Page 6 of The Boss's Possession

“Yes, we eat.” He removed his jacket and she instantly went for the door, which he locked. “You can try to escape all you want, it’s not going to work.”

He heard another growl as he made his way into the kitchen. Carson opened the fridge and found the steaks he’d left marinating that morning. The ingredients for the salad were there, and all he had to do was boil some new potatoes. Preparing his own food was a real treat to him. He loved the process. After spending many of his younger years starving and begging for food, he always made sure he had plenty to eat.

In fact, if he took time to reflect on it, there were a lot of things he did based on experiences of his childhood. He always had plenty of food and lots of money. He removed rats from his life, and surrounded himself in power. People feared him, but he was also fair. Provided they didn’t cross him or betray him, those that worked for him were handsomely rewarded. It wasn’t a bad way to live your life, at least he didn’t think so.

“You’re going to cook me food?” Willow asked.

“That is the plan. It’s late and you didn’t have anything in your apartment that would be considered food, so yes, we’re going to eat.” He looked toward her. “Sit.”

She folded her arms across her chest.

“Do you think that bothers me?” he asked. “It makes your tits look mighty appealing.” She immediately dropped her arms and glared at him.

Did she even realize her nipples were puckered? His penthouse wasn’t cold. Another little thing from his childhood—he wouldn’t allow the cold to last. Every place he went had more than adequate heating. It was one of the first things he repaired in Willow’s apartment, the heating.

He didn’t want to remember the number of nights he spent out in the cold, or even shivering in his own bed, where a single blanket wouldn’t warm him.

Pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind, he focused on the potatoes. They were all cut and he moved to the sink to fill the pot with water. Once that was done, he placed them on the stove and started to warm them up. The steaks were already out of the fridge and getting to room temperature. Next, he moved onto preparing the tomatoes to be grilled, and once that was done, he mixed the salad together. He put the dressing to one side as he preferred to mix at the end.

“When did you learn to cook?” Willow asked.

While he’d been dealing with the food, she’d taken a seat in the chair. He couldn’t help but smile.

“I’m self-taught,” he said.

He’d not been willing to ask anyone to teach him the basics of cooking for himself. Once he started to earn his own money, he’d either used books in the library, or cooking shows, and he’d copied them, mimicking what they did.

“It looks good,” Willow said.

Her cheeks began to warm and he had a feeling she was talking about more than just the food. Carson didn’t mind at all. She could admire his technique all she wanted.

With the potatoes boiling, he added in some salt and waited about five minutes, and then put the grill plate on to warm up.

Once the steaks were on, everything else came together easily. The potatoes finished quickly as he’d cut them small enough to not need as much cooking time. When the steaks were resting after grilling, he drained the potatoes, added some butter and more salt and pepper, and began to add them to the plate. The salad was next, followed by the rested steaks, and he drizzled some lovely mustard dressing over the greens. Delicious.

Chapter Two

The food looked good. Willow didn’t want to acknowledge how good it looked, but she’d always been taught to be polite as well as respectful.

“It looks and smells amazing,” she said.

“Don’t judge until you try.” He handed her a knife and fork and she took it, slicing into the steak. It was so tender. Not overdone, but not too pink either.

She was never a steak kind of girl, but she wasn’t going to tell him that. She added some salad to her fork, along with a potato, and took a large bite, chewing through the food. The explosions of flavor made her moan.

“Wow,” she said.

He smiled. A truly big smile that made her stop in her tracks as it was so unexpected.

“This is good.”

He’d moved them both to his dining room table. Before he started, he reached for the bottle of wine he’d brought with him and poured them both a large glass. She never liked wine, but she wasn’t going to be rude to him.

Yes, he’d kind of kidnapped her, but what could she say—“He stole me, took me to his penthouse suite, and proceeded to cook me the most delicious meal I’ve tasted in months.”People would laugh at her.

She didn’t expect this from Carson.

Her grandmother, in her final days, had tried to convince her that Carson was a good guy. She had absolutely no doubt that a part of him was good, but a lot of parts of him were awful. Tonight was the first time she had seen him smile. Even when he visited the shop when her grandmother wasn’t there, he’d never actually smiled.

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