Page 108 of Point of No Return

Garlic and currant are heavy on the air, the savory scent drawing me to the doorway of the kitchen. Aleks is sitting at the island inhaling a plateful of pasta while seemingly laughing at something Skar is saying from the stove. I watch them for a moment, trying hard to ignore how good my husband looks in just slacks and a white shirt with a towel draped over his shoulder while he cooks.

“I don’t think you helped your reputation of being a recluse,” Aleks finishes his last bite, laughing as he recalls something about the meeting they’d been at today.

“I talk when needed,” Skar deadpans, but even without looking, I know he’s smiling.

God, seeing both of them smile does something to me. Something that hurts- something that would be stupid to deny.

“At least I got practice,” Aleks is saying when he catches me in his peripheral vision. He grins when he sees me. “You’re back. Are you hungry? Skar made… What is this again?” he asks.

Skar finishes stirring something as he turns and then his heated gaze settles on me, and I burn… I burn as I remember how he’d touched me just hours ago. Tasting me, drinking me in. I want it again. I wanthimagain.

I know before he answers what it is: “Adipi.”

I try not to think about why he made a traditional Prevyain dish for dinner tonight. My favorite dish, nonetheless.

“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” Skar teases Aleks, but he’s still looking at me. He swipes his bottom lip as if remembering the things we did against this counter.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m being kicked out.”

“You don’t have to go,” I tell him, but with the way Skar’s looking at me, I really hope he does.

“No, he’s right. I made plans,” Aleks stands and dumps his plate in the sink before walking over to me, squeezing me and lifting me off my feet in a hug.

“What are you-”

“I’ll see you later! Got a hot date!” he says, depositing me back on the floor and taking off with a wave towards Skar.

Skar’s smiling when I turn my attention back to him. There’s a question in his eye, and I know he must see how tired I am. He sets a fresh plate down, leaning against the counter with both hands as he watches me.

“How was it?”

I want nothing more than to forget about all of it. I want to get lost in him and never find my way out again. Instead, I cross the kitchen. Sliding beneath his bicep, I slip between him and the counter so his arms are caging me in. His gray-blue eyes are curious, searching me.

My voice is quiet: “I take it back.”

A battle rages in his eyes, and for a moment, he looks hesitant to touch me. “You take what back?”

“I want it to happen again.”

He knows that I’m talking about our conversation earlier, and his eyes flutter shut, hands gripping the counter tightly as he presses against me. His weight alone feels so damn good. I want him over me, inside me, fucking the hell out of me again.

Our lips brush in the barest of kisses. Once, twice.

“Eat first,” he negotiates, and I shake my head even though I’m smiling.

“Fine,” I surprise him by saying.

I plop my ass down in a chair and yank the plate toward me. Twirling the pasta around the tines of my fork, I make a show of taking a bite. But I’m surprised by just how delicious it is. He smirks, pulling his own plate toward him and sitting across from me as we eat.

I shovel mouthful after mouthful into my mouth until I’ve cleared my plate. He watches me the entire time, and when I’m finished, I stand, crossing my arms over my chest.

“There. Are you happy?”

A ghost of a smile plays at his mouth, and when he finishes and walks around the island toward me, it only widens. That damn dimple makes an appearance. “Very.”

And then he’s sweeping me into his arms and carrying me until he brushes the door to our room open. I expect him to kiss me, to lay me down and ravish me the way I’ve been thinking about ever since the first time. But I’m surprised when he walks us to the chest at the end of the bed and sets me down at the foot of it.

He kneels, and I nearly gape as his hands run down the length of my legs. They stop at my ankles, gently tugging off my heels and tossing them over his shoulder.

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