Page 43 of The Guardian

“Do I get to hear about your day with Blaire?” I ask, leaning against her door frame.

“Oh, can we talk about it during dinner?” she says, not looking up from the pages she’s already engrossed in.

“Of course, baby. I’m going to get started on dinner in a few minutes.” I push off from the door and walk to my bedroom to take a quick shower. I take a look at myself in the mirror as I slowly strip out of my clothes while I wait for the water to warm up. I look down at one of my breasts, seeing the perfect outline of Alex’s teeth around my nipple. I trace it slowly, the purplish-red mark exciting me. I get lost in thoughts of last night—how he handled my body—when I notice my phone sitting on the counter.

“That’s weird. Don’t remember leaving it there.” I shrug, remembering I didn’t even realize I left it behind in my rush to get out of the house this morning.

14

ALEX

“Can I help?” My hands instinctively settle on Juliette’s waist as she pulls the groceries out of the bag I placed on the counter. She quickly does a double take to make sure we’re alone. “I already made sure,” I chuckle, leaning in to kiss her neck.

She’s changed into a simple white dress that falls almost to her ankles. It’s light and summery, the material thin enough that it moves with her body.

“Well, if you really want to help, you can chop the onions and garlic. That’s my least favorite task.”

“Happy to,” I say, reaching around her to grab the onions and garlic. “Cutting board?”

“Bottom cabinet to the right of the stove,” she says, motioning with her head. She fiddles with her phone for a moment before soft jazz begins playing through the speakers embedded in the ceiling. Then she turns her attention back to the chicken she’s prepping.

We fall in step like we’ve done this a hundred times. I catch myself glancing in her direction, catching her gaze a few times, which makes her blush then smile.

“I’ll take those,” she says, walking over to the cutting board to place the garlic and onions, along with some fresh lemon and thyme, on the chicken. “You can just scrape the scraps into the sink.”

I do, washing off the cutting board and knife. I leave the water running, flicking on the garbage disposal, which whirs to life. “Oh, weird, it’s working again?” I say, remembering that it was broken. I turn off the water and the disposal.

“Oh,” she spins around after placing the chicken in the oven, “yeah, I forgot to tell you it does that sometimes—seems to fix itself.” She shrugs.

“Let me just take a look.” I reach for the cabinet door, but she pushes it closed.

“It’s dinnertime, so you can look at it later.” She smiles sweetly. “Wine?”

“I, uh, don’t dr—”

“Oh, never mind,” she laughs nervously, “I forgot you don’t drink. Anything you enjoy besides water?”

I eye her for a moment. She seems a little off, almost nervous. I brush off my curiosity. She’s probably still jittery from what I did to her earlier.

“I’ll stick to water, but thank you. Anything else I can help prepare for dinner?”

“I’m going to roast some asparagus. You can get some water boiling for the wild rice, please.”

We go back to working in sync. She hums along with the music, her body swaying as she chops the asparagus. I lean against the counter opposite her, admiring her as she seems lost in her own world. This is the first time since I’ve known her that she seems genuinely relaxed—dare I say, even happy.

“You keep moving like that,” I say as I push off the counter, my hand gliding over her ass and grabbing a handful, “and I’m going to get different ideas.” I wrap my arm around her waist, nuzzling my nose into her hair as I pull her against me. I close my eyes, savoring the scent of her floral perfume.

“Hmm, you’re taking an awfully big risk when I’ve got this big knife in my hands,” she murmurs.

“You think that can stop me?” I grab her dress, pulling it up with my hand so I can slip beneath it. I dance my fingertips across her warm skin, between her thighs. “Then you must not know me very well, sweetheart.”

“Or maybe you like the risk—the thrill of going after an unavailable woman.”

I pause for a second. I’d let myself forget for a moment that this isn’t real—just Juliette and me on a casual Sunday night making dinner together. This is still just a means to an end for both of us. A way for me to get a release and for her to indulge in her fantasy of a rough-around-the-edges kind of guy.

“Well now, isn’t that the point? What was your phrase before? Conquering a woman who can’t be tamed?” I rub my fingers against her panties, her grip on the knife loosening as she places her hands on the counter. “Getting her to submit to me even though it goes against every fiber of her being?” I nip at her ear. I’m seconds away from pushing her panties to the side when Chloe’s voice interrupts us.

“Something smells good. I’m starving!” Her dramatic shout as she comes down the stairs startles both of us. I remove my hand, turning around to hide my very obvious excitement as I fiddle with the sink. I glance over my shoulder, a pink blush blooming across Juliette’s cheeks as she smiles at Chloe and goes back to chopping the asparagus.

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