Chapter Twenty-Six #2
“Hunter.” Spinning around like I’d been caught being bad, I stared at him wide-eyed.
“What do you say?” I cocked my head at him, and he crooked a finger.
Grumbling, I shuffled over to him until I was standing between his feet.
His man spread meant there was plenty of room, and still I felt caged in by his long legs.
“What do you say?” he repeated in a low tone.
Feeling indignant, I placed my hands on my hips. The movement made my breasts jiggle, which didn’t go unnoticed by him. “Thanks, I guess.”
Ocean laughed as my defiance delighted him, which stole my breath and turned my nipples into painful points. Only a man fully convinced of his dominance would brush off any half-hearted challenge to it. “You guess, Vengeance?”
I shrugged and looked away. I ain’t gon’ kiss his ass.
Suddenly, Coco came sniffing, paying special attention to Ocean’s shoes and my ankles. Like his bowls, he couldn’t decide which of our scents intrigued him more, and I thought of Coby again.
At least Coco would never leave me, I thought petulantly.
A moment later, Coco rose onto his hind legs and started pawing at Ocean’s leg for attention. To my surprise, Ocean obliged him, lifting the puppy up with one hand and holding him suspended to stare him down. Coco growled, and Ocean kept staring until the puppy whined and licked Ocean’s hand.
Feeling smug, Ocean looked up at me. “You see, Hunter? Even the dog knows when to submit.”
“I’m not a dog.”
“But you do know, don’t you?” His deep voice had dropped even lower until it was nothing more than a sensual rumble. “When to submit?” Breathing heavier now, I couldn’t move because I feared what I might do. “Here,” he said indulgently. “I’ll even make it easier for you.”
Keeping his gaze on me, Ocean set the puppy on his lap, who turned to me and started begging for attention. I tried to pick him up, but Ocean lifted Coco out of reach and then set him back down once I dropped my hand.
I almost snapped at him to keep the damn dog, but Coco was just too cute and adorable not to be mine.
The battle of wills between Ocean and me lasted a little longer until Coco began crying at the lack of attention.
Ocean scratched between his ears, and even though it soothed the pup, who turned to lay his front paws on Ocean’s chest, it made me seethingly jealous.
“Show me, Vengeance. Show me that you know how.”
I inhaled a shuddering breath. There was an ache between my thighs that grew warmer and damper when I finally gave in, lowering to the floor until I was kneeling between Ocean’s legs.
“So fucking gorgeous,” he praised. “Such a good girl underneath all that violence.”
Biting my tongue, my gaze pleaded as I tentatively reached out to pet Coco.
Ocean smiled and let me.
Not a minute later, Coco wandered off to chew on his toy. I didn’t move from my spot. I didn’t dare. Ocean rewarded me by threading his fingers through my bushy ponytail, paying me the same attention he’d shown Coco.
I should have been offended by it.
Instead, I ended up resting my cheek on his hard thigh while my heart pounded furiously and my stomach did back flips. I peered up at him, and he stared down at me. Neither of us said a word, content to just be in each other’s presence.
I forgot I was supposed to hate him.
A knock on the door startled me awake, and I lifted my head from Ocean’s thigh in time to see his head popping up too from the back of the couch.
I guess we’d both fallen asleep.
Stretching his powerful body, Ocean checked his watch and then leaned down to kiss my forehead affectionately, which succeeded in making me blush and want to kill him at the same time.
He then lifted me under my arms and deposited me on the couch next to him like I weighed nothing before rising to his feet and going to the door.
Smiling when Coco followed him, I curled up on the couch with my feet tucked under me.
Ocean opened the door, scooped Coco up, and then stood to the side.
A man in a chef’s uniform rolled in a cart filled to the brim with silver dishes covered by plated domes. Abel walked in behind him, and then he and Ocean spoke in low tones before Abel turned right around and left again.
Good riddance.
Abel didn’t like me because I’d bested so many of those weenies he called soldiers, and the feeling was mutual because he dared to get in my way.
The chef rolled the cart to the dining table, quickly and efficiently set the table with dinnerware that looked too fine for the old cabin, and lit a few candles to set the mood.
And then he just left.
Coco padded back over to his bed to sleep while I tried to figure out what the fuck was going on.
“What are you doing?” I questioned in a panic.
Ocean had removed his jacket and was already sitting down at the small kitchen table. He glanced up at me. “We’re going to have dinner together.”
No, no, no. It felt too intimate, even more than our kiss. It was bad enough that we fell asleep together. “What about Coby?”
Not quite sure what I was really asking, I let the question hang in the air, but Ocean wasn’t having it. He held my gaze, and it felt like a challenge. “What about her?”
“I…” I wasn’t brave enough to ask if Coby would appreciate knowing he was here having dinner with me like we were on a date, so I said, “I thought you were going to let me see her.”
“And I will. When I’m ready.”
Sighing, I sat down in front of the other empty place setting in front of him. “So what are you waiting for?”
“For one of you to tell me the truth.”
While I gaped at him—a thousand responses flitted through my mind—Ocean stood up and started removing the silver-domed lids. My mouth watered at the sight of the jumbo shrimp cocktail, stuffed lobster tails, salmon, scallops, caviar, and oysters. Even the various side dishes looked amazing.g
“I didn’t know what you liked,” Ocean admitted when he caught me salivating, “so I had the chef prepare a little of everything.”
Coby must have also let it slip that I loved seafood. What exactly were the two of them talking about up in that big house?
I missed her.
I pointed out everything I wanted, and Ocean made my plate before making his. I waited for him to sit down before I touched mine. Noticing, he threw me a wicked smile, and I rolled my eyes.
“I’ve never had caviar,” I admitted a few minutes later as I used the tiny spoon to scoop some out of the chilled gold jar and onto the mini brioche toasts. I was nervous as hell to try what was essentially fish eggs.
“Try it with the champagne,” Ocean suggested as he lifted the bottle from the bucket and poured some into a chute.
I made a face as I brought the tartine to my mouth and bit into it quickly like I was auditioning for Fear Factor.
Ocean cackled as he watched me, and I realized I was still making a face as I chewed.
I was so prepared for it to be gross that I didn’t notice the butter and slightly nutty flavor until it slid down my throat.
It was a little briny but not overly so.
I grabbed the flute of champagne and took a sip while Ocean returned to his food.
“So when is the wedding?” I asked.
He glanced at me before refocusing on his food. “Christmas Eve.”
I raised my brows in surprise. “So soon? You really want your anniversary to land on a holiday?”
“Why? You think we should get married sooner?”
“No!” I shouted. Ocean nodded and kept eating. Damn, he was hungry. “When was the last time you ate?” I asked when he seemed to be devouring the meat and ignoring his sides.
“This morning. I had breakfast with Coby.”
“Ah,” I said, suddenly understanding. Poor baby. I set down my champagne and plucked a shrimp from the cocktail glass. “Did she tell you that you can keep eating meat if you want?”
Ocean nodded as he cut into his salmon. “Yes.”
“She’s lying.”
“I know.”
Coby had tried for weeks to get me to switch to plant-based foods before I had to curse her out to get her to back off. Prince Charming wouldn’t do that, though. Oh, no. He’d rather sneak away to have dinner with me.
Ocean sat back and wiped his mouth after clearing his plate in record time.
We locked gazes, and amusement quickly filled his eyes once he saw me laughing at him.
He then stood up without warning and threw his napkin on the table before coming around the table and kissing me slowly.
It felt so natural that I forgot that it was wrong, especially when he pulled back with a possessive hand lightly gripping my throat.
“Same time tomorrow?”
My heart plummeted at the thought of spending another night alone, but I nodded, and he left after telling me goodnight.
Ocean visited every evening over the next week for dinner.
Knowing boredom and loneliness awaited me once he left, I attempted various tricks to prolong his visits after dinner, including showing him the tricks I was teaching Coco.
The pup still didn’t fuck with Ocean and growled every time he got too close.
Such a cutie.
After a while, I was forced to admit that it wasn’t awful having dinner with Ocean every night, but I couldn’t help thinking about Coby.
Had she noticed his strange absences and the mysterious holes in his schedule?
Ocean was so magnetic that I knew the answer couldn’t be anything other than yes.
I certainly noticed every second that he wasn’t with me, and he wasn’t even mine.
Then again, a man like Ocean wouldn’t have a normal routine, so perhaps not.
I went to bed still agonizing over it. I tossed and turned as what Ocean and I were doing in secret plagued me with guilt in my sleep—so much so that when I heard a thump late that night, it was easy for me to shake off my drowsiness and go on high alert.
I didn’t move from the bed as I listened for the sound again. When it didn’t come, my killer instincts took over, and I slowly stood from the bed.
I was surrounded by enemies.