Page 62 of Our Little Monster
The skin had already started to bubble. He gripped my hips and gently placed me on the counter, my feet dangling. Then he moved and squatted down, reaching into the cabinets under the sink to retrieve a small first aid kit.
He set it on the counter and began unraveling the bandages and disinfectant, meeting my gaze with a reassuring smile.
“The great monster hunter, Serina Velika, also great at killing breakfast,” he jested as he looked over my hand again.
“Ha, ha.” I rolled my eyes, sarcasm dripping from my fake laugh as he started dabbing the antiseptic over the burn. I winced, but his eyes never left mine.
His touch was feather-light, a delicate dance between treating the injury and ensuring I felt comforted. The early morning sun was now casting the kitchen in a warm glow through the large window above the sink where the bacon was still smoking.
A soft light against the planes of his face. Gods, he was beautiful.
Nox cleared his throat, and I looked over my shoulder to see him standing at the bottom of the stairwell, his brows knitted with confusion.
“What the hell happened here?” he asked.
Thorne chuckled. “Serina doesn’t know how to cook, and she was trying to cook us breakfast.”
“Awww, are you getting soft on us, Serina?” Nox teased, giving me a side-eye as he grabbed a piece of burnt bacon from the top of the pan out of the sink.
“No, and you don’t have to eat it. It’s literally black.” I wrinkled my nose.
“So? It’s bacon.”
I stuck my tongue out in disgust. “Ew, gross.”
“Really? You know we eat people, right? You think burnt bacon is the worst thing out there?” he questioned, and I couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up in my throat. “Besides, I like my baconcrispy.”
He took a bite, and it crumbled apart as he chewed it down, his jaw smacking as he attempted to work the sandy, burnt bits out of his mouth.
Thornes lips thinned as he tried to keep his own laughter inside. After Nox finally choked down the last of the bacon, he grabbed a large glass of water and took it down in one swig.
He cleared his throat as he moved around the counter and began walking in the direction of the door that led to the garage.
“Stick to what you’re good at, Serina,” Nox said as he leaned in and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek effortlessly as Thorne finished up the bandage on my hand.
Their attention on me came so naturally, I didn’t question it. If I was being honest with myself, I liked it. I wanted more of it.
“Yeah? And what’s that?” I asked.
“Definitely not cooking,” he said, and I chuckled again as he headed into the garage and shut the door behind him.
The lively notes of music wafted from the Bluetooth speaker on the kitchen counter as we started cleaning up the mess I had made. Thorne had told me I didn’t need to help, but it felt wrong not to.
The music soon transformed the simple task of cleaning the kitchen into a dance floor. The beat was infectious, and soon, we found ourselves moving, twirling around each other as we reached for the clean pans and fresh ingredients from the refrigerator.
Thorne grabbed my hand. As the next song started to play, we spun into an impromptu dance, our feet sliding on the slightly sticky wood floor. With each spin, I reveled in the joy of the moment, forgetting the rest of the mess we were supposed to be cleaning and doing my best not to think about Bastian.
I was trying to trust what they had said. Considering how close they all were, I didn’t think they would intentionally let anything happen to him.
Once the song was over, Thorne guided me to the counter and stood behind me as he murmured the directions on how to make the mixture to dip the bread in again.
Every whispered word brushed against the shell of my ear and made my blood heat, sending shivers down my spine. I giggled as he placed the sugar in my hand and tossed the salt to the side. After he gave me the instructions, he placed his hands on my hips as he swayed ever so slightly to the music still playing in the background.
He sat his chin gently on my shoulder as he watched my hands start to try and make this again.
My fingers trembled as I picked up the whisk to blend it all together. I couldn't ignore the subtle shivers that traveled through me from his proximity.
I leaned into him. His breath brushing against my neck had me craning my head slightly to the side. My voice was low and filled with a tension that mirrored the unspoken desires lingering in the air.
