Page 85 of A Clash of Stars

He walked around the counter next to me and stood by my side.

“I’m ready when you are,” he spoke in almost a whisper.

With every instruction, he looked to me for approval before moving to the next step. Together, in that kitchen, I felt safe. I thought back to the conversation I had had with Amari and smiled. We placed the cookies in the flame broiler oven, and I set the clock timer for ten minutes.

“Now, when they come out. Although it’s tempting, you have to wait until they are at the perfect temperature to place them on a plate. If you try to eat them too soon, they will break and fall apart, and that’s no good for anyone,” a chuckle left me, and that’s when I noticed his mouth turned into a frown.

“Are you talking about cookies… or are you talking about you?” He took a step towards me, trapping me into the counter.

I took a deep breath, “Honestly, both. Everything I knew about life, myself, and the people around me was not what I thought. I have been hurt so many times that I’m not sure how many pieces there are left of me.” As I spoke, he continued to close the space between us. Placing his hand on my cheek, and his eyes narrowed in on mine.

“I’ll never break you like that again. I was wrong to make you think I hated you. I loathe myself for doing that to you. I had to convince the King that I held no feelings for you, so he would allow this marriage to happen. To be able to protect you. Then Madok’s capture was arranged to ensure he wouldn’t crash our wedding, but he is safe. He is back in your kingdom, at the castle in Elistayre,waiting for our arrival.” He paused, gently rubbing the pad of his thumb across my bottom lip as he saw the wheels turning in my mind.

“Earlier, when that man offended you, I stood outside, hearing your conversation. I waited until I saw your eyes to make my decision.” His eyes softened as he continued. “When I saw that sadness overwhelming you, I knew I had to end that man’s life. He would never speak to any woman that way again, especially mine.”

He slid his hand to my neck, and I felt the power rushing through me. The waves of uncertainty were never ending with him.

“I’ve waited for you for what feels like my whole life. I’ll wait for you another lifetime until you are at the…perfect temperature.” A smirk rose in the corner of his mouth. “But it doesn’t make it easy.”

I bit my bottom lip, and my eyes fluttered to his.

Shit.

“What did I say about biting that lip?” A deep and serious voice emerged from him and I was rendered speechless.

“I said, you do that again, I will bite that lip myself,” he said, with a serious gaze.

He took a closer step pushing his body onto mine. I could feel him, all of him. His hot breath was on my lips. I could almost taste his kiss. The teakwood took over my senses, and I fluttered my eyes closed in anticipation.

His lips took over mine so gently. A tingling sensation shot throughout my body, and I started pressing my lips into his as if it was second nature. His hands gripped my hips and effortlessly picked me up onto the counter and pushed my legs open to wrap around his hips.

Our kiss became more demanding, and I tilted my head to deepen it when he pulled my body closer to him. My hands immediately reached under his shirt, pressing my palms to his rock-hard abs and slowly moving down toward his hips.

“You keep touching me like that. I’ll take you right on this counter,” he hissed out into my mouth.

Ding. Ding. Ding.

We both pulled back from our kiss. I felt completely intoxicated by it, and from the look in his eyes, I knew he felt the same. I also found anguish in his deep green eyes, and I couldn’t agree more. I wanted to kick that timer in the ass for ruining this moment between us. He wanted us to keep going, but the alarm of the timer was a reminder that I truly wasn’t ready, and he didn’t want our cookies to burn.

He stepped back from me and walked away towards the bathroom. Leaving me on the counter in a complete mess while the timer continued to blare. What is he doing to me?

I feel like I have lost control over myself. This is not supposed to happen. I am not meant to be with him.

I took the cookies out of the oven and started the timer for them to cool off. I needed that timer too. My blood was boiling from all of the heat that took over me during that kiss.

A few moments later, Ev walked out of the bathroom and had changed into some casual attire. A black tee with soft black cotton pants. I knew he was strong. I had seen him without clothes before, but the way that black shirt hugged his shoulders did something to me.

He grabbed the bottle of wine off of the counter and began to open it, stealing a glance for just a moment with a soft smile following it.

The timer went off, signaling the cooling off was over, and I carefully moved the cookies to the ivory serving plate. I sighed and walked towards Ev while he poured us glasses of red wine, and I noticed it was native to my kingdom. I smiled when I saw the golden writing sketched on the side, Claire’s Canarywood Vines.

My mother’s winery.

She loved everything in nature, using our resources the best that we could, and she obviously loved wine. One year my father gave her a winery, and he named it after the town they honeymooned in, Canarywood. Therefore, the name of the wine.

I took a sip and remembered exactly why my mother enjoyed it so much. My eyes moved to Evander’s, and he extended a hand to mine.

“Let’s sit, shall we?” he asked me kindly.

---