Page 51 of Bound By Words

“What’s stopping you?” she gasped as my fingers slipped between her thighs, rubbing lightly against the tiny sleep shorts she’d thrown on. I almost preferred her in only the soft sweater she wore last night and nothing else.

“We need to eat.” Placing one last lingering kiss on her neck, I stepped back, her eyes flashing to mine with part surprise, part annoyance. The sadistic part of me wanted her to protest, to let out a little of that bratty energy I picked up on sometimes, but she simply blew out a breath and rubbed her thighs together.

“You’re a tease,” she huffed, her arms crossing over her chest, her nipples highlighted against the soft material of her long-sleeved top. The fabric kept falling off one shoulder, revealing enough unmarred creamy skin for me to deduce she didn’t have a bra on.

“I’m only a tease if I don’t intend to follow through eventually. It might not be right now, but I promise you, by the end of the week, I’ll be back between those pretty thighs.”

She growled, narrowing her eyes at me as I set up my workspace next to the gas range, spreading out my ingredients and pulling a knife free from the wooden block on the counter.

“Something to say, sunshine?”

I had to admit her pouting was adorable, but I couldn’t blame her for being frustrated. The next few days would be a test for both of us, but I knew it was necessary. I couldn’t start to build a relationship with her, especially not one where we played together, based on only having mind-blowing sex. We needed to have some conversations, and she needed to do some real soul-searching to see if this was something she wanted to do with me.

With a time limit seemingly hanging over our heads, I didn’t want to diminish our time together by making mistakes. And I’d already made so many. Kelly was vulnerable right now, and part of me knew I needed to tread carefully. If we’d met under other circumstances and she was going through what she was going through right now, I would push for us to remain friends until her life had settled down.

I didn’t want to take advantage of her. She’d all but admitted she was using me for comfort, and while I was glad she felt comfortable enough to tell me what she needed, sex was not a cure-all for her problems. It could muddy the waters between us, and I didn’t want to close the door on a relationship with her before it’d even begun.

“You’re being all cryptic this morning, and I’m not sure I like it.”

She was right. And perceptive, but I felt like I needed to ease her into this conversation.

“That’s not my intention, but our topic of conversation is hardly material one discusses over omelets and mimosas.”

“There are mimosas?” Her stormy expression cleared as she glanced around the kitchen, and that small wrinkle formed between her eyebrows again.

“Well, not technically, unless virgin cocktails count.”

“Pretty sure a virgin mimosa is just orange juice there, stud,” she laughed as she opened the refrigerator and pulled out the carton I’d tucked in there earlier. “And you won’t give me your cocktail, so I guess I’ll have to settle for this.”

While she poured two generous glasses of juice, I got to work, dicing vegetables and meat and mixing them in a small bowl on the counter. The pan sizzled as I dropped a few tablespoons of butter and several bacon strips inside. Kelly watched quietly, occasionally taking a sip from her juice as she leaned against the island.

“At least one of us isn’t hopeless in the kitchen,” she remarked as I used a pair of tongs to pull out the crisped bacon before slowly pouring the beaten egg mixture into the sizzling pan.

“Can’t get through the day in my line of work without a decent breakfast.”

She laughed, propping her bare toes on one drawer pull in the bank of drawers beside where I was working. The muscles in her toned calf flexed as she shifted her weight, and a loud pop from the pan drew my attention back to my task. “I thought you were just the management.”

“I started as a drywaller and then moved into finish carpentry before I had a degree. Construction is in my blood. Literally. With as many times as I’ve cut my hands open over the years.”

“Ah, not just a pretty face then,” she teased, smiling as I glanced back toward her.

“Well, I don’t think I was ever just a pretty face—at least not compared to someone as stunning as you, sunshine.”

“Aren’t you flirty this morning?” she cooed, shifting her weight so my eyes were drawn back to her long legs again. Typically, the women I gravitated toward were petite; they made the perfect rope models, but Kelly’s long frame and curvy hips were a sight to behold.

I could picture the marks and indentations my ropes would leave against her fair skin, criss crossing over her toned muscles and flawless complexion. She was so different from the women I’d played with in the past, but there was something alluring about that. She was new and fresh, slightly forbidden, and entirely consuming.

“I’m not typically a fan of my eggs being burned around the edges,” she laughed, pointing toward the skillet I’d nearly forgotten. “But seeing as I’m not cooking, I shouldn’t complain.”

“Something tells me that knowing you shouldn’t do something isn’t a deterrent for you.”

“Are you calling me impulsive, Mr. Harrison?”

“Well, you’re certainly not predictable, that’s for sure.” My attention returned to our breakfast, the first omelet a little crispy around the edges but otherwise perfectly done. While my mother had initially taught me how to cook, my grandfather had taken over my cooking lessons before I went to college, teaching me dishes he’d picked up over the years.

My mother had always fed a family, but Bradley Sr. had been widowed in his forties, leaving him to fend for himself and his teenage son. His lessons were more practical, and I felt lucky that he’d taken me under his wing after everything that’d happened. Maybe he saw me as an opportunity to rewrite how he thought he’d failed his son.

“Hey.” Kelly hopped down from her perch at the island, reaching up to tuck my wayward hair behind my ear. “Where did my playful Nathan go?”

---