Page 426 of Dark Love

“Who knew my sweet Dahl would be so obsessed with kissing?”

I’m not obsessed. Fine, maybe I’m slightly obsessed, but it doesn’t make sense. The lack of sleep must be messing with my head. “You brought clothes to stay the weekend with me for the longest date known to mankind and have no plans to kiss me. We’re just going to get to know each other.”

“That sounds about right.” He sets a deep frying pan on the stovetop and turns the flame on high.

Can I handle this?

Yes.

No.

Maybe.

Sleeping next to him for three nights sounds divine.

What are we going to talk about? “I’m boring.”

Vex chuffs but doesn’t turn away from the pan as he pours oil onto the hot metal. “I’ll let you know when I’m bored.”

“Just wait. You’ll see. I’m a homebody.”

“A sexy homebody.”

Rather than think about that response, I take some of the berries he bought and wash them. They’ll make an amazing compote on the ice cream… unless he got a weird flavor. “What kind of ice cream did you get?”

“Chocolate custard.”

“Perfect.” I head to the pantry to get a few extra ingredients. “Do you need anything from the pantry while I’m there?”

“Is it as empty as your fridge?”

Hardly. “A well-stocked pantry is the sign of a good homemaker.” Did I just quote my mother to Vex? I duck into the pantry without waiting for a response.

Why would I even say that? Do I want Vex to think of me as a good homemaker? I’m about the farthest thing you can get from being a homemaker of any kind. That infers I want a family…

A family…

My chest gets tight.

What are we even doing?

I’m playing house with a murderer. I’m obsessed with a man that I can’t ever have a future with.

Is that why I finally allowed myself to feel something? Because I know there will never be anything more than a few fleeting moments with the sexiest man I’ve ever met?

It might not even get that far. Vex wants to get to know me. He’s going to find out just how boring I am. There’s got to be something I can do to make myself a little less boring.

Spicier.

In books, spice means… If I did that, I’d become the person they all called me…

My body starts to tremble as their vile words echo through my head along with the pictures they put up everywhere…

The Inner Sanctum

Vex

After one last toss, I scoop the meat out of the frying pan and place it in a bowl next to the stove. A wok would have given the chicken a nicer sear, but it looks good.

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