with each meeting, and I love it. Being with her feels so natural. I love seeing her waking up without makeup, her eyes puffy and messy hair, and I could stare at her lathering her face with products for hours, if she didn't insist on kicking me out of the bathroom.

So instead, I'm answering one of my sister's video calls. She's been trying to reach me the whole day already.

"You're finally in gossip magazines," Summer says gleefully as a greeting. That little drama queen, I should have known deep down she’d thrive on the drama. "And that picture of you two is super cute, by the way."

"Do me a favor and print me a copy?"

She chuckles at the question but promises me she will. "Jokes aside, you two look really happy. I hope you treat each other well."

"The best that we can," I confirm, and face the phone away from me as I feel warmth shoot into my cheeks, hearing her cackle as she catches me blushing anyway. I tilt the screen back and glare at her instead, which she blissfully ignores.

"Just make sure not to do anything embarrassing in public," she scolds me, pointing at the camera with her index finger and narrowing her eyes. "Because now the whole world will see you doing it, including my friends."

"Oh, so now I'm famous enough to let your friends know we're related?"

"You aren't. Millie is, though." She winks at me to signal she's not serious. "All jokes aside, though, have you been online at all since the news broke?"

"No. Why?"

"I don't know, there are people spewing some wild shit. I thought you might get curious at some point." She shrugs, then her face softens. "I've also had another look at her prior boyfriends and how that went. Like, I saw it online back then, but I never really paid attention to the big picture."

I swallow down the feeling of jealousy that bubbles up like bile in my throat.

---