Chapter 28
Jackson
How was I supposed to hide a cat tree and all those other things from Pete?
I’d called him to ask how it was going, and was pleased beyond belief when he’d said he was driving home now.
I just hadn’t taken into account how unhinged I’d gotten with the online purchases and now I had to hide them away.
I’d just managed to dump everything into the attic, not even caring to look through the rest of the stuff up there before hurrying back down the stairs.
I stumbled a bit on the way down, but somehow my body moved just right and I righted myself before tumbling down.
Phew! I needed to pay more attention and maybe not run down the stairs in the future.
I willed my body to relax after the almost fall, and moved into the kitchen.
I figured Pete would appreciate a drink when he got home, and maybe a foot rub.
Or back rub. Or an all over body rub… Right!
Drink. I was practicing my bartending skills, hoping I could make some fantastic drinks for our future members.
The less personnel we had to hire, the better.
And I liked learning this stuff. It was surprisingly fun mixing different things together and creating these colorful drinks.
And the flavor combinations were fun to figure out too.
Since Pete wasn’t old enough to drink yet—and seemed to prefer not to do it at home either—I made him a virgin pina colada.
Not that it was the season for it. It was the start of spring, but I knew he loved pineapple, so I figured this would be a pleasant surprise for him.
Not to mention that it was this drink I’d worked most on perfecting while he was away.
Harold and his men had loved being my guinea pigs.
The non-alcohol part helped too. There was just something magical about seeing these ripped men wearing their construction uniforms, all dirtied up while drinking a pina colada with a little pink umbrella in it.
The sound of the front door unlocking had me picking up my pace. I blended the mixture, then, knowing Pete was alerted to where I was by the sound, I quickly dumped the mixture into a tall glass, then picked out a lime green umbrella with pink polka dots on it and stuck it in and voila!
“Hey, sexy,” he grinned and I turned to give him the biggest hug ever. He let out an ‘oomph’ as I tugged him close.
“I missed you so much, baby,” I whispered, then kissed him.
He returned the kiss eagerly, moaning into my mouth as I devoured him.
I let my left hand cup his ass while my right hand held his nape.
He was surrendering to my control and I loved it.
I craved it. His warmth seeped into my cold body and everything felt right again.
The abandoned drink made a sound and I figured one of us must have bumped it a little.
Luckily, it hadn’t spilled and I figured it was a sign to stop kissing and let my man enjoy his drink before I enjoyed him.
I stepped back, breathing hard as I gestured to the drink.
“For me?” he asked, his eyes gleaming with a mixture of love and lust. My favorite combination.
“Of course, it’s for you, baby. A virgin pina colada. I’ve been practicing,” I stated, proudly.
“Really?” He sounded so happy by that, and I guess him seeing me enjoy new hobbies was a good thing. I felt much happier myself. Especially now that he was home again.
“I forced them on Harold and the guys,” I admitted with a shrug.
“I’m sure they were horrified,” he nodded in agreement before smiling and tasting his drink. “Wow! This is amazing!”
“Truly? You’re not just saying that?”
“Fuck no, I want more of these. Can it be a once-a-day sort of treat? There needs to be perks to being owners of the company, right? I want a daily pina colada with my name on it.” I chuckled and just took him in.
He was humming with delight as he drank, a slight bounce to his hips as if he was trying to stop himself from dancing with happiness.
I was so in love with him.
When the drink was empty, he pouted and gave me puppy dog eyes, which were awfully effective with his big brown eyes. “I can make you another one,” I relented, knowing fully well his once-a-day drink just turned into a twice-a-day thing.
With his second drink in hand, I walked him through everything that had happened with the renovations while he was gone.
I really didn’t want to ask questions, especially not when I noticed he was still wearing the same clothes.
I hadn’t realized until now that he hadn’t even had a bag of personal items with him.
Not unless he had a to-go bag ready in the car.
Which I doubted. It had to have been a rough case and I was even more relieved to know he was done with it.
“Have you told Rino?” I asked, wondering if his boss would turn up at our doorstep begging for Pete to return to work. I didn’t know what Pete had done for them exactly, but he seemed important to Rino.
“Not yet. I haven’t even told my mom yet, either. I figured she deserved to know first so she wouldn’t accidentally overhear at work and feel hurt over me not telling her myself.”
“That’s really thoughtful of you. Hey, maybe we should invite her and Ida over for dinner? Not tonight, though. I need you all to myself and I am not about sharing yet.”
He grinned at me. “I already spoke to her about a barbeque when the renovations are done. I don’t want them here until then.
Not that it’s not safe, I just want some time with just the two of us.
I’ll call her tomorrow and tell her I’m quitting.
I can do it on my way to work. I’ll need to head over there anyway to sign my resignation papers. ”
“Want me to come with you?”
He shook his head. “No outsiders allowed. I can’t even tell you the location.”
“Wow. I hadn’t even thought about that. I like that from now on I’ll know wherever you are at all times.” He raised a brow at me. “Not that you need to tell me your current locations,” I hurried to add.
He shook his head at me fondly. “I know what you meant. I like not hiding it from you too. After tomorrow, it’s just you, me, and the mansion.”
“I like that.” I cupped his cheek and gave him a tender kiss, filled with the promise of forever in it. Not that Pete knew that, yet.
We were outside since I’d showed him the progress on the pool and since it was a bit cold today, I steered him inside so we could continue our kissing in the warm living room.
He sat his drink down on the coffee table and held up his hands before I could attack him with more of my kisses.
“I really want a shower before this goes any further. The place I stayed at only had a toilet I could use, so I know I stink.” I hadn’t noticed.
Yes, he did have a dusty sort of scent to him.
But he was my Pete. I didn’t care if his clothes were a bit dirty.
I’d been scared he’d died and been hurt while he was gone.
Having him here, alive and well was everything.
“I don’t mind,” I began, but he cut me off.
“I care. I want a shower. I need to wash the last two days off me.” I nodded; I could respect that.
I had no idea what horrors he’d seen or endured while he was away.
Anyway, I could surprise him with his third drink while he was preoccupied.
.. maybe I’d even order something for us to eat on the couch.
It was nearing dinner time, I just hoped the drinks weren’t too filling…
Hmm maybe sushi would be perfect then, no risk of them turning cold and Pete actually preferred sushi when we had to order in, something about it being romantic.
With my mind made up, I sent Pete off to shower with a light slap to his butt which had him giggling as he left the room.
I took my phone out and picked enough sushi for us to have leftovers for tomorrow.
We liked having California rolls the next day, but none of the others did it for us as leftovers, so I made sure to order a lot of those.
Then I added some fun side dishes too, making it even more special.
I wanted to celebrate him quitting, however weird it sounded, it was also the start of us fully working together.
When the sushi was ordered, and I’d gotten the notification that it would be delivered an hour from now, I started on his next drink.
This time, I was trying a virgin strawberry daiquiri, even making one for myself.
I’d ordered a few different glasses for drinks, and picked out the light blue ones with pearls on the stems. They were ocean themed, but in a classy and subtle kind of way.
I figured it would look pretty with the pink liquid inside of them.
Not wanting us to fill up on snacks when food was coming, I decided not to add anything else, opting for only the drinks for now.
I carried them inside the living room and spent two minutes collecting blankets and making it all cozy for us.
I knew Pete wanted to watch a new murder mystery, so I got the movie ready, pausing just at the start and leaving to retrieve him from the bathroom.
One step inside our bedroom, and it was obvious Pete had other ideas for what we should be doing. He was laying on our bed in a white lace jockstrap, his smile all mischievous and beckoning.
Drinks forgotten, I stripped out of my clothes at lightning speed. We had maybe forty-five minutes before the food got here, and I would savor every minute.
“Wait!” Pete said, sitting up on the bed. I stopped mid step, with one knee resting on the bed. “I, um. I was thinking of maybe doing something… Different?”
I raised a questioning brow at him. “Different?”
He blushed and I was all too keen on finding out just what he had in mind. “You told me we could experiment with BDSM stuff…”