Page 34 of In the Cover of Darkness

Sam stares open mouthed, while Nova claps her hands in agreement.

“I'm fucked,” he grumbles, before giving us each a small hug and walking toward the door.

“See you tomorrow at close,” Nova calls out to him, a grin on her face.

“Maybe I'll teach you both to cook then,” I say, laughing and rolling my eyes at her.

???

“I'm staying late after work today, so there are some leftovers in the fridge for you two,” I say to Dante and Ace, putting my breakfast dishes in the sink. The sound of a car horn blares from outside. Nova insisted on picking me up and dropping me back home, giving the reason that she would obviously need to debrief with me about how cute Sam will be trying to impress Olivia. When she put it like that it was hard to say no, because I already knew I would want to talk about them too.

Quickly going over to where Dante was sitting at the dining table, I give him a quick kiss on the cheek, before saying, “I'm not sure how late I'll be so don't wait up,” turning and quickly running toward the door before he can try and interrogate me. It's not that I don't want to tell him what I'm doing. In the grand scheme of things it's a non-event but knowing him, he will blow it out of proportion and try to stand guard while I cook spaghetti.

Making a plan for the day, Nova and I head to the supermarket and get all the basic ingredients we will need for tonight's cooking lesson. Putting it all away in the work fridge, we get stuck into planning the coffee cart for the spring festival in a couple of months. The festival sounds exciting with the whole town coming together to celebrate the start of the tourist season. Each local business has some sort of stall, with prizes drawn throughout the day. There are some family events for thekids, dunk tanks, a water gun race, ending it all with a concert from some local entertainment. Lots of people from out of town come to celebrate as well, making it the event of the season, one that for the first time in a long time I'm excited to be a part of.

Flipping the Closed sign over in the window I pop my head out to the street and see Sam in the distance, giving him a hug when he reaches me.

“Don't look too excited, Sam, I promise it's easy,” I say, smiling up at him.

Grumbling at me in response, we head inside and start the lesson, making quick work of the ingredients we got earlier. Nova surprised us both with a bottle of wine she was told would pair perfectly with spaghetti. We all ended up laughing and having such a good time we agreed that this should become a monthly thing where I try to teach them a simple meal and have a fun night together.

Sliding into bed later that evening, I try to be as careful as possible to not wake Dante but as soon as I get comfortable he rolls over and pulls me into him like usual.

“I didn't want to wake you, you're meant to be sleeping,” I whisper.

“Baby, if you think I could sleep without you home safe next to me then I need to work on how much I’m wooing you.”

I try to contain a laugh, rolling my eyes at his choice of words, but instead, I just make a loud snorting sound and am instantly mortified. Completely laughing now I roll over and snuggle into his chest.

“I'm starting to second guess my decision if that's the sound you make when I mention wooing,” he teases me.

“Stop,” I say, chuckling now. “Nova brought wine and because she was driving, me and Sam shared the bottle.”

Instantly I feel him tense, his mind ticking over what I've just said. My own slowly catching up that I never explained what I was doing in the first place. Rolling away from me slightly, he sits up leaning against the headboard, turns the bedside lamp on and pulls me back onto him so I'm straddling his thighs, facing him while he glares at me.

“Baby, I'm trying here so just give me a second to get this out. I don't want to stifle you because I know I can be … overwhelming at times. I didn't ask earlier because you're free to do as you like, live your own life,” he says tensely.

The liquid courage I was drinking earlier has given me a bit of confidence so I boldly ask him, “Say it Dante, ask me what you really want to.” I'm not angry or frustrated, more that I want him to get to the root of what's bothering him. So looking him dead in the eye I stare at him, trying to keep my face neutral but not backing down either.

“Sunshine,” he growls, taking a minute before saying in a clear, direct voice, “what were you doing tonight, and who the hell is Sam?”

It takes everything in me to not roll my eyes at him and the possessiveness that's creeping out, even though I kind of like it. Actually, I like it a lot but I could never tell him that. He would push boundaries all the time if he knew it made me feel safe and a little turned on. He mumbles that it better be short for Samantha, however, the glare he was giving me falters and I can see a little vulnerability peaking through.

Continuing to hold his gaze I say in as calm a voice as I can muster, “I was teaching Nova and Sam how to cook. We used the kitchen at Beans, made a nice meal and I had wine with two friends. We will most likely do it again and I need you to be okay with it.”

Resting my hands on his chest, I sigh, “I need you to be okay with this, Dante.”

“Tell me about Sam,” he grunts, the only acknowledgement in that he heard anything I said.

Now I roll my eyes. “Sam is the local mechanic. He's a regular at Beans, Nova knows him well. I offered to teach him to cook because—”

“Do you like him?” he asks, cutting me off, trying to hide the strain in his voice.

Taking a deep breath, I shuffle up his body so I'm now sitting right over his hips. Reaching up and running my fingers through his hair before bringing them to rest on his face, I gently say, “Yes, I like him, and I want to continue to be friends with him,” he leans his head back, resting it against the headboard, shutting his eyes as a pained look crosses his face.

“Dante, I really need you to hear me when I say this okay? If you're asking me if I want to kiss him then the answer is no,” his eyes instantly open, passion flooding his gaze.

“There's only one man that I want to kiss,” I practically whisper, as I finish my sentence. I lean in, not breaking eye contact and give him a soft kiss. His warm lips soothe mine as I hope he understands that I only have eyes for him, that I only want him.

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