Page 7 of Rescued By the Rebel

“No, I’ve got it. I know you must be tired. Why don’t you go take a shower and get settled in? I’ll come get you when the food is ready.”

“Sure, that sounds good. Um, which bedroom is mine?” I ask, and he stops gathering ingredients.

“Sorry, let me give you a quick tour. Come on, Red.”

A shiver runs down my spine. I’ve never had a nickname before, and I’m finding that I like it. Every time he calls me Red, a little zing of pleasure courses through me. It makes me feel… special in a weird way.

I follow him down a hall and into the living room.

“The living room is here, office back there, there’s a half bath right there,” he says as we continue walking.

I grab my bags as we head upstairs, and he points out the bathroom, linen closet, his bedroom, and the three guest bedrooms.

“You can take your pick of whichever room you want,” he tells me, and I smile.

“Thanks.”

“Of course. I’ll see you downstairs in a few.”

He heads downstairs, and I pick the guest room that’s closest to his bedroom. I don’t stop to analyze why I chose that one as I set my things down and pull out a clean pair of pajamas and my toiletries.

I head back out to the bathroom in the hall and shudder when I see my reflection. Dirt and ash are dusting my hair and streaking across my face. I look like a sweaty, dirty mess, and I probably smell like a bonfire.

Just my luck to be rooming with the hottest guy I’ve ever seen and I look like this.

I sigh, trying to forget about the rapidly growing crush I have on my new roommate as I strip and turn on the shower.

Thoughts of Aldis filter in as I shower and change into my pajamas. I head downstairs, my mouth watering and my stomach growling as I smell the taco seasoning and ground beef.

“It smells so good,” I say as I enter the kitchen.

“Perfect timing,” he says as he pulls the taco shells out of the oven.

He puts three shells on a plate and passes it to me.

“Help yourself.”

“Thanks.”

I make my tacos and take a seat at the counter. I wait for him to join me before I dig in. I practically inhale my food, and Aldis chuckles.

“Good?”

“Very. I skipped lunch today so I was starving,” I explain.

“You shouldn’t do that,” he chides me, and I nod.

“I know. I just forgot to pack something today.”

“What’s your favorite food?” He asks me as he adds two more shells to my plate.

“Anything that I don’t have to cook,” I say with a laugh. “I’m pretty terrible in the kitchen. We had private chefs growing up so I never really spent a ton of time cooking or in the kitchen.”

“I could teach you if you want to learn.”

“Maybe,” I say as I add some more cheese to my taco. “What about you? What’s your favorite food?”

“I’m a steak and potatoes guy, but truthfully, I’m not picky. I think the military helped with that. I mean, once you’ve had some of those MREs then you can pretty much eat anything.”

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