Page 24 of Chasing the Fall

“You don’t have to worry about me being a nuisance.”

“I want you to know last night wasn’t just a one-off for me.”

We speak at the same time, so it takes me a second for Bran’s statement to catch up. “What?” I turn around to find him glaring at me, a dark frown slashing through the dimples on his cheeks.

A little sigh escapes me.Freaking dimples.

Then:wait.He looks mad.

“A nuisance? Are you daft, woman?”

I open and close my mouth. “I didn’t mean…I didn’t want you to think…” The words trail off, my focus intent on his expression which is growing blacker by the second.

“Didn’t want me to think what?”

“That I expected anything. You know. Because we had sex.”

Without replying, Bran sets down the jar of seasoning he had been using. He walks to the sink, where he washes his handsand then dries them on the dish towel. Coming to stand in front of me, he takes the bottle of juice I had just removed from the refrigerator and sets it behind me, on the counter.

Then he takes my face between his two big hands, tips it up to his, and kisses me silly. When he finishes I’m dizzy and struggling to breathe normally.

“Does that feel like I think you’re a nuisance?” He asks softly.

I shake my head, because no…it really didn’t.

“Good,” he says. “Because I don’t. And Tallulah? Expect something.” My brow wrinkles, my earlier words already forgotten. “When a man takes you to bed,” Bran continues, “you better damn well expect the fucking moon and stars. Otherwise, he has no business in your bed.”

Oh.

A warm glow suffuses me, heating everything from my chest up to my ears.

“Now go sit—all the way over there, so I’m not tempted—and let me get these steaks cooked.”

Hiding a smile, I do as he says and sit on the sofa. “Steak for breakfast…that’s different.”

“Not really. It’s healthier to eat a savory breakfast than one full of carbs and sugars.”

Well, don’t I feel attacked.“What if I don’t care about eating healthy?”

He lays the steaks in a cast iron pan, and the sound of sizzling fills the room. “Then I’ll care about it for you. You eat too much sugar. And it is close to noon, anyway, so there’s that.”

My heart takes a hard tumble in my chest. “Good enough.” I pluck at the hem of his T-shirt. “Thank you.”

“For?” Reaching into a cabinet, he pulls down a couple of plates.

I shrug and keep my gaze fastened on my knees. “For caring. I haven’t had anyone do that since Mom died, so…thanks.”

A moment later his shadow falls across me, and I look up to find my vision filled with him as he lowers his face to mine. He presses another brief, achingly tender kiss to my lips before straightening and returning to the kitchen. “You’ve got me now.”

After eating, Bran makesa check of the cabin’s perimeter while I wash the few dishes we dirtied. Finished, I look around, trying to find something to occupy myself with.

The answer comes in the form of a cabinet filled with board games, books, and cards. I pull out a Scrabble board and rub my hands in anticipation. Bran doesn’t know it, but he’s about to get his ass spanked.

I give him my best puppy dog eyes when he comes back inside and show him the board, already set up. “Can we play? Please?”

Surprising me, Bran doesn’t hesitate. He sits down at the table and draws his tiles. “Sure.”

I sit and draw my own tiles. “I didn’t expect you to agree,” I say. “I figured you wouldn’t be interested in board games.”

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