Chapter 34
Jack
I haven’t been able to keep my hands off Alondra since the moment she arrived.
Whether it’s having my hand on her thigh while I drove her back from the airport, or having my hand on her lower back as we walk. It’s like Al isn’t really here if I don’t have my hands on her.
It was cute Alondra was worried what Momma would think when I put her bags in my room, but Momma told me she’s not oblivious about what’s happening at school, and it saves me from having to sneak into the guest room later.
I might’ve accidentally eaten the cookies Momma made for Al, and I found the secret stash she hid, so I’m doing my best to replicate the recipe. Self-control has never been one of my strengths, especially when it comes to these cookies.
I think I’ve followed the recipe, and it looks the way it’s supposed to, but Al looks skeptical from where she sits on the counter next to me.
“Come on, Al, just try it please.”
“Pretty sure there’s a reason Coop warned me not to ever eat anything you try to make. Something about food poisoning?” she teases, and of course she brings up the one time Coop asked me to make dinner, and I didn’t check to see if the chicken had expired first.
I roll my eyes, crossing my arms over my chest. She’s been sitting on the counter next to me the whole time.
“It was one time, and he’s never let me forget it.
I followed Momma’s recipe exactly, and you’ve been watching me make it,” I say, handing Al the recipe, and the little checkmarks I made in pencil next to each step and ingredient.
Al chews on her lower lip, before nodding. “Fine, but if it’s bad, never again,” she says, and before she can change her mind, I grab a spoon from the drawer, scooping cookie dough on it to hand to her. Al’s cheeks are rosy, and her curls are falling over her shoulders.
She takes a small bite, but it’s the cringe she tries to hide from me that gives away the fact I messed up somewhere along the way. I reach for her water bottle, handing it to her while also reaching for the recipe card to see where I could have gone wrong.
“I followed the recipe, and it looks fine?” I stare at the bowl, and it looks the exact same as when Momma makes it, but no one makes that face when they eat hers. “I don’t know what I got wrong?”
I dip my spoon in, trying it, and the amount of salt I put in this is criminal. I swallow it, grabbing my water immediately to wash away the taste. Holy shit, I must’ve mixed up the letters.
Alondra coughs, clearing her throat. “I think next time, you should try it before you ask me to,” she croaks, and I feel my cheeks heat as I rub the back of my neck. This is beyond embarrassing.
“I’m sorry,” I mumble, taking another drink of water while Al plucks the recipe card from my hand.
She scans over it before smiling, shaking her head. “Thank you for trying to make more, but next time, just save me one of your mom’s, okay?” she asks, reaching for me.
Alondra never ceases to amaze me. Not once in all of our tutoring sessions did she make me feel like shit for messing up, or taking forever to read through something. She’s been patient and kind.
Right now would be the perfect opportunity for her to give me shit for reading the amount of salt wrong, but I’ve noticed that when it comes to my dyslexia, she never does.
Al gives me crap for other shit without hesitation, but this?
Never, and aside from Momma and my friends at Wilder, I’ve never met someone more understanding.
I move closer to Al, unable to fight the urge to have my hands on her. She licks her thumb, wiping away something on my forehead, and I smile at her.
“It’s the thought that counts,” she says, and if I didn’t think I was falling for her before, I think I can admit to myself I am now.
“Thanks for understanding.”
“I don’t think your mom will be so understanding when she sees the mess you’ve turned her kitchen into,” Alondra points out, and Momma’s definitely not going to be happy, but I think she’ll be more annoyed I ate the cookies she made for Al.
I nudge Alondra’s legs apart, stepping between them to cup her face.
“I’ll clean it in a little bit,” I say, because cleaning everything up is the last thing on my list of priorities right now.
Her hazel eyes stand out prominently against her pale skin, but my body thrums with electricity when Al reaches to pull her dark hair over one shoulder.
Sliding my hand down the exposed slope of her neck, I brush my thumb back and forth over the smooth skin, relishing in how Alondra shivers from my touch.
“And what’s your plan until then?” she asks, her voice low.
God, she’s perfect. “This,” I whisper, leaning in to kiss her sweetly.
Her hands cup my face when I sweep my tongue over the seam of her mouth, and she opens to me, giving me the chance to increase the depth of the kiss.
My hand holds her hip, pulling Al closer to the edge of the counter while my other rests on the back of her neck.
I can taste the salty sweet combination from the dough, but I’m distracted when she bites my lower lip.
Here, I can exist in the delusion she’s mine and I’m hers.
A soft groan rises from my throat when Alondra drags her nails over my scalp, and I want her so badly.
I always do.
I tear my mouth from hers, quick to land on her jaw while my fingers slide into her hair, tipping her head back to kiss my way down the curve of her neck to where her pulse is beating fast.
Having Alondra here is better than I could have hoped for.
“Jack,” she whimpers, tugging at my hair as she hooks her legs around my waist, pulling me closer.
“Beautiful,” I whisper, scraping my teeth teasingly over the spot on her neck I know Al likes. I’m rewarded with a quiet moan, followed by a laugh.
“What are you? A vampire?”
This time I actually bite her, and her legs tighten around me, pressing against my dick, begging for more. I laugh at the same time Alondra does. “I’m going to suck your blood,” I mumble against her skin, lifting my head to smile at her.
She’s so relaxed, and I dip my hand in the bowl of cookie dough next to her, wiping it on Al’s cheek. Alondra gasps in surprise, and she stares widely at me.
“You did not just do that.”
I’m too busy smiling at her to notice her reaching for the bag of flour, flicking the white powder on my face and clothes. She pushes me back, leaving a full handprint on my shirt when I look down, sputtering in disbelief while Alondra slides off the counter.
“Then I’ll get you back,” she threatens, grabbing the spoon she bit off. I catch Al’s wrist as she moves to get my face, laughing.
“I don’t think so, darlin’,” I say, leaning down to kiss her briefly at the same time I reach for the bag of flour myself, grabbing Alondra’s ass with the same hand.
She yelps, jumping back from me, twisting to see the large handprint clear as day against the black fabric of her leggings. I laugh harder when Al glares at me, still holding her wrist in the air. “Let me get you back.”
Oh? Normally she likes to earn her wins instead of being handed them.
“I should let you wipe cookie dough on my face? I thought you hated it when I let you win?”
“No, I hate it when you cheat.”
“And am I cheating now?” I smirk down at her, loving how she’s pretending to be mad at me by avoiding my question. “Alondra.”
Her hazel eyes narrow. “Don’t say my name like that.”
“And how am I saying your name?” I ask, flashing Al with an innocent smile. I’m distracted by her pink lips, especially when she wets them.
I’m too late realizing it’s a decoy when Alondra catches the side of my nose and jaw with cookie dough.
She is evil, teasing me like that.
I let go of her wrist to pick her up by the waist, lifting Al onto the counter, resuming the same position we were in a few minutes ago. I slant my mouth over hers, and Alondra hooks her arms behind my neck, holding me close, even when I lift my head to look at her.
She looks beautiful—her mouth swollen, cookie dough smeared on her cheek, curls messy, and her eyes fluttering open to meet mine. “You’re something else,” I whisper, and the way my heart is trying to beat out of my chest should scare me, but it doesn’t.
“Good or bad?” Alondra asks, watching me closely.
I inhale a sharp breath, doing my best to memorize everything about her right now. “Good—too good.”
She softens, as if somehow understanding entirely what I’m saying between the lines.
I wish I could find the words to explain how Alondra makes me feel, but instead, I kiss her again, leaving them unspoken.