Page 33 of Frozen Obsession

Chapter Eighteen

Roman

That little snake upstairs is the only reason I’m slaving over this hot stove. My dad always made it a point to show me how to cook. He was a man who enjoyed cooking, even with a wife—he enjoyed it too much to leave it all to her. Nothing stopped Pops from making us the food his mother used to cook. I never really appreciated everything the old man taught me, but now, for some reason, I think about things like this. I keep cutting up the onion as the chicken strips sizzle and brown in the pan. I wonder if Xena learned how to cook during our time apart, but judging by the unholy amount of ramen she eats, it’s safe to say she hasn’t.

Using a half-melted spatula, I stir the chicken so it can brown evenly, setting the chopped onion aside. Then, I move on to the red and green peppers, waiting for the water to boil so I can add the rice. Tonight’s dinner is chicken fajitas and rice—my favorite. It only took ten years of being locked up to figure out simple things like that about myself. Rolling my shoulders, I try to shake off the tension that has been creeping up as I think about that man. I didn’t like that her boss sent one of his goon for her. Plus, there something else. There's something familiar about his face. I don’t know where I've seen him before, but I know I have. The unease sits in my chest like a weight, and I don’t like it.

It takes about an hour to get everything cooked and plated. With two steaming plates in hand, I head upstairs to find my little snake sprawled out on the bed, sound asleep. Her mouth is slightly open, and her onyx hair fans out across the pillow like a halo of darkness. Xena is beautiful—so much more now that theglow is starting to return to her face. Placing the plates on the nightstand, I let my finger trail down her cheek, admiring my woman before bending over to kiss her lips.

"Wakey, wakey, sleeping beauty," I whisper. She stirs but doesn’t fully wake.

A smile tugs at my lips as I watch her sleepy face. My finger moves from her cheek, down her neck, stopping at her pierced nipple. I close my eyes for a second; the memory of that day floods back.

"They look so hot on you," I murmur, fumbling with the plastic covering of the needle. "Let me just lick them one more time. I can’t touch them until they’re all nice and healed." My hands squeeze her perfect tits, my cock stirring inside her as she rolls her hips. Bending down, I take her nipple into my mouth, flicking it with my tongue before biting down. She clamps down on my cock.

"Ro, baby," she breathes, her voice shaky.

"Shh... they’re home, Xena bean. Gotta keep quiet." She nods, continuing to bounce on my cock as the computer chair beneath us creaks with each movement. My pops should be asleep, but her mom’s a late bird. But a man has needs. Late nights and early mornings are the only times I can have her before she sneaks back to her room.

"Okay, baby, lean back and pass me the alcohol wipe," I whisper, pressing my cock deeper inside her. She does as she’s told while I get to work, piercing my girl’s nipples while she rides this cock.

The memory runs its course, blood rushing to my cock, but I focus on waking Xena again. Ignoring the raging boner, I lean down and biting the sensitive flesh of her breast.

"Ahh," she moans sleepily, and I swear it’s the sexiest sound ever.

"Ro, what the—actual fuck?" she mutters, eyes fluttering open.

"Time to eat, little snake," I say, standing upright and grabbing the plates as she sits up in bed. She pulls one leg under her, letting the other dangle off the side. I take her in, the beautiful mess that she is—black silky hair cascading down herchest, covering her tits, and the ink on her skin like a map of memories.

"You gonna keep checking me out, or you gonna feed me?" Xena teases.

I frown playfully. "I can do both." I hand her the plate.

"Thank you," she says, taking it and placing it in front of her.

"You got new ink?" I ask, noticing she’s lucid for the first time in days. No pain. No sickness from the withdrawals. And there’s still so much I don’t know about the past ten years. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I dig into my food while she takes a bite of chicken.

"I got a couple. You’d think with how many times you’ve seen me naked, you would’ve noticed before today," she snarks, grinning as she stabs another piece of chicken.

I deserved that. She was right, of course and I mean I did notice. It's hard not to notice she has more ink, but I never really took the time to notice the details. And it wasn't like she was lucid enough to answer my questions. But I like getting under her skin. So, I ignore her jab and say, "Too busy taking care of you to notice anything but your mouth on my cock and my cock in your cunt."

"Charming as ever, Ro," she retorts, rolling her eyes, though a smirk plays on her lips as she takes another bite.

That’s what I love about Xena. She always gives as good as she gets. "Maybe if you hadn’t been such a mess, I wouldn’t have been busy cleaning up after you. I would have appreciated the artwork on your skin." Her answer is a loud huff and then she's back to eating.

We eat in silence for a while until she breaks it. "You’ve got new ones, but I see the old ones are still there."

I pause mid-bite. I know exactly which tattoos she’s talking about. The half-heart on my rib, right under the "good boy" tattoo she stick-and-poked onto my skin. The two that match hers. I don't want to look but I know she still has every memory of us inked on her body. Her pierced nipple is proof enough.

"I told you,ten years remembering," is all I manage to say before finishing my bite.

We finish eating in silence. Afterward, I leave her upstairs, heading back down to clean up the kitchen. The feeling of unease still lingers as I look out the window. The snow’s falling heavier now. I heard on the news we’re expecting another snowstorm. And considering that there's still plenty of snow on the ground, I should grab more food. But I don’t want to leave her alone. Not right now. Xena could have shit stashed somewhere or worse, her old boss goon from earlier could come back. Which reminds me there's no way in hell that she will be returning to work. I would hate to go back to prison for blowing that shithole up. I'll take care of us which means I need to provide her with food. I let out a sigh. I should go back to the hunting shed and dig up the cash. Dad stashed some there and I'm sure his wife had no idea of the safe buried in her backyard. And guilt washes over me, maybe if she did, Xena's life would have been different during those years. My hand clamps over the counter as I bring down my forehead and rest it on the cool counter. I've been so busy here that I haven't had time to go check that money out so once again I'll need hers.

The sound of footsteps breaks my focus, and her voice pulls me back. "Ro, movie tonight?"

I glance over my shoulder, flashing her a smile. "Yeah, but I need to grab some food before everything shuts down."

She frowns, hugging her body as she steps into the kitchen, her gaze drifting to the snow piling up outside. "We don’t have enough food?"

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