Page 103 of Dare To Fall

“Can you find something to go on top of them? Maple syrup, butter, or fruit?”

Eli moves up behind me, his hands finding my hips again. “Is there anything you want in particular? I can see if we have it.”

“No, whatever you find will do.” As I pour some more of the batter into the pan, I can feel his breath on the side of my neck. His teeth bite down hard into my skin. My groin clenches and a throbbing ignites in my pussy. Eyes closing at the sharp pain, I moan, leaning back into him. He soothes the sting with a kiss before stepping away.

I try to concentrate on making more pancakes, but all my focus is on the boy rummaging around on the shelves of the refrigerator. Even when I’m supposed to be angry with him, my body still wants him.

He moves to the sink and runs the water. I glance over from transferring another pancake onto a plate to see what he has. There’s a bowl of strawberries in his hand, and he’s washing a handful of the berries.

When I meet his gaze, he’s smirking. “You like strawberries, don’t you, Kitten?”

My cheeks grow hot, remembering the time in the tomb when I‘d begged him as Sin to fuck me. He fed me strawberries that night.

I tear my attention away and refocus on the pan in front of me. “You know I do.”

I cook until all the batter is gone and there’s a stack of pancakes on each plate. Eli places a few strawberries on top of them. Grabbing some silverware from one of the drawers, we carry everything to the kitchen table and make ourselves comfortable. Eli cuts into one of the fluffy golden circles and takes a bite. A smile blooms over my face when he moans around the piece in his mouth.

“These are so good. I had no idea you could cook like this.”

I shrug. “It was a skill I had to learn from an early age. I enjoy it. Cooking is one of my favorite things to do. I’ve always found it relaxing. A stress reliever when I need it the most.”

Eli pauses with the fork halfway to his mouth. “And you haven’t been able to do that a lot since you moved in with us.”

I slice the knife into one of my pancakes. “I got to bake at Christmas, but that was the first time since we came to live in the Hamptons. It’s not like I can do it at school, either. Everything is prepared for us.”

“You could always open a restaurant.”

“I’m not that talented with food, and I don’t want to do it as a job. I have my twenty-year plan.” I pop the pancake into my mouth and chew.

Eli nods. “To become a fashion designer.”

Swallowing, I narrow my eyes. “You only know that because you read my diary.”

“And I gave it back to you.”

“You know that doesn’t make it better. It was private.”

When I glance away from him, he touches his fingers to my cheek and catches my chin in his grip. Slowly he coaxes my face back around to his. He’s holding a strawberry in his other hand.

He brings it to my lips. “Bite.”

I arch an eyebrow. “You’re not the one in charge here.”

“It’s just a strawberry, Ari.”

“We both know it’s more than that.”

He rubs the piece of fruit against the fullness of my bottom lip. “I’m just asking you to try it.”

I resist for a beat before taking a bite, the sweetness exploding in my mouth. A trickle of juice escapes, and my tongue snakes out to lick it up. His eyes are dark as they track the movement, the intensity in them stalling my breath in my throat.

“More.” The demand leaves him on a rough growl.

“Eli—”

He pushes the strawberry into my mouth, and I’m forced to take another little bite. This time when the sticky sweet juice coats my lips, he captures it with a kiss.

Chapter 69