Page 103 of Roughing the Player
“Fine.” I retrieve my cell. “What do you want for dinner? Pizza, Chinese. Or something else?”
“Doesn’t matter. Order whatever you like.”
I one-button dial the Italian place. “Pizza it is.”
We eat the food in silence while Kaylee gazes at us out of worried eyes. Once the meal’s over, Ellie heads to the bedroom. Kaylee goes back to her cave. Seems like old times. Except it isn’t. Turning on the TV, I watch some show with unseeing eyes.
An hour later, I walk into the bedroom to find her sound asleep, wearing a granny gown that covers her down to her feet. Doesn’t matter how much skin she’s hiding from me, I still get hard.
After changing into pajama bottoms, I slide into bed and pull her into me. An intoxicating fragrance of cinnamon and paradise greets me. God. I want to ravish her, sink into her, pleasure her until she screams my name. But I can’t do any of those things. I can only hold her, breathe in her scent and torture myself.
In the morning, I wake up to the smell of pancakes and bacon and the sound of Ellie and Kaylee’s happy chatter. From their convo, they’re setting the table, pouring orange juice. A sense of peace rolls over me while I wish it could always be this way. When I walk into the kitchen, the scent of freshly brewed coffee fills the air.
“Want a cup?” Ellie holds up the carafe. Seemingly, she’s declared a peace truce, probably for Kaylee’s sake.
“Sure.” I park my ass on a kitchen stool and enjoy the best breakfast I’ve had in a long time.
Once the dishes are cleared away, Ellie grabs her purse. “I have to go to the grocery store.”
“What for?”
“To get the fixings for the potato salad.” And then she gets this light in her eyes. “Unless I can ask one of your drop-bys to make one for me.”
Happy to see her sassy side again, I grin. “I would if I had a way to reach them.”
“Oh, come on! What self-respecting woman forgets to leave her phone number with a casserole?”
“They did. But I tossed them away.”
She arches a brow. “Too bad. They could have fed you until the start of the season.”
“Very funny.” I sling my arm around her shoulders and drop a kiss on her lips. She tenses, but doesn’t push me away.
Baby steps.
